A two-end traveling wave fault location system for MV cables based on LoRa technology

In this paper a new low cost device is proposed for fault location in power distribution system. The device is part of a system that should include several units installed in couples at the two ends of MV cable lines. Their low cost justifies a widespread installation of these devices, moreover other functionalities could be considered so as to enrich the potential of the system for MV cables monitoring and asset management. The system exploits a two-end traveling wave technique, low complexity and low cost solutions both for the analog front end as well as for the communication infrastructure. A LoRa network is indeed considered as wireless modulation technique perfectly suited when communication links with three characteristics are needed: low power, low bit-rate and long range. The paper shows the device that has been set up in Prysmian Electronics with some experimental phases showing the effectiveness of the proposed solution and the further developments expected.