Arc fault location: A nonlinear time varying fault model and frequency domain parameter estimation approach

•Frequency domain formulation for nonlinear arcing fault location is presented.•A nonlinear arc fault model is proposed and presented.•Overdetermined linear system solution provides fault location estimate.•Simulated and real data test cases are presented.•Comparative tests with the state-of-the-art show an improvement in fault location.

In this paper a frequency domain formulation for nonlinear arcing fault location is presented. The proposed fault location formulation uses as input data first cycles after the fault inception voltages and currents. The formulation is based on circuit analysis and a parameter estimation method. To consider the main characteristics of nonlinear arcing faults, a time varying resistance embedded in a nonlinear model is proposed and used. The formulation is developed for the case of the most frequent single line-to-ground faults using phase components. The effects of fault inception angle, time-varying series resistance, source impedance, load flow, sampling frequency and others factors are investigated and analyzed. This new approach was successfully tested through computer simulation and real data obtained from a Southern Brazilian Energy Utility. The proposed method was developed as dedicated software and is currently used by CEEE-GT.