Recent Research Progress in Fault Analysis of Complex Electric Power Systems

In this paper, we adopt a novel approach to the fault analysis of complex electric power systems. Electric power system is one of the most complex artificial systems in the world. Its safe, steady, economical and reliable operating plays a very important part in guaranteeing socioeconomic development, and even in safeguarding social stability. The complexity of electric power system is determined by its characteristics about constitution, configuration, operation, organization, etc. No matter if, we adopt new analytical methods or technical means, we must have a distinct recognition of electric power system itself and its complexity, and increase analysis continuously, operation and control level. In this paper, utilizing real-time measurements of phasor measurement unit, based on graph theory and multivariate statistical analysis theory, we are using mainly Breadth-first search, Depth-first search and cluster analysis. Then, we seek for the uniform laws of marked changes of electrical quantities. Then we can carry out fast and exact analysis of fault component. Finally, we can accomplish fault isolation. According to line fault and bus-bar fault (single-phase fault, phase-to-phase fault and three-phase fault) in complex electric power systems, we have carried out a great deal of simulation experiments and obtained ideal results. These researches have proven that the faults in complex electric power systems can be explored successfully by analysis and calculation based on graph theory and multivariate statistical analysis theory.