  Large horsepower induction motors play a critical role in the operation of
industrial facilities. In this respect, the distribution network operators
dedicate a high priority to the operational safety of these motor loads. In
this paper, the induction motor starting is modeled analytically and in a
semi-static fashion. This model is imbedded in a convex distribution system
restoration problem. In this optimization problem, it is aimed to determine the
optimal status of static loads and the optimal dispatch of distributed
generators such that: a) the induction motors can be reaccelerated in a safe
way and, b) the total power of static loads that cannot be supplied before the
motor energization, is minimized. The proposed optimization problem is applied
in the case of a distribution network under different simulation scenarios. The
feasibility and accuracy of the obtained results are validated using a)
off-line time-domain simulations, and b) Power Hardware-In-the-Loop
experiments.
