Fault Location Algorithm Based on Characteristic- Harmonic Measured Impedance for HVdc Grounding Electrode Lines

Abstract

It is still a significant challenge to accurately locate faults of grounding electrode lines in high-voltage direct current (HVdc) transmission systems, especially high resistance faults and remote faults. In this article, a novel fault location approach based on characteristic-harmonic measured impedance (CHMI) is proposed. This method works well under high resistance faults and remote faults. Considering that there are abundant and steady characteristic harmonics in electrical signals of grounding electrode lines, the CHMI is defined first according to the equivalent circuit of the grounding electrode system. Then, the CHMIs of the two grounding electrode lines under faults are analytically derived. On the basis of that, the fault branch is identified by the amplitude ratio of the two CHMIs. Furthermore, since both of the CHMIs of the two lines are relevant to fault distance and fault resistance, the precise fault distance is obtained by solving two fault location functions simultaneously and eliminating fault resistance. The proposed algorithm is finally validated through numerous simulations covering various fault scenarios carried out in PSCAD/EMTDC.