Fault location in active distribution networks using non-synchronized measurements

Fault location is a necessity to realize the self-healing concept of modern distribution networks. This paper presents a novel fault location method for distribution networks with distributed generation (DG) using measurements recorded at the main substation and at the DG terminals. The proposed method is based on an iterative load flow algorithm, which considers the synchronization angle as an unknown variable to be estimated. Therefore, it obviates the need of synchronized measurements. A new fault location equation is also proposed which is valid for all different fault types, hence the fault type information is not required. The developed method can be simply implemented by minor modifications in any distribution load flow algorithm and it is applicable to different distribution network configurations. The accuracy of the method is verified by simulation studies on a practical 98-node test feeder with several DG units.