Fault location method based on the determination of the minimum fault reactance for uncertainty loaded and unbalanced power distribution systems

One of the widely recognized and most important aspects of power quality is related to power continuity. The fault location in power distribution systems is normally a not simple task, considering the complexity associated to these circuits due to several characteristics such as single end measurements, the presence of different conductors and line configurations, uncertain load distribution, presence of single phase laterals, system and load unbalances, among others. In this paper, a novel fault location method is proposed considering the above mentioned characteristics. This method is based on a iterative approach to determine the minimum fault reactance and uses the line series impedance matrix, measurements of prefault and fault voltages and currents at the power substation. The performance of the proposed algorithm is here evaluated by an application example in a power distribution system, commonly referenced in fault location papers. The tests are performed considering several fault situations and including a sensibility analysis for load variations. As result, the absolute error in distance estimation, is lower than 3.5%.