ANN-based novel fault detector for generator windings protection

In this paper, an artificial neural network (ANN) based internal fault detector algorithm for generator protection is proposed. The detector uniquely responds to the winding earth and phase faults with remarkably high sensitivity. Discrimination of the fault type is provided via three trained ANNs having a six dimensional input vector. This input vector is obtained from the difference and average of the currents entering and leaving the generator windings. Training cases for the ANNs are generated via a simulation study of the generator internal faults using Electromagnetic Transient Program (EMTP). A genetic algorithm is employed to reduce training time. The proposed ANN algorithm is compared with a conventional differential algorithm. It is found to be superior regarding sensitivity and stability