Separation of transmission line insulator flashover from a three phase fault using synchronous measurements for a Smart Grid

A new methodology for the detection of insulator arc faults for the smart grid environment based on phasor angle measurements is presented in this study and the real time phase angle data are collected using Phasor Measurement Units (PMU). Detection of insulator arcing faults is based on feature extraction and frequency component analysis. The proposed methodology pertains to the detection of insulator arcing faults in transmission lines network based on leakage current, frequency characteristics and synchronous phasor measurements of voltage. The methodology is evaluated for IEEE 14 standard bus system by modeling the insulator arc faults and smart grid using MATLAB/Simulink. The proposed methodology using phasor angle measurements using PMU is used for fault detection of insulator arcing which further helps in efficient protection of the system and its stable operation. In addition, the methodology is suitable for wide area condition monitoring of smart grid rather than end to end transmission lines.