FAULT-DIAGNOSIS OF POWER-SYSTEMS

Fault diagnosis of power systems plays a crucial role in power system monitoring and control that ensures stable supply of electrical power to consumers. In the case of multiple faults or incorrect operation of protective devices, fault diagnosis requires judgment of complex conditions at various levels. For this reason, research into application of knowledge-based systems got an early start and reports of such systems have appeared in many papers. In this paper, these systems are classified by the method of inference utilized in the knowledge-based systems for fault diagnosis of power systems. The characteristics of each class and corresponding issues as well as the state-of-the-art techniques for improving their performance are presented. Additional topics covered are user interfaces, interfaces with energy management systems (EMS's), and expert system development tools for fault diagnosis. Results and evaluation of actual operation in the field are also discussed. Knowledge-based fault diagnosis of power systems will continue to disseminate.