A New Wide Area Protection Scheme Based on the Phase Angles of the Sequence Components

Abstract

— Several types of faults may occur in an active distribution network (ADN) such as single phase to ground, phase to phase, double phase to ground and three phases to ground faults. Many methods for the detection of all these faults are proposed in literature. However, the detection of open conductor faults is still a challenging task in distribution networks. These types of faults appear as a High Impedance Fault (HIF). This paper proposes a wide area protection scheme for radial ADN based on fault current component analysis. The proposed scheme uses the difference in the angles of the positive and negative sequence of the fault current between the main feeders and the branches of a radial ADN. The main feature of the proposed scheme is the ability to identify the faulted feeder even at HIF condition. Moreover, the proposed scheme can identify the faulty area along the faulty feeder. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is tested, using MATLAB/Simulink. Different scenarios are considered with various fault types including the open conductor faults. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.