High Impendance Fault Detection in Distribution System under Distributed Generation

Conventional power distribution systems are radial in nature, characterized by a single source feeding a network of downstream feeders. Location of faults in such power networks is very challenging when fault resistance is quite high. In distribution systems, fault location algorithms primarily utilize the fault current amplitude for deciding the nature and location of the faults. However, the distribution systems become radial nature when distributed generation sources are connected with them. Under such circumstance mere magnitude of fault current is not sufficient to locate and classify the fault on the power feeders. Additional fault informations are required for identification of faults in the interconnected power distribution systems.

This presented paper suggests a novel algorithm, which can detect the high impendence fault based on transient behavior of fault currents. The proposed algorithm utilizes the transient energy content of the high impendence fault signals for detecting the faults in the distribution networks. The PSCAD/EMTDC software is used for simulation for the faults in the power network under study.