Fault signal filtering for improving fault section estimation

Fault diagnostic processes obtain data from circuit-breaker relay status and SCADA messages. To speed up fault diagnosis processes, a scheme of fault signal filtering (FSF) is proposed for the rapid estimation of fault regions, prior to further pinpointing of the fault. By considering circuit-breaker relay status, boundary regions are formed by joining up devices that have tripped. A search process is then initiated to locate generators in each region for deciding whether the region is `alive´ or `dead´ with faulted components. As an independent process, the proposed scheme is not meant to replace but to complement, reduce and speed up existing fault diagnosis techniques. Tests performed on a 174-bus network have established the potential of the proposed scheme for online implementation