Intermittent Fault Location in Distribution Feeders

Due to the utilization of fundamental frequency, current impedance-based fault-location methods are able to locate only permanent and linear faults. The duration of the arc in low- and medium-voltage systems can be as short as a quarter of a cycle. This period, which is normal for intermittent faults, is insufficient for fundamental frequency-based fault-location algorithms. Therefore, available methods are not applicable for an intermittent arcing fault location. In this paper, a novel method is proposed for arcing fault location in radial feeders, utilizing time-based formulation considering the short duration of the faults. The advantage of the proposed method over available methods is its capability for locating faults using fewer samples, which is suitable for arcing faults as well as normal faults in the network. Also, different types of faults are taken into account in the proposed algorithm. The validity of the devised algorithm is studied within the PSCAD-EMTDC environment and the results obtained show good accuracy for arcing faults. The application of the proposed algorithm in real systems is based on the availability of measured voltage and current waveforms at one end of the network and knowledge of cable/line parameters (self and mutual impedances).