Fault location on branched networks using mathematical morphology

Abstract

Here, a new travelling wave-based fault location method is proposed for branched networks. A mathematical morphology-based filter is used to analyse fault-induced transient signals and detects the arrival time of travelling waves. In the proposed algorithm, using the first surge arrival time of travelling waves at each of the travelling wave detectors installed in the network, a set of linear equations is constructed. By solving the equations, the probable fault occurrence points on the main line of the network are determined. Finally, proper evaluation criterions are introduced to determine accurate faulted lateral branch or fault location on the main lines. Extensive simulation studies using EMTP and MATLAB are carried out to examine the effectiveness of the proposed method. The obtained results verify the high accuracy, noise immunity, and fault impedance robustness of the proposed method.