Protection of Line Faults in HVDC Grids Through Convexity Detection in Backward Traveling Wave Voltages

Abstract

Short-circuit faults in high-voltage DC (HVDC) grids must be timely isolated. Conventional fault isolation schemes for HVDC grids typically rely on numerical simulations or analytical calculations for threshold setting, which complicate engineering implementation. To solve this issue, this paper first introduces the convex point of backward traveling wave (BTW) voltage as the reference for the faulty line isolation in HVDC grids, which is interpreted as the singular feature in the second derivative (SD) of BTW voltage. The singularity in the SD of BTW voltage is independent of system or fault parameters, having good generality in HVDC grids. Through recognizing the unique pattern in the wavelet transform modulus maxima of the singular feature, the proposed protection method can identify faulty lines in HVDC grids in the initial phase of faults. Numerical studies carried out with PSCAD/EMTDC and MATLAB/Simulink demonstrate the effectiveness, robustness and applicability of the proposed method in detecting and isolating various single- and double-pole faults in HVDC grids.