Arcing faults detection on power lines from the voltage and current signals

To avoid automatic reclosing on permanent faults, a new digital algorithm for arcing faults detection has been developed. Some important features of a long arc in the air are investigated and used as a base in the algorithm design. The fact that the nonlinear arc behavior influences other voltages and currents distorting them, offered an opportunity to detect the arc by measuring and processing the line terminal voltage and current. A series of simulation studies have shown that the algorithm can be used as an effective tool for arcing faults detection.