Recognition of series arc fault based on the Hilbert Huang Transform

Series arc fault is a common fault in a power supply system. It could affect the reliability of power supply seriously and even cause safety accidents. A low-voltage series arc fault experiment platform was developed on the basis of the GB14287.4 standard in this paper. Series arc fault experiments were conducted with different types of load. Arc fault current signals of five cycles before and after arc occurred were analyzed by using Hilbert-Huang Transform. The current was resolved into several Intrinsic Mode Functions (IMF) by using the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD). Then the Hilbert spectrum was obtained by calculating Hilbert transform for IMF. The results show that Hilbert spectrum amplitude increased when arc fault occurred. Therefore Hilbert Huang Transform can be used to recognize the series arc fault.