Design of a low voltage cable fault detector

This paper presents a design and construction of a low voltage cable fault location detector. The principle of design is based on the reflection of waves. A pulse is sent into the defective cable and it is reflected back. The interval of travelling waves is identified in order to determine fault location and fault types. The prototype consists of pulse generator, wave detection circuit, counter circuit, control and processing part, and display unit based on a microcontroller. All are assembled in a small compact size. Also, the portable detector is suitable for outdoors. In addition, it is more safe when compared to a conventional high voltage impulse method. It has been tested and found that the error of fault location is within /spl plusmn/5%.