An adaptive fault location algorithm for power system networks based on synchrophasor measurements

This paper presents an adaptive fault location algorithm for power system networks based on synchronized phasor measurements obtained by Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs). To enhance its accuracy, the proposed algorithm is made to be independent of any data that shall be provided by the electric utility. The proposed algorithm requires three different sets of pre-fault voltage and current phasor measurements at both terminals of the faulty line to be obtained through PMUs. The three sets of local PMU measurements at each terminal are used for online calculation of the respective Thevenin's equivalent (TE). Using the method of multiple measurements with linear regression (MMLR), the three sets of PMU measurements are also employed for online calculation of the transmission line parameters. Online determination of the TEs and line parameters ensures avoiding any possible mismatch with the actual parameters due to system loading and other environmental conditions. The proposed method is applied to a 115 kV system selected from the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) network. The simulation results obtained using PSCAD/EMTDC and MATLABreveal that the proposed algorithm is highly accurate and independent of fault type, fault location, fault resistance, fault inception angle and pre-fault loading. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.