High Impedance Fault Detection in Power Distribution Networks with Use of Current Harmonic-Based Algorithm

Indonesian Journal of Electrical Engineering and Informatics (IJEEI)
Vol. 3, No. 4, December 2015, pp. 216~223
DOI: 10.11591/ijeei.v3i4.185  216
Received August 2, 2015; Revised October 27, 2015; Accepted November 14, 2015
High Impedance Fault Detection in Power Distribution
Networks with Use of Current Harmonic
Based Algorithm
Esmaeil Delroba, Jamal Beiza
Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Islamic Azad University, Shabestar Branch,
Shabestar, Iran
email: Esml.delroba@gmail.com, jamal.beiza@gmail.com
Abstract
In very distribution system, physical contact between conductors of a phase and substances
around them like trees, walls of the buildings and surfaces below them, always in possible. These
conditions known as High Impedance Faults (HIFs), can lead to death due to electricity congestion,
burning or ignition via arc or heat of the substances. On the other hand, the whole energy produced by the
power company doesn’t achieve by the arbitrary loads and a part of them is lost that this loss is harmful for
the power supply companies. Current relaying in distribution systems is only capable of detecting short
circuit conditions leads to flowing significant amount of generated electric power to the earth without
achieving by the load. It is very difficult to detect HIFs by protection equipments. Because occurrence of
them just leads to slight increase in the amount of load current. So it can be considered as a usual
increase in the value of load current incorrectly. However various solutions for detecting high impedance
faults have been proposed. Most of these approaches are complicated or difficult implementation. In this
paper, a novel approach for detecting high impedance faults based on harmonic analysis of current in
distribution systems has been presented. Various simulations in PSCAD environment have validated that
proposed approach in simple in implementation and have great accuracy.
Keywords: high impedance faults, distribution networks, current harmonic analysis
1. Introduction
High impedance fault is defined as an electric connection between an energized
conductor and as external dielectric substance [1]. Dielectric substances, regarding their nature,
have a great resistance against the current and only a limited value of current can cross from
them. So such a fault is not considered as an unusual situation for protection equipments. A
current with low amplitude flows from energized conductor to the earth, ignoring how the
connection has been established. This current flows to the earth via the connected substances
which have high potential now. This high potential can leads to human damages [3].
Usual types of HIF occur when the conductors of the distribution system impact with the
foliage, concrete walls and earth surface. These cases subjected to undesirable connections
are usually around the conductors of distribution system lines. Such a distribution system that its
conductors are prone to connect with branches of trees has been shown in Figure 1.

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High Impedance Fault Detection in Power Distribution Networks with .... (Esmaeil Delroba)
217
Figure 1. Possibility for connection between conductors and branches of a tree
As the main property of HIF is its difficult detection, unlike the other faults that leads to
current with very high amplitude, the fault current in HIF is very low. So the usual protection
cannot detect this type of fault. If HIF detection in unsuccessful, it can incur human damages or
leads to firing [22]. In recent years, many researchers represented various techniques in HIF
detection. These techniques generally consist of: low frequency components of energy method
[11], neural network method [13], kalman filtering method [14], low other harmonics ratio of
current method [16], fault current flicher and half-cycle asymmetry method [17] and fractal
analysis techniques [18]. In most above approaches signals generated by arc have been used
to HIF detection. Also Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) method has been used in [10] that is
an appropriate tool in analysis of transient phenomenous.
Most of the proposed approaches don’t have enough accuracy on their implementation
is very complicated. In this paper a new approach has been represented to detect HIF based on
harmonic analysis of current in distribution systems. Various simulations in PSCAD environment
validate that this approach has a great accuracy for HIF detecting in addition of its simplicity and
simple implementation.
2. Dynamic Model of HIF Arc
The HIF arc used in this paper is based on a general model used in [23]. In this model
that is based on the thermal equations, following equation is used to determine the variable
conductance of the arc:
1
( )
dg
G g
dt 
  (1)
Where g is the time varying arc conductance, arcG i V is arc stationary conductance, i is
the absolute arc current, Varc is constant value of the arc voltage and  is arc time constant.
The parameters of the above equation are determined so that their results are validated
by experimental results. The characteristic in [23] has been used for calculating these
parameters. The following equation is used for calculating the  value:
Bg
Ae  (2)
Where A and B are constants that have different values in two positive and negative half cycle
of fault voltage and current and are computable by the experimental results. Calculated values
of positive half cycle in (N. Elkalashy, M. Lehtonen, H. Darwish) are:

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IJEEI Vol. 3, No. 4, December 2015 : 216 – 223
218
Varc = 2100 V , A= *10E-2 , B= 85970.3
The dynamic model of HIF arc has been shown as a general block diagram in Figure 2.
3. Under Study Distribution System
Figure 3 is a signal line diagram of a 20 kv unearthed distribution system simulated in
PSCAD. The line frequency dependent model in PSCAD in intentionally selected to account for
unsymmetrical faults. When the system and the fault modeling are combined in one
arrangement, the network behavior during this fault can be investigated. In this study, the neural
of the main transformer is isolated consistent with an unearthed system. Although this system is
not intentionally connected to the earth, it is grounded by the natural phase to ground
capacitances. Therefore, the fault phase current is very low allowing a high continuity of service.
4. Proposed Approach for HIF Detection
A HIF has been created in the middle of line L4 in Figure 3. The measurement devices
have been set at the beginning of the line and HIF starts at t=50 ms. The voltage and current
waveforms in the fault location have been shown in Figure 4.
Figure 2. Dynamic model of HIF arc
This figure illustrates the HIF characteristic. Voltage waveform doesn’t have any
significant change. But the current waveform is a periodic waveform is a periodic waveform as
seen and it’s like sinusoidal waveform, but in very zero crossing, arc is extinguished and starts
again.

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Figure 3. Distribution system used in PSCAD
It should be noted that available voltage and current are the voltage and current
detected by the measurement devices at the beginning of the line, not the same voltage and
current of the fault location typically. Hence voltage and current waveforms at the beginning of
the L4 when the HIF is occurred in the middle of line L4 at t=50 ms have been shown in
Figure 5.
It is evident from these waveforms that note of them have any significant change before
and after the fault. Therefore, these waveforms are not suitable for detecting this type of faults.
As the voltage waveform in HIF doesn’t have any significant change, the current waveform
should be used in HIF detection.
Figure 4. The voltage and current waveforms in the fault location

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Figure 5. The voltage and current waveforms at the beginning of the line L4
So, the waveform of the current in is used ignoring in which phase the fault is occurred:
n a b ci i i i   (3)
Where in is residual current and ia, ib and ic are the phase currents at beginning of the line. The
waveform of in in the case that HIF is occurred in the middle of L4 has been shown in Figure 6.
It’s evident from Figure 6 that in this case, in has the same behavior as HIF current in the fault
location. Although different approaches based on harmonic analysis of the current for HIF
detection have been proposed, but most of them have used only even or odd harmonics.
In this paper a new criterion based on joint using of even and odd harmonics has been
proposed:
1 3
2 4
H H
DF
H H



(4)
Where H1, H2, H3 and H4 are the first, second, third and fourth harmonics of in respectively and
DF is the detection factor. Figure 7 shows DF corresponding to the waveform of current in in the
Figure 6. As specified on the Fig.7 if the DF exceeds of value 2, it demonstrates that HIF has
been occurred. This threshold is achieved by various simulation.
Figure 6. The waveform of in at the beginning of the line L4

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Figure 7. DF criteria corresponding to the waveform of current in in the Figure 6
5. HIF Detection Algorithm
In proposed algorithm for HIF detection, the current of each three phase is detected at
the beginning of under study line. Then, residual current (in) is calculated. In next step,
harmonics of current in is extracted by FFT technique for other method. Then, index DF is
calculated and if DF exceeds of threshold 2, it illustrates that HIF is occurred. The flowchart of
proposed approach as been shown in Figure 8.
High Impedance Fault
DF>2
Extracting the Harmonics
of in
Calculate in within
data window
‫آشکارسازھا‬ ‫و‬ ‫حسگرھا‬Sensors
Distribution
Systems
Yes
No
Figure 8. Flowchart of proposed approach for HIF detection
6. Simulation Results
In this selection several different cases has been considered to realize whether the new
approach has the ability to detect HIF from similar situations or not. For this reason, 6 different
situations are considered as below:
a) Capacitor switching (out)
b) Capacitor switching (in)
c) Load switching (HV)
d) No load line switching
e) Full load trans. Switching
f) High Impedance Fault

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Each of this situations has been assumed at the end of line L4. The waveform of HIF
current with the DF index for these 6 different situations has been shown in Figure 9. According
to the Figure 9, DF exceeds of given threshold, just when the HIF is occurred and it means that
this index has an acceptable behavior in comparison with the other similar situations. This
approach has a special simplicity in addition of high accuracy that simplifies its implementation
and hence it can be under the attention of distribution system operators.
Figure 9, The waveform of HIF current with the DF index for 6 different situations:
a) Capacitor switching (out) b) Capacitor switching (in) c) Load switching (HV) d) No load line
switching e) Full load trans. Switching f) High Impedance Fault
7. Conclusion
As the main property of HIF is its difficult detection, unlike the other faults that leads to
current in HIF is very low. So the usual protection systems like the over current protection
cannot detect this type of fault. If HIF detection is unsuccessful, it can incur human damages or
leads to firing. In this paper a new approach has been represented to detect HIF based on
harmonic analysis of current in distribution systems. Various simulations in PSCAD environment
validate that this approach has a great accuracy for HIF detecting in addition of its approach can
lead to detecting this type of faults faster and more accurately with increasing in system
reliability.

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References
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[4] B. DON Russell, RP. Chinchali. A digital signal processing algorithm for detecting arcing faults on
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[9] TM. Lai, LA. Snider, E. LO. Wavelet transform based relay algorithm for the detection of stochastic
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