Title: Characteristics and Classification of High Current Fault Arcs on Distribution Systems
Abstract: When a fault occurs on transmission or distribution systems due to lightning or overvoltage, there is often an arc discharge at the fault point. The arc discharge, which is caused by a fault current, has a high current, high temperature, strong light emission etc., so it sometimes causes heavy damages to the electric power equipment. The arc discharge is influenced by the conditions around the arcs: gas, insulation materials, gap length, weather etc. And the arc voltage along the arc column indicates the characteristics of the arc. If the voltage waveforms of the arcs caused by the fault on transmission or distribution systems are classified, it is possible to find the location and the equipment where the fault occured. This time, the arc voltage data in 6kV class XLPE cables and 6kV class overhead lines were analyzed and an artificial neural network method is applied to classify the arc voltage waveforms. The results obtained from the six artificial neural networks developed show that the artificial neural network method is effective for classification of arc voltage waveforms if adequate input parameters are selected.