ANN-TW Analysis Based Transmission Line Fault Identification and Location with High Penetration of Inverter-Based Resources

A Power systems are undergoing a rapid change in generation mix due to the growth of Inverter-Based Resources (IBRs) such as wind and solar PV. This rapid growth creates new challenges for protection engineers. The output current of an IBR facility under short circuit conditions differs significantly from that of a conventional rotating synchronous source facility, posing protection problems. The protection schemes for the transmission line, which were designed locally at the planning stage, may operate reliably for low penetration of IBRs but in the case of high penetration, fault detection and location in the transmission line will be challenged. In this paper, a traveling wave-based protection schemes with the aid of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) as an innovative method to overcome these challenges and facilitate the widespread deployment of IBRs in transmission systems will be presented. A three-bus transmission network with voltage level of 380Kv and 94% of renewables penetration is simulated using DIgSILENT Power Factory is used in this study. The results demonstrates that fault identification is a quick and reliable way to identify a variety of faults, particularly single line to ground faults, which are the most challenging fault for the protection system.

Automated summary

Power systems are experiencing rapid changes in generation mix due to the growth of Inverter-Based Resources (IBRs) like wind and solar PV. This growth poses new challenges for protection engineers, as the output current of IBR facilities under short circuit conditions differs significantly from conventional sources. Local protection schemes for transmission lines may operate reliably for low IBR penetration but face challenges for high penetration. This paper presents a traveling wave-based protection scheme with the aid of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to overcome these challenges and facilitate widespread deployment of IBRs in transmission systems. Simulation results on a three-bus transmission network with 380Kv voltage level and 94% renewables penetration demonstrate the quick and reliable fault identification, particularly for single line to ground faults, which are the most challenging for the protection system.