Arc Modeling and Kurtosis Detection of Fault with Arc in Power Distribution Networks

Abstract

In power distribution networks, there are many practical fault cases such as high impedance faults, faults and so on. Especially when the faults with electric arc persist, it is dangerous for human beings and circumstances. Nevertheless, it is difficult to classify faults due to various customer load conditions or the presence of distributed energy resources. In this paper, we propose a new mathematical arc model based on experimental event data. For implementing the arc phenomenon, wet gravel was used as a contact conductor after the fault. The experimental results validate the arc transient model. Then, the simulations were performed to verify the success of arc modeling using Kizilcay’s arc model as a comparison method. Finally, we developed a fault detector using the kurtosis detection method, and power system simulations were conducted to evaluate fault detection performance using Matlab/Simulink. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.