A Fault Location Identification Technique for Active Distribution System

Impedance based fault location schemes using substation measurements are becoming absolute due to the introduction of distributed generation and islanding-mode operating capability of distribution system (DS). In this article, a new fault location algorithm is presented for active distribution systems using microphasor measurement units (μPMU) and smart meter (SM) data. The line current data obtained from the μPMUs in the DS are exploited to divide the system into different zones. To identify the faulted zone, a fault zone identification parameter is devised based on the pre and during fault positive sequence current injection data recorded in the μPMUs. Next, fault location analysis is limited to the identified zone to reduce the computational complexity. To locate the fault within the identified zone, the work proposes two parameters for the identification of bus nearest to fault (BNF) and faulted line section connected to the identified bus. The scheme does not require the information about the type of ground faults and is applicable to balanced, unbalanced, grid connected and as well as islanded distribution systems.