Characteristics of Phase Current and its Application in Fault Section Location in Noneffectively Grounded Distribution Systems

Medium voltage distribution systems of some countries are mostly noneffectively grounded systems, and most of the distribution automation systems do not have the function of locating the fault section for single phase-to-ground fault. This paper presents a method of fault section location based on the characteristic of the phase current difference. It makes a deep analysis based on instantaneous symmetrical component method when single phase-to-ground fault happens. This method requires only a little data to be transferred and does not need voltage information, so it is easy to be popularized and applied in engineering practice. The effectiveness of the method has been verified by the PSCAD/EMTDC simulation results. Copyright © 2014 IFSA Publishing, S. L.