ENWL007 - Reliable, Low-Cost Earth Fault Detection for Radial Overhead Line Systems
ENWL007 - Reliable, Low-Cost Earth Fault Detection for Radial Overhead Line Systems
Rural distribution networks consist mainly of long overhead lines, controlled via one or more circuit breakers and manually operated line switches, and typically serve small numbers of customers. These networks often represent an operational challenge to network operators, owing to the higher-than-average incidence of faults, the large geographic regions they serve, and the reduced availability of network automation.
This project aimed to improve how network operators respond to faults after they occur, by providing fault passage information to control engineers in real-time via SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition). The project was built on existing architectures, already deployed for underground cable fault detection, using earth fault passage indicators and extending this functionality to rural overhead lines.
Timescales: October 2015 – October 2017.