Arcing High Impedance Fault Detection Using Real Coded Genetic Algorithm

Safety and reliability are two of the most important aspects of electric power supply systems. Sensitivity and robustness to detect and isolate faults can influence the safety and reliability of such systems. Overcurrent relays are generally used to protect the high voltage feeders in distribution systems. Downed conductors, tree branches touching conductors, and failing insulators often cause high-impedance faults in overhead distribution systems. The levels of currents of these faults are often much smaller than detection thresholds of traditional ground fault detection devices, thus reliable detection of these high impedance faults is a real challenge. With modern signal processing techniques, special hardware and software can be used to significantly improve the reliability of detection of certain types of faults. This paper presents a new method for detecting High Impedance Faults (HIF) in distribution systems using real coded genetic algorithm (RCGA) to analyse the harmonics and phase angles of the fault current signals. The method is used to discriminate HIFs by identifying specific events that happen when a HIF occurs.