Fault location algorithm for radial distribution systems capable of handling insufficient and inaccurate field data

A fault location algorithm for radial distribution systems is proposed in this paper. The probability model of data error is developed and the standard deviation of the error is selected as one of the inputs to the fault location algorithm. Data processing technology is introduced to evaluate data condition and detect bad data before fault location calculation is obtained. The contribution of inaccurate field-recorded data is recognized in the stage of faulted node selection. Performance of the proposed algorithm is tested and compared with a similar algorithm under imperfect data condition, and the result shows that the proposed algorithm is more reliable when field-recorded data is insufficient or inaccurate.