Fault location in active distribution networks by means of the continuous wavelet analysis of fault-originated high frequency transients

The first aim of the paper is the characterization of fault-originated transients in power distribution networks as a function of the fault location and of the measurement point. Both fault location and of the measurement point are indeed correlated to the position of the faulted branch and of the fault location through the paths covered by travelling waves originated by the fault event. The second aim of the paper is the identification of these paths, which is of importance for the development of fast and reliable fault location procedure. To this aim, the paper illustrates an algorithm, based on the continuous wavelet analysis of fault-originated transients, that allows for a successful identification of the continuous frequency spectrum of fault transients. The knowledge of that spectrum is then used to identify characteristic frequencies directly correlated to the previously mentioned paths and, therefore, to the fault location. The paper also presents the structure of a first prototype of fault locator, which implements the proposed procedure. Finally, experimental tests aimed at verifying the performances of that prototype are presented and the results discussed.