Optimized ANN–RF hybrid model with optuna for fault detection and classification in power transmission systems

This study proposes a hybrid machine learning approach that integrates Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Random Forest (RF) classifiers, enhanced by Optuna hyperparameter optimization, for fault detection and classification in power transmission networks. The model is trained on a synthetic dataset generated from MATLAB/Simulink simulations of an 11 kV multi-generator system, incorporating three-phase current (Ia, Ib, Ic) and voltage (Va, Vb, Vc) signals under fault scenarios such as line-to-ground (LG), double line-to-ground (LLG), and three-phase symmetrical (LLLG) faults. To address class imbalance, the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE) is applied, ensuring balanced representation of rare fault categories. The ANN-RF model achieves superior performance, with 99.8% accuracy, 99.5% precision, and 99.4% recall, consistently outperforming traditional classifiers including K-Nearest Neighbors, Bagging, AdaBoost, and Gradient Boosting. Its effectiveness arises from ANN's non-linear feature extraction, RF's ensemble robustness, and Optuna's hyperparameter tuning, with SMOTE improving detection of rare fault types. Compared with advanced models such as Modified InceptionV3 (98.93% accuracy) and Extreme Learning Machines (99.60% accuracy), the proposed approach provides a balanced trade-off between sensitivity and specificity, offering a reliable solution for fault identification. Nonetheless, challenges in computational efficiency and reliance on simulated data highlight the need for validation with real-world measurements and further optimization for real-time smart grid applications.