An Efficient PMU-Based Fault-Location Technique for Multiterminal Transmission Lines

This paper presents a new fault-location technique for multiterminal transmission lines using the phasor measurement unit (PMU). A two-stage fault-location model is proposed, along with defining nodal current unbalance, a fault-location index. The first stage is the fault-line selector stage, which uses the nonzero elements of nodal current unbalance to determine the fault line. The second stage is used to identify the exact fault distance. The computational burden of the proposed technique is very low because it provides an analytical solution and avoids iterative computations. The performance of this technique is thoroughly evaluated under various fault conditions. Very promising simulation results verify the accuracy and robustness of the proposed technique for multiterminal transmission lines.