A New High-Impedance-Fault Detection Method to Prevent Power-Line-Induced Wildfires

Maximus Ren, Murali Baggu

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaper

Abstract

High Impedance Faults (HIFs) occur when energized power lines come into contact with high impedance ground surfaces, such as tree branches and grassland. HIFs have the potential to cause arcing, leading to vegetation ignition and the initiation of wildfires. The challenge in detecting HIFs comes from the high impedance of the partially conductive materials in contact with the power lines. They create a fault current of low magnitude and traditional protective devices struggle to detect such faults. This paper proposes a novel HIF detection algorithm based upon the analyzed arcing signatures associated with HIFs. The algorithm is evaluated using the Australian Public Bushfire Safety Program (PBSP) dataset. For comparative analysis, a state-of-the-art commercial HIF detection product is also evaluated using the same dataset. The proposed algorithm demonstrates higher detection accuracy over the commercial products with fewer false flags and undetected faults.
Original languageAmerican English
Number of pages6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024
Event2024 IEEE Power and Energy Conference at Illinois (PECI) - Urbana, Illinois
Duration: 19 Apr 202419 Apr 2024

Conference

Conference2024 IEEE Power and Energy Conference at Illinois (PECI)
CityUrbana, Illinois
Period19/04/2419/04/24

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/CP-5C00-90204

Keywords

  • grasslands
  • ignition
  • impedance
  • safety
  • surface impedance
  • vegetation
  • wildfires

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