Analysis and Comparison of Fault Location Systems in AC Power Networks

Rapid and precise location of line faults is becoming more important in modern AC power systems. Outage times because of permanent faults need to be reduced and accurate identification of the position of faults is necessary for proper power system operation. For those faults that successfully reclosed, accurate fault locating allows preventive maintenance to be undertaken to avoid occurrence of faults at the same location. Getting to the fault site fast and being able to accurately correlate results with lightning data, vegetation burnings, and other phenomena greatly assists identification of the root cause when flashovers occur, an important parameter when reporting to the regulator.