Signal injection techniques for fault location in distribution networks

Over the last 50 years, fault location in transmission systems has been a subject of interest to utility engineers and researchers. Nevertheless, it has not been until the last decades that fault location in distribution networks has started to gain prominence. Traditionally, fault location techniques for distribution networks have been classified in three different groups: fundamental frequency measurements, high frequency measurements and the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Yet despite this rigid classification, a new approach has started to be developed over the last years based on the injection of a discernible signal into the distribution systems, mainly in non-effectively grounded networks. However, even when recent developments of new grounding systems reinforce the possibility of using this kind of techniques, these are not usually cited by general reviews and overviews of fault location systems in distribution networks. Accordingly, this paper aims to provide a general but clear overview on the existing techniques for fault location in distribution networks based on signal injection. Apart from describing the different options presented to date, the most important aspects that characterize them and the injected signal are briefly outlined, as well as a comparative performance analysis.

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