POWER SYSTEM FAULT DETECTION
Moving standard deviation assisted two-terminal traveling wave based fault location estimation technique for transmission system incorporated with UPFC
Modern power systems are increasingly complex and vulnerable to disturbances, with transmission line faults being the most frequent and disruptive. Accurate fault location estimation (FLE) is essential to ensure fast system restoration and reliable operation, particularly when flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) devices such as the Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC) are present. This paper proposes a Moving Standard Deviation (MSD) assisted two-terminal traveling wave (TW) based FLE technique for UPFC-compensated transmission lines. In the proposed approach, terminal voltage signals are transformed into aerial mode signals using Clarke's transformation, and MSD is applied to identify peak values (PMSDs). These peaks provide estimated times of arrival waves (ETAWs), which are used to compute the fault location. The method is validated on a 500 kV three-machine system with a 100 MVA UPFC under diverse scenarios, including varying fault distances, types, resistances, inception angles, close-in and far-bus faults, UPFC operating modes, sampling frequencies, and noisy environments. Results confirm that the proposed method consistently achieves high accuracy, with per-centage errors maintained below 1% even at low sampling rates (60 Hz) and under severe noise (5 dB SNR). The technique is computationally simple, robust against UPFC influences, and offers practical applicability for modern power systems.
Why this matters for your enterprise
The proposed MSD-ETAW method consistently maintains ≤ 0.27% error across diverse fault scenarios and operating conditions for UPFC-compensated systems.
0.27%
Mean Fault Location Error (across diverse scenarios)
0.27%
Mean Error
0.48%
Max Error
0.05s
Computation Time
5 dB
SNR Robustness
60 Hz
Sampling Rate
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Modern power systems face increasing complexity and vulnerability to disturbances, with transmission line faults (TLFs) being the most frequent and disruptive events. Accurate and rapid fault location estimation (FLE) is critical for system restoration and stability. The presence of Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) devices like UPFC further complicates FLE by altering the steady-state and transient characteristics of measured signals, degrading the performance of traditional protection systems.
Existing methods often suffer from limitations such as reliance on high sampling rates, sensitivity to noise and parameter variations, complex mathematical formulations, or the need for extensive training datasets.
This paper proposes a Moving Standard Deviation (MSD) assisted two-terminal traveling wave (TW) based FLE technique designed specifically for UPFC-compensated transmission lines. The methodology involves:
- Transforming terminal voltage signals into aerial mode signals using Clarke's transformation.
- Applying MSD to identify peak values (PMSDs), which indicate the arrival of traveling waves.
- Using the estimated times of arrival waves (ETAWs) to compute the precise fault location.
The method is computationally simple, requires only terminal voltage measurements, and is robust against UPFC influences, varying fault distances, types, resistances, inception angles, sampling frequencies, and noisy environments.
Enterprise Process Flow
Read system data (voltage signals, fault inception time)
→
Up-sample signals to 600 kHz & Apply Clarke's transformation for aerial mode signal
→
Apply Moving Standard Deviation (MSD) with window length of 5
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Obtain Peak of MSD (PMSD)
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Determine Estimated Time of Arrival Waves (ETAW) from PMSD
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Calculate estimated fault location using ETAW from both terminals
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Calculate percentage error
The proposed MSD-ETAW technique demonstrates significant impact by consistently achieving high accuracy with a mean error of ≤ 0.27%, well below the 1% industry standard. It maintains this performance even at low sampling rates (60 Hz) and under severe noise conditions (5 dB SNR), making it highly practical for real-world applications where ultra-high sampling rates or ideal signal conditions may not be available.
Its computational simplicity (execution times below 0.05s) makes it suitable for real-time relay and PMU-integrated protection systems, ensuring rapid fault detection and location. This contributes to enhanced grid stability, faster system restoration, and improved reliability for modern power systems incorporating advanced FACTS devices.
| Method | Mean % Error | Max % Error | Avg. Computation Time (s) | SNR Robustness (Error at 5 dB) | Complexity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DWT-TW | 0.78 | 1.12 | 0.92 | 1.46 | High |
| HHT/EMD | 0.65 | 0.94 | 1.34 | 1.21 | High |
| ANN-FLE | 0.54 | 0.91 | 0.38 | 0.98 | Medium |
| Proposed MSD-ETAW | 0.27 | 0.48 | 0.05 | 0.49 | Low |
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