Fault location in distribution systems with DG based on similarity of fault impedance

Abstract

This paper presents a new method for locating a fault in distribution systems using the similarity of fault impedance. A four-step approach is proposed to locate the fault in the networks. First, pre- and during-fault voltages from smart feeders along the primary feeders are measured. Second, three-phase impedance to calculate fault current corresponding to voltage deviation from each smart meter is achieved. Third, a relation between fault current and fault impedance for each type of fault is extracted. Finally, based on the similarity of the estimated fault impedance for each bus, an error index is calculated. Moreover, an auxiliary process is utilized to analyze the estimated fault impedance. The proposed method uses both smart meters and phasor measurement units to obtain voltage sag. Distributed generation and loads are modeled as constant impedances and then they are considered in the three-phase impedance matrix. The suggested approach is evaluated in the IEEE 34-bus test distribution network, which is simulated in the PSCAD/EMTDC environment. The obtained numerical results confirm the acceptable accuracy of the proposed methodology for all types of faults with various fault resistances.