Fault Location in Smart Distribution Power Systems

• Grant number: 11/19568-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2012
• End date: February 29, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Electrical Engineering - Power Systems
• Principal Investigator: Madson Cortes de Almeida
• Grantee: Paulo Anderson Holanda Cavalcante
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de Computação (FEEC). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 10/01690-2 - Technological development for protection, analysis, supervision and automation of electrical power systems of the future, AP.TEM

Abstract

Among the factors that deteriorate the quality of electricity delivered to consumers, interruptions in supply due to the occurrence of faults in the distribution system are considered critical. These faults cause permanent and temporary disruptions, which result in high operating costs of the utilities. The use of fault locations methodologies in power systems allows quicker restoration of supply. In recent years, the methods for faults location on transmission lines reached a quite acceptable level. However, the application of these methods to the distribution network does not lead to fully satisfactory results. The main impediments to this application are: (a) the radial topology of distribution networks containing laterals, (b) reconfigurations of the distribution networks topology, (c) the presence of distributed generators, (d) inaccuracies in load forecasting, (e) sections of a network containing conductors of different gauges. This project aims to develop methodologies for fault location in distribution power systems using sparse measurements and impedance relays. The first investigation path is based on state estimation techniques combined with distance relays and the second path is based on identification systems techniques with sparse voltage and/or current measurements.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

CAVALCANTE, Paulo Anderson Holanda. Fault location approaches for modern power distribution systems. 2016. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de Computação Campinas, SP.