Moazami “review of fault location methods for distribution power system

Abstract: For the pas t fifty y e a rs, electric power sys tems have rapidly grown. This has resulted in a large increase of the number of lines in op e ra t io n a n d their total length. These lines experience faults which are caused by s torms, lightning, snow, freezing rain, in s u la t io n breakdown and short circuits caused by birds and other external objects. In mos t cases, electrical fault s manifes t in me chanical damage, which mus t be repaired before returning the line to service. The res tora t io n c a n be expedited if the location of the fault is either known or can be es timated with reasona ble accuracy. Speedy a n d precise fault location plays an important role in accelerating sys tem res toration, reducing outage time and s ignificantly improving sys tem reliabilit y. T h is p aper provides a comprehens ive review of the conceptual aspects as well as recent algorithmic d e v e lo p me n t s for fault location on dis tribution sys tem. Several fundamentally different approaches are discussed in the paper together with the factors affecting the assumptions of the underlying concepts and the various criteria used in the different approaches are reviewed