Symmetrical pattern and PCA based framework for fault detection and classification in power systems

An important attribute of an electrical power system is the continuity of service with a high level of reliability. This motivated many researchers to investigate power systems in an effort to improve reliability by focusing on fault detection and classification. In this work, a new electrical protective relaying framework to detect and classify any fault type in an electrical power system is presented. This work will use readings of the phase current only during the first (1/4)^th of a cycle in an integrated method that combines symmetrical components technique with the principal component analysis (PCA) to declare, identify, and classify a fault. Furthermore, our approach also distinguishes a real fault from a transient one and can be used in either a transmission or a distribution system. Implementation results using PSCAD are also presented.