End-to-End Testing Transmission Line Protection

Schemes and Double-Ended Fault Locators

Steve Turner
Beckwith Electric Company, Inc.

ABSTRACT

When a fault (for example, lightning strike) occurs on an overhead high-voltage transmission line, high
magnitude current flows through the conductor and connected equipment to the point of the disturbance.
The heavy current can quickly damage the line conductor and connected equipment such as a
transformer bank.
Modern protective relays detect the presence of a disturbance on overhead transmission lines and send
commands to open the circuit breakers at each end before any damage occurs. Accurate fault location
helps utility personnel expedite service restoration, thereby reducing outage time. With knowledge of the
distance to the fault, the utility can quickly dispatch line crews for any necessary repair that would
otherwise require a lot of time and expense involved with patrolling the overhead line for possible
damage.
This paper explains how to test double-ended fault locators for high-voltage overhead transmission lines,
discusses fault location, and illustrates one double-ended method for locating such faults. The discussion
also includes classic problems associated with locating single-ended faults.

INTRODUCTION

Referring to Figure 1, a lightning strike hits the upper line conductor between transmission towers #1 and
#2. The voltage at the strike builds rapidly until it flashes over to ground and high magnitude current flows
on the faulted phase(s).

Lightning Strike on Overhead Transmission Line

Figure 1

Modern protective relays at Substation S (to the left of Figure 1) and Substation R (to the right of Figure
1) monitor the transmission line by measuring the local voltage and current flow at their respective
locations. Fault voltage drops and fault current increases during a fault.

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In the past, numerical line relays calculated the distance to fault using data (voltage and current)
measured at their respective locations; that is, this method is referred to as a single-ended method.
Unfortunately, this method can experience significant error when there is fault resistance (for example,
wind blows a tree into line conductor) and power is flowing through the line. There are now double-ended
methods that are far superior.
This paper explains how to test double-ended fault locators for high-voltage overhead transmission lines.
There are many similarities to testing high-speed communication assisted tripping schemes (HSCATS)
however there are some important differences which are covered here in detail. Note that double-ended
fault location is coming into vogue now and these tests can be performed in unison while testing the
HSCATS.
Figure 2 below illustrates a typical test setup on line number 2. Note that FL stands fault locator and TS
stands for test set. These tests require synchronized three-phase test sets at both ends of the line. The
distance to fault with respect to substation S is referred to as m.

One-Line Test Setup

Figure 2

These tests require short circuit studies to determine the fault voltage and current measured by each fault
locator for faults internal to the protected line. Zero-sequence mutual coupling of the parallel lines and
high fault resistance during heavy load are considered as power system parameters. These signals are
played back to the fault locators via the synchronized test sets.
The paper discusses fault location and illustrates one double-ended method. Classic problems associated
with single ended fault location are discussed as well.

FAULT LOCATION

Fault location on overhead transmission systems has been researched by the electric utility industry since
the early 1950s. Accurate fault location helps utility personnel:
Expedite service restoration
Reduce outage time
Reduce operating costs
Reduce customer complaints
Most numerical line relays use single-ended fault location algorithms. While this method is simple and
fast, the following commonly encountered factors can severely degrade accuracy:

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 High fault resistance
Zero-sequence mutual coupling
Non-homogeneous power systems
This paper presents one double-ended fault location technique for overhead transmission lines. The
method is only illustrated for the case of single phase-to-ground faults since this fault type occurs most
frequently. However, the method can also be applied equally as well for the other three fault types; that is,
three-phase, phase-to-phase, and phase-to-phase-to-ground. Single phase-to-ground faults are typically
the most rigorous for distance to fault calculations (that is, fault resistance and zero-sequence mutual
coupling).
The double-ended method is immune to the most common problems associated with fault location (that
is, remote infeed and zero-sequence mutual coupling). This algorithm requires only the negative-
sequence voltage and current from both terminals, plus the positive-sequence line impedance. This
method has been thoroughly tested using actual data recorded on a high-voltage transmission system in
the southeast.

PROBLEMS WITH EXISTING FAULT LOCATION METHODS

Fault resistance and zero-sequence mutual coupling are the two most significant sources of error for
existing single-ended methods.

Fault resistance

Existing technology uses data from only one end of the overhead transmission line to calculate the
distance to fault with respect to the local terminal.
Figure 3 below illustrates the fault voltage and current measured from the two ends of a faulted overhead
transmission line during a single phase-to-ground fault; m is the per-unit distance to fault with respect to
Substation S.

m*Z1L1 (1 - m)*Z1L1
IS IR

IS + IR

VS
RF

Single-Ended Distance-to-Fault Calculation

Figure 3

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Therefore,
mZ1L1 = total impedance of the faulted phase to the point of the fault from Station S
(1-m)Z1L1 = total impedance of the faulted phase to the point of the fault from Station R
RF = total fault resistance
VS = faulted phase voltage measured at Station S
IS = faulted phase current measured at Station S
IR = faulted phase current measured at Station R
A very simple explanation of a popular single-ended method is that the local fault voltage is divided by the
local fault current to determine the faulted phase loop impedance, Z LOOP, from the substation to the fault.
The imaginary part of ZLOOP (XF) is then calculated to ignore any fault resistance, which can be significant;
for example,
ZLOOP = VS/IS Equation 1
XF = m{ZLOOP} Equation 2
Where
m{} = Imaginary part of
The fault reactance (XF) is then divided by the total reactance of the transmission line (X L) to estimate the
per-unit distance to fault with respect to Station S.
m= XF/XL Equation 3
Equations 1 through 3 are approximations, and as such, are intended only to help the reader visualize
how to calculate the distance to fault for a single phase-to-ground fault. Use zero-sequence
compensation to measure the distance to fault in terms of positive-sequence line impedance only.

Remote Infeed

IR, the fault current flowing into the fault resistance from the opposite end of the overhead transmission
line, is referred to as remote infeed. Herein lies the main problem with the method outlined above since it
was assumed that the faulted phase current from both ends of the overhead transmission line are in-
phase. If there is load flow, this is typically not the case. As the angular difference between I S and IR
increases, so does the error.
The error occurs because the faulted phase voltage measured at Station S (V S) is dependent on the
faulted phase current flowing from Station R (IR).
The faulted phase voltage measured at Station S is derived via Kirchhoffs Voltage Law (that is, the sum
of the voltages measured around any loop equals zero).
VS = ISmZ1L1 + (IS + IR)RF Equation 4a
If there is an angular displacement between IS and IR, a reactance component is introduced due to the
voltage drop across the fault resistance when the imaginary part of the faulted phase loop impedance is
calculated.
VS/IS = mZ1L1 + I S I R RF Equation 4b
IS
VS/IS = mZ1L1 + (1 + )RF Equation 4c
= IR/IS Equation 4d
If the angle of IS is equal to the angle of IR then the imaginary part of RF is zero; otherwise the value is
non-zero and error is introduced. The amount of error increases with the value .
Equations 4a through 4d are approximations and as such are only intended to help the reader visualize
how to calculate the distance to fault for a single phase-to-ground fault.

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Zero-Sequence Mutual Coupling with another Overhead Transmission Line

When two or more overhead transmission lines share the same right-of-way there is coupling between
the lines in the zero-sequence network since these components are in-phase.
Figure 4 below illustrates a single phase-to-ground fault on Line #1. There is zero-sequence mutual
coupling between the adjacent overhead transmission lines because they share the same right-of-way
(that is, they are in the same vicinity). Therefore, the faulted phase current flowing in Line #2 (I S2) affects
the faulted phase voltage measured on Line #1 at Station S.

IS1 IR1
S R

Line 1

Line 2

IS2

Single phase-to-ground Fault on Line #1

Figure 4

If IS1 and IS2 flow in opposite directions, the faulted phase voltage measured on Line number 1 at Station
S decreases; therefore, the faulted phase loop impedance measured at Station S for Line number1 is
-
reduced (ZLOOP = V /I) and the distance-to-fault calculation is closer to Station S than the actual location of
the fault. This case is referred to as overreaching.
If IS1 and IS2 flow in the same direction, the faulted phase voltage measured on Line number 1 at Station S
increases; therefore, the faulted phase loop impedance measured at Station S for Line number 1 is
+
increased (ZLOOP = V /I) and the distance-to-fault calculation is further from Station S than the actual
location of the fault. This case is referred to as under-reaching.
The problems associated with zero-sequence mutual coupling exist because of the following:
The modern protective relay calculating the distance-to-fault does not account for the faulted
phase current flowing in the parallel overhead transmission line,
The calculation is not immune to zero-sequence quantities.
There are a few relays available today that accept an input from the adjacent overhead transmission line
so as to monitor the offending residual current and make necessary corrections. However, this technique
does not work properly when the offending overhead transmission line is out-of-service.
When the parallel overhead transmission line is out-of-service and grounded at both stations, loop current
flows in the grounded line for faults involving ground on the parallel in-service line(refer to Figure 5). The
loop current cannot be measured since the current transformers are outside of the loop flow. Therefore,
the distance-to-fault calculation on the parallel in-service line is too close at one station, and too far at the
other.

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 IR1
S R

Line 1

Line 2

IS2

Parallel Line Out-of-Service and Grounded at Both Ends

Figure 5

DOUBLE-ENDED FAULT LOCATION

This section introduces a double-ended fault location algorithm for high-voltage overhead transmission
lines that uses synchronized voltage and current measurements from both ends of the line.

Advantages

The double-ended fault location does not have any problems with fault resistance or zero-sequence
mutual coupling due to the following:
The double-ended method uses time-synchronized voltage and current measurements from both
ends of the overhead transmission line
The double-ended method uses only the negative-sequence voltage and current to calculate the fault
location.
Today time-synchronization is available and commonly applied in substation control rooms via GPS
satellite clock receivers. Both modern protective relays and digital fault recorders record the fault voltage
and current from each end of the overhead transmission line.
The voltage and current measurements must be filtered such that only the fundamental quantities
(namely, 60 Hz components in the United States) are applied for the calculations. Modern protective
relays filter the voltage and current prior to executing any protection related functions. These signals are
usually available via an event report.

Derivation

Transform voltage and current measured during fault conditions to their respective positive-, negative-,
and zero-sequence quantities. Negative-sequence quantities are present for single phase-to-ground,
phase-to-phase, and phase-to-phase-to-ground faults. Therefore, negative-sequence quantities are very
reliable.
The following two equations demonstrate how to calculate the negative-sequence voltage and current
from the three-phase voltage and current measurements.
V2 = 0.333(Va + a Vb + aVc)
2
Equation 5a
I2 = 0.333 (Ia + a Ib + aIc)
2
Equation 5b

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Where:

a = 1 120

a = 1 -120
2

Figure 6 illustrates the negative-sequence network for a faulted overhead transmission line.

- - -
Z2S V2S VF V2R Z2R
+ mZ1L + (1-m)Z1L+

I2S I2R

Negative-Sequence Network for Faulted Overhead Transmission Line

Figure 6

V2S and I2S are the negative-sequence quantities measured at Station S. V2R, I2R are the negative-
sequence quantities measured at Station R, and m is the per-unit distance to the fault with respect to
Station S. Therefore,
mZL = Total impedance of the conductor to the point of the fault from Station S
(1-m)ZL = Total impedance of the conductor to the point of the fault from Station R
VF = Fault voltage at the point of the fault
V2S = Negative-sequence voltage measured at Station S
I2S = Negative-sequence current measured at Station S
V2R = Negative-sequence voltage measured at Station R
I2R = Negative-sequence current measured at Station R
I2 = Total negative-sequence fault current (I2S + I2R)
Determine the apparent negative-sequence source impedances at Stations S and R as follows:
Z2S = -V2S/I2S Equation 6a
Z2R = -V2R/I2R Equation 6b
Derive two loop voltage equations in terms of the fault voltage:
@ Station S
-V2S + I2SmZL + VF = 0
VF = V2S - mI2SZL Equation 7
@ Station R

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 -V2R + I2R(1 m)ZL + VF = 0
VF = V2R + mI2RZL I2RZL Equation 8
Set the two equations above equal to each other and solve for m with respect to Station S.
V2S - mI2SZL = V2R + mI2RZL I2RZL
V2S - V2R + I2RZL = mI2ZL Equation 9

m(s) =
V2 S V2 R I 2 R Z L Equation 10
I 2 Z 1L

How to Test the Fault Locator

This section illustrates how to use time-synchronized test signals to verify that the double ended fault
locator works properly. The fault locating equipment must be enabled at both terminals and the
communication channel available.
Figure 7 is a simple model of a faulted transmission line. Substation S is the reference bus with respect to
the distance-to-fault (m).

S ZTransfer R

ZM
IS IR
m*ZL (1-m)*ZL
F

RF
VS VR
IS + IR

Double-Ended Transmission Line Model

Figure 7

ZL = Line Impedance
ZTransfer = Transfer Impedance
ZM = Mutual Coupling
F= Fault Location
VS = Fault Voltage at Substation S
VR = Fault Voltage at Substation R
IS = Fault Current from Substation S
IR = Fault Current from Substation R
Equation (11) calculates the per unit distance to fault with respect to Substation S:
V2 S V2 R I 2 R Z L
m= I 2 Z 1L Equation 11

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Example 1

The first example is the case of a resistive A phase-to-ground fault located 75 percent of the line (15
miles) from substation S that was simulated using Mathcad. You can also use short circuit software such
as ASPEN OneLiner or CAPE. Moderate load prior to the fault was modeled and the line is mutually
coupled to another transmission line. The fault voltage and current at each end of the line are as follows:
VAS = 53.4 -32.1 volts VAR = 55.6 -18.1 volts
VBS = 68.6 -128.5 volts VBR = 63.2 -123.0 volts
VCS = 63.9 115.2 volts VCR = 66.3 114.6 volts
The negative-sequence voltage and negative-sequence current are as follows:
V2S = 7.86 -133.8 volts V2R = 6.90 -133.6 volts
I2S = 0.58 -13.9 amps I2R = 2.82 -36.4 amps
Equation (11) yields a result of 75 percent that matches the actual fault location. This example shows that
equation (11) is immune to problems associated with fault resistance and zero-sequence mutual coupling
since it only uses negative-sequence quantities.

Example 2

This example is an actual case where an A Phase-to-ground fault occurred on a 230 kV overhead
transmission line and was captured by digital fault recorders at both ends. Conventional methods proved
futile when utility personnel tried to locate the fault. The fault turned out to be an old oak tree growing
under the line. This vegetation represented an extremely high level of fault resistance (that is, many times
greater than the impedance of the transmission line). The double-ended distance-to-fault equation
correctly calculated the distance-to-fault with an error less than 5 percent. Below are the actual
calculations for this case.
Here is the time synchronized negative-sequence quantities measured at each end of the line:
V2S = 8.454 238.6 kV V2R = 6.697 239.4 kV
I2S = 456.69 368.4 A I2R = 345.82 350.4 A
I2 = I2S + I2R = 792.82 0.7 A
Z1L = 24.899 82.7 primary
V2 S V2 R I 2 R Z1L
m=
I2 ZL
V2S V2R + I2RZ1L = 6.952 77.5 kV
I2Z1L = 19.7 83.4 kV
|m| = 0.352 per-unit
The actual line length is 35.43 miles. Therefore, the distance-to-fault with respect to Substation S was
12.5 miles. The actual distance-to-fault was 13 miles.

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Example 3

A B-Phase-to-C-Phase fault occurred on the 230 kV overhead transmission line between Substation S
and Substation R. The fault was due to a truck that caught fire under the line. The resulting smoke
created a path for electrical current to flow between B- and C-Phase conductors. The double-ended
distance-to-fault equation was applied using the negative-sequence voltage and current recorded by
instrumentation at the two ends of the line. The error was less than 2 percent. Below are the actual
calculations for this case.
V2S = 51.7 1.9 kV V2R = 37.9 1.3 kV
I2S = 11,900 96.5 A I2R = 2,470 94 A
I2 = I2S + I2R = 14,370 96 A
Z1L = 11.96 85.8 primary
|m| = 0.092 per-unit
The actual line length is 21 miles. Therefore, the distance-to-fault with respect to Substation S was 1.93
miles. The actual distance was 1.97 miles.

Zero-Sequence Overhead Transmission Line Impedance Verification

You can calculate the zero-sequence impedance of the transmission line using the synchronized zero-
sequence voltage and current measured at each end of the line using the following equation:

Equation 12

Figure 8 is the corresponding zero-sequence network for faults involving ground.

+ + +

V0F
Z0S Z0R

m*Z0L (1-m)*Z0L
- - -

S F R
I0S I0R
I0S + I0R

Zero-Sequence Network
Figure 8

DOUBLE-ENDED FAULT LOCATION for TRANSMISION LINE PROTECTION

Equation 11 can be implemented to provide high speed protection of overhead transmission lines.
Calculate terminal voltage and current phasors in real time and then pass them from end-to-end via a
digital communications channel. The double-ended fault locator is immune to many problems associated
with conventional distance based schemes such as over and under reach.

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CONCLUSIONS

This paper explains how to test double-ended fault locators for high-voltage overhead transmission lines.
There are many similarities to testing high-speed communication assisted tripping schemes (HSCATS)
however there are some important differences which are covered here in detail. Note that double-ended
fault location is coming into vogue now and these tests can be performed in unison while testing the
HSCATS.
When a disturbance (for example, lightning strike) occurs on a high-voltage overhead transmission line,
the line must be checked for any possible damage. If the distance to fault is known, line crews can be
dispatched quickly for any necessary repair. Otherwise a lot of time and expense is involved with
patrolling the overhead line for possible damage.
Modern protective relays calculate the distance to fault using data (voltage and current) measured at the
respective locations; this is referred to as a single-ended method. Error typically occurs when there is fault
resistance (for example, wind blows a tree into line conductor) and power is flowing through the line.
The double-ended method uses time-synchronized filtered data from both ends of the overhead
transmission line to determine the exact distance to the disturbance with respect to either end. The
double-ended fault location does not have any problems with fault resistance or zero-sequence mutual
coupling due to the following:
Time-synchronized voltage and current measurements are used from both ends of the overhead
transmission line.
Only the negative-sequence voltage and current is used to calculate the fault location.
Today time-synchronization is commonly available and applied in substation control rooms via
GPS satellite clock receivers. Both modern protective relays and digital fault recorders typically
record the fault voltage and current from each end of the overhead transmission line. Use this
data to calculate the distance to fault accurately.

BIOGRAPHY
Steve Turner, IEEE Senior Member, is a Senior Applications Engineer at Beckwith
Electric Company. His previous experience includes work as an application engineer
with GEC Alstom, and an application engineer in the international market for SEL,
focusing on transmission line protection applications. Turner worked for Progress
Energy, where he developed a patent for double-ended fault location on transmission
lines.
Turner has a BSEE and MSEE from Virginia Tech University. He has presented at
numerous conferences including: Georgia Tech Protective Relay Conference,
Western Protective Relay Conference, ECNE and Doble User Groups, as well as various international
conferences.

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