Research Article | OPEN ACCESS
Challenges in Detection of High Impedance Faults on Broken Conductors in MV Lines
1Yasin Khan, 1Faisal Rehman Pazheri, 2Sami Ghannam, 1Abdulrehman Ali Al-Arainy and 1Nazar Hussain Malik
1Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, Saudi Aramco Chair in Electrical Power, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Riyadh-11421, Saudi Arabia
2Department of Consulting Services, Saudi Aramco, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Research Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology 2014 24:5234-5241
Received: February 22, 2014 | Accepted: March 20, 2014 | Published: June 25, 2014
Abstract
The weather conditions in Saudi Arabia are harsh and the inland areas are very hot, dry and sandy. Thousands of kilometers of medium voltage overhead lines (13.8 kV) are located in deep desert areas feeding loads that are located in remote desert areas. Such medium and low voltage distribution networks face difficulties regarding fault detection and localization. High Impedance Fault (HIF) resulting from a broken conductor in MV overhead lines represent the most challenging problem in such environments. Such condition may cause damage, fire or electric shock hazards resulting in life threatening situations. This study reports on a study of electrical characteristics of inland desert sand and typical characteristics of HIF fault when a MV line conductor breaks and touches such sand. It is shown that the arid desert sand has extremely high resistivity and it is difficult to detect the fault by using conventional protective devices. The study presents results of measurements and simulations and suggests that innovative approaches have to be employed to achieve the desired protection in such environments.
Keywords:
Desert sand, grounding, high impedance fault, MV distribution system, soil resistivity,
References
-
Al-Arainy, A.A., N.H. Malik, M.I. Qureshi and Y. Khan, 2011a. Grounding pit optimization using low resistivity materials for applications in high resistivity soils. Int. J. Emerg. Electr. Power Syst., 12: 1-18.
CrossRef -
Al-Arainy, A.A., Y. Khan, N.H. Malik and M.I. Qureshi, 2011b. Optimized pit configuration for efficient grounding of the power system in high resistivity soils using low resistivity materials. Proceeding for the 4th International Conference on Modeling, Simulation and Applied Optimization (ICMSAO'11). Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
CrossRef -
Aucoin, B.M., 1982. Distribution high impedance faults using high frequency current components. IEEE T. Power Deliver., 101(6): 1596-1606.
CrossRef -
Aucoin, B.M., 1987. Detection of distribution high impedance faults using burst noise signals near 60Hz. IEEE T. Power Deliver., 2(2): 347-348.
CrossRef -
Aucoin, B.M. and R.H. Jones, 1996. High impedance fault detection implementation issues. IEEE T. Power Deliver., 11(1): 139-148.
CrossRef -
Callhoun, H., M.T. Bishop, C.H. Eicler and T.E. Lee, 1982. Development and testing of an electro-mechanical relay to detect fallen distribution conductors. IEEE T. Power Ap. Syst., PAS-101(6): 1643-1650.
CrossRef -
Craig, G.W., 2001. High Impedance Fault Detection on Distribution Systems. GE Power Management Publications, GER-3993.
-
David, C., W. Tat and Y. Xia, 1998. A novel technique for high impedance fault detection. IEEE T. Power Deliver., 13(3): 738-741.
CrossRef -
Girgis, A.A., W. Chang and E.B. Makram, 1990. Analysis of HIF generated signal using a Kalman filtering technique. IEEE T. Power Deliver., 5(4): 1714-1724.
CrossRef -
IEEE PSRC Working Group D15, 2000. High impedance fault detection technology. Report of PSRC, March 1996.
Direct Link -
Jincheng, L. and L.K. Jeffery, 1999. New insight into detection of High Impedance arcing faults on DC trolley system. IEEE T. Ind. Appl., 35(5): 1169-1173.
CrossRef -
Khan, Y., N.H. Malik, A.A. Al-Arainy, M.I. Qureshi and F.R. Pazheri, 2010. Efficient use of low resistivity material for grounding resistance reduction in high soil resistivity areas. Proceeding of the IEEE Region 10 Conference on TENCON 2010. Fukuoka, Japan.
CrossRef -
Khan, Y., F.R. Pazheri, N. Malik, A.A. Al-Arainy and M.I. Qureshi, 2012. Novel approach of grounding pit optimum dimensions in high resistivity soils. Electr. Pow. Syst. Res., 92: 145-154.
CrossRef -
Lai, T.M., L.A. Snider, E. Lo and D. Sutanto, 2005. High-impedance fault detection using discrete wavelet transform and frequency range and RMS conversion. IEEE T. Power Deliver., 20(1): 397-401.
CrossRef -
Lee, I., 1982. High impedance fault detection using 3rd harmonic current. EPRI Final Report, EPRI EL-2430.
-
Russel, B.D., 1988a. An arcing fault detection technique using low frequency current components-performance evaluation using recorded field data. IEEE T. Power Deliver., 3(4).
CrossRef -
Russel, B.D., 1988b. Behavior of low frequency spectra during arcing faults and switching events. IEEE T. Power Deliver., 3(4).
-
Salam, M.A., 2012a. Grounding resistance measurement by grid electrode in Brunei Darussalam. Int. J. Energ. Technol. Policy, 8(2): 196-206.
CrossRef -
Salam, M.A., 2012b. Grounding resistance measurement using vertically driven rods near residential areas. Int. J. Pow. Energ. Convers., 4(3).
-
Salam, M.A. and H. Morsidi, 2010. Grounding resistance measurement by U-shape and square grids. Proceeding of the IEEE International Conference on TENCON 2010. Fukuoka, Japan, T1-11-5: 102-105.
-
Salam, M.A. and M. Noh, 2012. Measurement of grounding resistance with square grid and rods near substations. Proceeding of the IEEE Electrical Power and Energy Conference (EPEC, 2012). London, Ontario, pp: 134-138.
CrossRef -
Samantaray, S.R., B.K. Panigrahi and P.K. Dash, 2008. High impedance fault detection in power distribution networks using time-frequency transform and probabilistic neural network. IET Gener. Transm. Dis., 2(2): 261-270.
CrossRef -
Senger, E.C., W. Kaiser, J.C. Santos and P.M.S. Burt, 2000. Broken conductors protection system using carrier communication. IEEE T. Power Deliver., 15(2): 525-530.
CrossRef -
Sultan, A.F. and G.W. Swift, 1994. Detecting arcing downed wires using fault current flicker and half cycle asymmetry. IEEE T. Power Deliver., 9(1).
Competing interests
The authors have no competing interests.
Open Access Policy
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Copyright
The authors have no competing interests.
|
|
![](http://www.maxwellsci.com/images/RJASET-maxw.jpg) |
ISSN (Online): 2040-7467
ISSN (Print): 2040-7459 |
![Submit Manuscript](../images/sub.jpg) |
Information |
|
|
|
Sales & Services |
|
|
|