A novel algorithm for traveling wave fault location base on network

When fault occurs in power system, traveling electromagnetic waves are initiated and travel along transmission lines. Different traveling wave recorders (TWR) installed in some substations detect these wave fronts and record their arrived time, then sent the time to fault calculation center where the fault position is calculated. In this paper, a network-based fault location algorithm is proposed for the center. It includes the search of shortest propagation path for the traveling wave between any two TWR to the fault point, the matching of shortest propagation path between two TWR and the relevant time difference of the recorded traveling wave, and the fusion of fault distance calculated by any two valid times. The algorithm is tested by ATP/EMTP simulation with Hunan 500 kV power grid. Testing results show that the algorithm is with high precision and robustness. Even some TWR in the power system is fault or time record is error, the algorithm can also calculate the fault point exactly, and the fault distance error is no more than 150 m.