Fault classification and location in transmission lines using traveling waves modal components and continuous wavelet transform (CWT)

Abstract

Accurate fault classification and localization are the bases of protection for transmission systems. This paper presents a new method for classifying and showing location of faults by travelling waves and modal analysis. In the proposed method, characteristics of different faults are investigated using Clarke transformation and initial current traveling wave; then, appropriate indices are introduced to identify different types of faults. Continuous wavelet transform (CWT) is employed to extract information of current and voltage travelling waves. Fault location and classification algorithm is being designed according to wavelet transform coefficients relating to current and voltage modal components. The performance of the proposed method is tested for different fault conditions (different fault distance, different fault resistances, and different fault inception angles) by using PSCAD and MATLAB with satisfactory results.