Research Article
Application of Composite Method for Determining Fault
Location on Electrical Power Distribution Lines
Chinweike Okoli ,
1
Boniface Anyaka,
1
Chidiogo Nwokedi,
2
and Victor Anya
1
1
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
2
Department of Computer Science, Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra, Nigeria
CorrespondenceshouldbeaddressedtoChinweikeOkoli;chinweike.okoli@unn.edu.ng
Received 9 June 2020; Accepted 6 August 2020; Published 1 September 2020
AcademicEditor:AntonioJ.MarquesCardoso
Copyright © 2020 Chinweike Okoli et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
Distributionlineisoneofthemostimportantcomponentsofthedistributionsystem.Troubleshootingfaultsontheselinesare
oftenatedioustaskrequiringservicevehiclesandpersonnelmovingfromoneplacetoanotherinordertolocatethefaultandfix
theproblem.estudy,therefore,isonhowacompositefaultlocationtechniquecanbeappliedtopredictthelocationoffaultson
the distribution lines. e calculations for the estimation of the fault location are performed using one terminal voltage and
currentdataofthedistributionline.Acompositemethodthatcombinestheimpedance-basedmethodandthefuzzyinference
systemmethodisusedinthefaultlocationalgorithm.epresentedalgorithmhasbeenextensivelytestedusingtheMATLAB-
Simulinkmodelofa33KV40-kilometerdistributionline.esimulationresultdemonstratesgoodaccuracyandrobustnessof
the algorithm.
1.Introduction
In developing countries, inadequate provision of social
amenities abound which undoubtedly include poor elec-
tricity supply. Distribution of electricity in these areas has
been haunted by continuous malfunctions of electrical
equipment especially distribution lines. So far, corrective
maintenance is often done by the usual method; that is,
personnelpatrolaroundinaservicevanfromplacetoplace
in an effort to locate the fault [1]. Responding to this sit-
uationinthismannerisunarguablyinefficientasthepatrol
teamspendstimelocatingthefaultand,insomecases,may
mistaketheplacewherethefaultoccurredforanotherplace.
is has led to lengthened downtime and hence has made
power delivery unreliable. erefore, there is a need for a
timely,effective,andefficientmethodoflocatingfaults.is
paperdiscussesatechniqueinthemaintenanceofelectricity
distribution infrastructure by bringing about on-time lo-
cation of faults.
Maintenanceisdefinedin[2]asthecombinationofall
technical and administrative actions with the intention of
retaininganequipmentin(orrestoreitto)anoperatingstate
in order for it to perform its required functions. It is also
definedasanyworkundertakeninordertokeeporrestorea
facilitytoanyacceptablestandard.Asstatedin[2],thereare
two broad types of maintenance, namely, preventive
maintenanceandcorrectivemaintenance.Whilepreventive
maintenance includes condition monitoring and servicing,
aswellasplannedoutages,correctivemaintenanceinvolves
modifying faulted equipment so as to restore normal op-
eration. is paper addresses the problem of corrective
maintenance on distribution lines.
Accordingto[3],faultscanbecausedbyshort-circuits,
faulty equipment, disoperation, overload, growing vegeta-
tion,aging,etc.Basedonstatistics,linefaultshappentobe
thecommonestfaultsinpowersystems[3].Linefaultsthat
occurinpowersystemsincludesingleline-to-ground,line-
to-line, double line-to-ground, and balanced three-phase
faults [4]. Faults may be temporary (if the fault is cleared
after the circuit breaker closes back) or permanent (if the
fault is not cleared after opening and closing of the circuit
breaker)[5].Permanentfaultscanleadtolossofservicelines
Hindawi
Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Volume 2020, Article ID 2836940, 9 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/2836940