Multiple fault location in linear circuits via multiple excitations

An approach that utilizes multiple excitations for the location of multiple faults in linear circuits is presented. The major advantage of the approach is that it removes the need to verify every possible multiple-fault combination. A necessary and sufficient condition for locating k faults in terms of k independent incremental measurement vectors is proposed, and this is shown to be based upon the application of a single matrix transformation. The effects of component tolerances and measurement errors are considered. A practical algorithm to carry out the approach is realized by estimating the variances of the matrix entries from specified parameter and measurement tolerances. An application of the technique to a resistive ladder network is presented