A Localized Transient-Based Fault Location Scheme for Distribution Systems

Many distribution systems have several branches with only one protection system at the upstream system. This characteristic degrades the performance of traditional fault location schemes. In this paper, a localized fault location method based on the transient behavior of fault currents by using local data is proposed. The proposed scheme uses only local current and the voltage of the upstream overcurrent relay as input data of the fault location scheme. The formulation considers fault resistance, loads, and different fault locations. Furthermore, due to the usage of transient fault current data, the proposed method locates the fault within several milliseconds with a suitable range of error. To validate the effectiveness of this method, field measurement data, obtained from a real distribution system in East Jutland, Denmark operated by Dinel A/S, are used, and extensive real-time simulations are performed. The results prove that the proposed method locates different types of faults within an appropriate time and error, which can improve the maintenance and reliability of distribution systems.