Systems and methods for determining location of a fault on an electric utility power distribution system
First Claim
1. A power distribution line fault locating system, said system comprising:
- at least one first data manipulation unit for manipulating conducted fault signal data resulting from a fault on a power distribution line and producing and communicating a first set of fault location data;
at least one second data manipulation unit for manipulating electromagnetic radiated signal data emanating from said fault on said power distribution line and producing and communicating a second set of fault location data; and
a fault location center responsive to said first and second set of fault location data produced by said at least one first and said at least one second data manipulation units for determining a location of said fault.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A power line fault locating system employing combinations of conducted electrical transient signals recorded at specific points in the power delivery network, radiated electromagnetic signals produced by the air-gap arc preceeding the fault current or by the lightning discharge causing the fault, and knowledge of the power line path associated therewith. The arrival time of conducted transient signals produced by the fault are detected with microsecond accuracy through use of a fault recording sensor (FRS). The low level electromagnetic radiation (VHF/UHF) caused by arcing associated with power line faults is detected at at least one arc detection sensor (ADS) located at some distance from the power line. The ADS senses the time of arrival of the radiated signal associated with the fault. These two sensors for detecting the conducted and radiated signals are coupled to a central power line fault locating analyzer (PLFLA) that receives and manipulates the information using appropriate algorithms and databanks containing geographical maps of electric utility power systems, to arrive at the power line fault location. In an alternative system embodiment, multiple ADS units located about a power distribution network determine the time of arrival of arcing information which is communicated to the PLFLA to determine the power line fault location. In a related system, the precise time of occurrence of a lightning discharge associated with a lightning-caused power line fault is combined with the arrival time of conducted signals from at least one FRS and communicated to a PLFLA.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A power distribution line fault locating system, said system comprising:
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at least one first data manipulation unit for manipulating conducted fault signal data resulting from a fault on a power distribution line and producing and communicating a first set of fault location data; at least one second data manipulation unit for manipulating electromagnetic radiated signal data emanating from said fault on said power distribution line and producing and communicating a second set of fault location data; and a fault location center responsive to said first and second set of fault location data produced by said at least one first and said at least one second data manipulation units for determining a location of said fault. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A power distribution line fault locating system, said system comprising:
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at least two electronic arc detection sensors having electronic circuitry responsive to low level electromagnetic radiation (VHF,UHF) emanating from arcing at a fault on a power distribution line, said electronic circuitry manipulating said electromagnetic radiation for purposes of determining and communicating a time of arrival of said radiation at each of said at least two arc detection sensors; and a power line fault locating analyzer, operative to (a) receive said communicated time of arrival of said radiation at each of said at least two arc detection sensors, (b) manipulate stored longitudinal and latitudinal information on each of said at least two arc detection sensors, and (c) further manipulate placement and path data of related individual power lines associated with said power distribution line as provided by a geographical information system for purposes of determining an exact location of said fault.
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8. A power distribution line fault locating system, said system comprising:
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at least one first data manipulation unit comprising at least one fault recording sensor unit for manipulating a conducted electrical signal produced by a fault on a power distribution line, and producing and communicating a first set of fault location data, said fault recording sensor unit being responsive to said conducted electrical signal for determining its time of arrival data, said conducted electrical signal being one of a plurality of conducted traveling wave signals that travel in opposite directions from a location of said fault; at least one second data manipulation unit for manipulating electromagnetic radiated signal data emanating from said fault on said power distribution line, and producing and communicating a second set of fault location data; and a fault location center responsive to said first and second set of fault location data produced by said at least one first and said at least one second data manipulation units for determining a location of a fault. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A power distribution line fault locating system, said system comprising:
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at least one first data manipulation unit for manipulating conducted fault signal data resulting from a fault on a power distribution line and producing and communicating a first set of fault location data; at least one second data manipulation unit for manipulating electromagnetic radiated signal data emanating from said fault on said power distribution line and producing and communicating a second set of fault location data; and a power line fault locating analyzer, operative to determine a first path length between said at least one first data manipulation unit and said fault, and a second path length between said at least one second data manipulation unit and said fault, by utilizing (a) said communicated first set of fault location data, (b) said communicated second set of fault location data, and (c) placement and path data of related individual power lines associated with said power distribution line as provided by a geographical information system for purposes of determining a location of said fault. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification