EP1924861A2 - Detection et confirmation d'une defaillance d'arc au moyen d'analyses de tension et de courant - Google Patents

Detection et confirmation d'une defaillance d'arc au moyen d'analyses de tension et de courant

Info

Publication number
EP1924861A2
EP1924861A2 EP06803684A EP06803684A EP1924861A2 EP 1924861 A2 EP1924861 A2 EP 1924861A2 EP 06803684 A EP06803684 A EP 06803684A EP 06803684 A EP06803684 A EP 06803684A EP 1924861 A2 EP1924861 A2 EP 1924861A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
arc fault
phase plane
plane plot
detecting
plot
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP06803684A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Vijay V. Deshpande
Prashant K. Prabhu
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Honeywell International Inc
Original Assignee
Honeywell International Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from US11/227,578 external-priority patent/US7460346B2/en
Application filed by Honeywell International Inc filed Critical Honeywell International Inc
Publication of EP1924861A2 publication Critical patent/EP1924861A2/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02H—EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS
    • H02H1/00—Details of emergency protective circuit arrangements
    • H02H1/0007—Details of emergency protective circuit arrangements concerning the detecting means
    • H02H1/0015—Using arc detectors
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01R—MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
    • G01R31/00—Arrangements for testing electric properties; Arrangements for locating electric faults; Arrangements for electrical testing characterised by what is being tested not provided for elsewhere
    • G01R31/12—Testing dielectric strength or breakdown voltage ; Testing or monitoring effectiveness or level of insulation, e.g. of a cable or of an apparatus, for example using partial discharge measurements; Electrostatic testing
    • G01R31/1227—Testing dielectric strength or breakdown voltage ; Testing or monitoring effectiveness or level of insulation, e.g. of a cable or of an apparatus, for example using partial discharge measurements; Electrostatic testing of components, parts or materials
    • G01R31/1263—Testing dielectric strength or breakdown voltage ; Testing or monitoring effectiveness or level of insulation, e.g. of a cable or of an apparatus, for example using partial discharge measurements; Electrostatic testing of components, parts or materials of solid or fluid materials, e.g. insulation films, bulk material; of semiconductors or LV electronic components or parts; of cable, line or wire insulation
    • G01R31/1272—Testing dielectric strength or breakdown voltage ; Testing or monitoring effectiveness or level of insulation, e.g. of a cable or of an apparatus, for example using partial discharge measurements; Electrostatic testing of components, parts or materials of solid or fluid materials, e.g. insulation films, bulk material; of semiconductors or LV electronic components or parts; of cable, line or wire insulation of cable, line or wire insulation, e.g. using partial discharge measurements
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02H—EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS
    • H02H1/00—Details of emergency protective circuit arrangements
    • H02H1/0092—Details of emergency protective circuit arrangements concerning the data processing means, e.g. expert systems, neural networks
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02H—EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS
    • H02H3/00—Emergency protective circuit arrangements for automatic disconnection directly responsive to an undesired change from normal electric working condition with or without subsequent reconnection ; integrated protection
    • H02H3/38—Emergency protective circuit arrangements for automatic disconnection directly responsive to an undesired change from normal electric working condition with or without subsequent reconnection ; integrated protection responsive to both voltage and current; responsive to phase angle between voltage and current

Definitions

  • the invention relates generally to electrical fault detection, and more specifically to detecting arc faults using voltage and current monitoring.
  • An arc fault is one such type of electrical fault, resulting from current discharge from one conductor to another in an electrical circuit.
  • the arc fault is typically the result of some unintended change in physical configuration between conductors that allows current to either flow through a conducting medium or jump across a nonconductive medium from one conductor to another.
  • loose connections in an outlet, junction box, or light can allow a circuit wire to become free and move, coming in contact with another conductor and creating an arc fault.
  • Various connectors and contacts can also wear and deform, and salt bridges can form between conductors in salty or corrosive environments such as near saltwater.
  • Electrical codes and wiring standards seek to minimize the chances of such arc faults occurring, but they remain a significant source of damage to electrical systems and their environments. These arc faults are the root cause of a number of industrial, residential, and aircraft accidents, particularly in electrical distribution systems. It is therefore important to be able to detect arc faults in electrical systems such as power distribution systems, so that the damage done can be regulated.
  • the present invention provides in one example embodiment a method of detecting an arc fault in an electrical circuit by recording phase plane plot data of current versus voltage for at least one electrical cycle of an alternating current signal, and applying a phase plane plot arc fault monitoring algorithm to the phase plane plot data to determine whether an arc fault is present.
  • an arc fault detection algorithm and an arc fault confirmation algorithm are employed to detect and confirm the presence of series and parallel arc faults in a circuit.
  • Figure 1 shows a phase plane current v. voltage plot of one cycle of a power signal attached to a normal load, consistent with an example embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figures 2 through 4 show a phase plane current v. voltage plots of one cycle of a power signal attached to loads via conductors having arc faults, consistent with example embodiments of the present invention.
  • Figure 5 is a flowchart showing a method of detecting an arc fault, consistent with an example embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 6 is a block diagram of an arc fault detector in a power distribution network, consistent with an example embodiment of the present invention.
  • One example embodiment of a method of detecting an arc fault in an electrical circuit records phase plane plot data of current versus voltage for at least one electrical cycle of an alternating current signal, and applies a phase plane plot arc fault monitoring algorithm to the phase plane plot data to determine whether an arc fault is present. This and other example embodiments are described in greater detail herein.
  • Figures 1-4 shows a variety of current versus voltage plots tracking current versus voltage over a full cycle of an alternating current (AC) power signal in the presence of supply to ground arc faults.
  • Example applications include the standard 60Hz alternating current power signal provided to most homes and businesses, as well as 400Hz power distributed in aircraft, and other such applications.
  • the plot of Figure 1 illustrates a typical current versus voltage plot, and a variety of atypical current versus voltage plots suggesting presence of an arc fault are shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4.
  • the curve traced at Figure 1 is a flattened oval shape, but is a smooth, continuous curve, hi contrast, the curves shown at Figures 2, 3, and 4 do not end in the same place at which they start, and therefore suggest the presence of an arc fault.
  • Some example methods of arc fault detection will therefore employ other algorithms, or combinations of algorithms, to detect or confirm the presence of an arc fault.
  • the normal curve is seen to be symmetric about the origin of the plot, or about the center of the oval formed by the current versus voltage plot.
  • the center point or origin is encircled by the current v. voltage plot of Figure 1 , but is not encircled or enclosed by the arc-fault current v. voltage plots of Figures 2 or 3, and is on the curve shown in Figure 4.
  • the position of the center point or origin within the curve can also be examined, and a significant shift from the zero voltage, zero current point (the origin) to the center of the current-voltage curve can be an indication of an arc fault. Further, if the origin is not encircled by the current v. voltage plot, as is the case for Figures 2, 3, and 4, the presence of an arc fault is suggested.
  • the slope of the phase plane plot of Figure 1 varies in a regular and predictable manner, while the slope of the phase plane plots shown in Figures 2-4 show more dramatic changes in slope, as well as more variation in slope over the course of a power cycle.
  • the presence of an arc fault can therefore also be detected or confirmed in various embodiments by monitoring the slope during the course of an AC power cycle, such as by calculating the slope at sampling points and comparing the slope between successive sampling points along the phase plane plot curve.
  • the normal phase plane plot of Figure 1 shows a smooth and continuous rotation about the origin, while the plots of Figures 2-4 show reversal of direction, and lack of complete or smooth rotation about the origin.
  • the typical power signal of Figure 1 contains relatively little spectral content other than at the AC power frequency.
  • Typical AC power signals are delivered at 60Hz for residential or commercial power, and are provided at other frequencies for some applications such as 400Hz for high-performance computer systems and airplane power systems.
  • This fundamental power frequency is typically the dominant frequency observable in the power signal during normal operation, but can be accompanied by significant broadband noise in the presence of an arc fault. Examination of the spectral or frequency components of a signal over various periods of time can therefore also be used to identify or suggest the presence of an arc fault in a line.
  • a combination of methods will provide greater certainty that an arc fault is present, and will help weed out temporary glitches in power signals that occur from normal events such as current inrush into a starting motor or a charging capacitor when a switch is thrown.
  • some of these methods are applied in a detection portion of the arc-fault algorithm, and additional methods are applied in an arc fault verification portion of the algorithm.
  • a detection algorithm consists of examining a phase plane plot of the current v. voltage relationship of a power signal within a particular alternating current power cycle. If the detection algorithm determines an arc fault may be present, the current v. voltage phase plane plot over a period of multiple cycles is analyzed to determine whether an arc fault is actually present.
  • Evaluation of the phase plane plot is performed in some embodiments by sampling the current and voltage at regular intervals, such as from 40 to 100 samples per alternating current cycle.
  • the samples are stored in a memory, and are used as data points for the various arc fault detection and confirmation algorithms. These data points are also used in further embodiments to derive area, perimeter, maximum current, maximum voltage, and other parameters of an alternating current cycle to detect or confirm the presence of an arc fault.
  • the detection algorithm is able to estimate whether an arc fault is a series or parallel arc fault, and uses the detected arc fault type information in employing the arc fault confirmation algorithm.
  • a parallel arc fault confirmation process may require that confirmation be completed in a relatively short period, such as 100 milliseconds, while a series arc fault detection may be confirmed using an arc fault confirmation algorithm over a longer period such as a period of two seconds.
  • a detection algorithm employs one or more methods to detect the presence of an arc fault over a period of at least several clock samples, and further employs an arc fault confirmation algorithm comprising one or more methods to confirm the presence of an arc fault over subsequent samples. For example, in one embodiment each cycle is monitored independently for detection of an arc fault, and when an arc fault is detected a confirmation algorithm is applied to multiple subsequent cycles to confirm the presence of an arc fault before action is taken.
  • the power signal or other electrical network signal being monitored Upon detection and verification of an arc fault, the power signal or other electrical network signal being monitored will be cut off or tripped in some examples via a circuit interruption circuit or relay.
  • An example of such a method is shown in greater detail in the flowchart of Figure 5.
  • the arc fault detection system is initialized at 501, and parameters such as the number of samples per cycle of the power signal being monitored are updated or configured at 502.
  • Current and voltage data for a cycle of the power signal being monitored are recorded at 503, such as by retrieving the data from a buffer that stores monitored data.
  • the method returns to 502 to update parameters for the next power cycles.
  • the number of samples needed per cycle may be significantly fewer than will be recorded if some evidence of an arc fault is detected or if a varying load is present. If the current samples are not all approximately zero at 504, the phase plane plot similar to those of Figures 1-4 is produced at 505. A detection algorithm is then applied to the phase plane plot at 506, such as by employing at least one of the phase plane plot analysis methods described in conjunction with the discussion of Figures 1-4. If no arc fault is detected at 507, the method returns to 502 and repeats. If evidence of an arc fault is found, the method proceeds to 508, and a confirmation algorithm further analyzes the phase plane plot data to determine whether the current v.
  • the confirmation algorithm comprises further application of the phase plane plot evaluation methods discussed previously in conjunction with Figures 1-4, such as evaluation of arc fault characteristics in phase plane plots over a number of successive cycles of ac power. If arc fault confirmation requires more data, the method proceeds from 509 to 502, and in some embodiments increases the number of samples taken in the next cycle at 502. If further data is not needed and the arc fault is confirmed at 510, the circuit is tripped at 511, or is cut off from being fed power or an electrical signal to protect the equipment and the environment from the arc fault.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Artificial Intelligence (AREA)
  • Evolutionary Computation (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Testing Of Short-Circuits, Discontinuities, Leakage, Or Incorrect Line Connections (AREA)
  • Testing Electric Properties And Detecting Electric Faults (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne la détection d'une défaillance d'arc dans un circuit électrique par enregistrement des données d'une courbe du plan de phase du courant par rapport à la tension pour au moins un cycle électrique d'un signal de courant alternatif et par application d'un algorithme de surveillance de défaillance d'arc de la courbe du plan de phase, de manière à déterminer si une défaillance d'arc est présente. Un algorithme de détection de défaillance d'arc et un algorithme de confirmation de défaillance d'arc sont mis en oeuvre pour détecter et confirmer la présence de défaillance d'arc en série et parallèle dans un circuit.
EP06803684A 2005-09-15 2006-09-15 Detection et confirmation d'une defaillance d'arc au moyen d'analyses de tension et de courant Withdrawn EP1924861A2 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US11/227,578 US7460346B2 (en) 2005-03-24 2005-09-15 Arc fault detection and confirmation using voltage and current analysis
PCT/US2006/036043 WO2007035488A2 (fr) 2005-09-15 2006-09-15 Detection et confirmation d'une defaillance d'arc au moyen d'analyses de tension et de courant

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1924861A2 true EP1924861A2 (fr) 2008-05-28

Family

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP06803684A Withdrawn EP1924861A2 (fr) 2005-09-15 2006-09-15 Detection et confirmation d'une defaillance d'arc au moyen d'analyses de tension et de courant

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1924861A2 (fr)
WO (1) WO2007035488A2 (fr)

Families Citing this family (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7463465B2 (en) 2006-12-28 2008-12-09 General Electric Company Series arc fault current interrupters and methods
US8054591B2 (en) 2008-07-24 2011-11-08 General Electric Company Arc detection using discrete wavelet transforms
US8159793B2 (en) 2008-12-22 2012-04-17 General Electric Company Arc detection using detailed and approximate coefficients from discrete wavelet transforms
US8170816B2 (en) 2008-12-29 2012-05-01 General Electric Company Parallel arc detection using discrete wavelet transforms
US10132852B2 (en) 2014-12-30 2018-11-20 General Electric Company Method and apparatus for active load impedance monitoring
CN113376473A (zh) * 2021-04-26 2021-09-10 国网天津市电力公司城南供电分公司 一种基于支持向量机和图像识别的故障电弧检测方法

Family Cites Families (7)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CH668487A5 (de) * 1985-05-21 1988-12-30 Korona Messtechnik Gossau Kontrollvorrichtung zur elektronischen detektion von energieverluste verursachenden fehlstellen bei wechselstrom-freileitungen.
JPS62236323A (ja) * 1986-04-07 1987-10-16 三菱電機株式会社 デジタル保護継電装置
JP3149272B2 (ja) * 1991-12-10 2001-03-26 幸子 岡崎 大気圧グロー放電プラズマのモニター方法
JP2789066B2 (ja) * 1992-03-03 1998-08-20 三菱電線工業株式会社 電力ケーブルの絶縁劣化診断法
JPH11142466A (ja) * 1997-11-05 1999-05-28 Chugoku Electric Power Co Inc:The 配電線の事故原因推定方法及び装置
AU3593099A (en) * 1998-05-15 1999-12-06 Korona Messtechnik Ag Method for testing overhead power lines, measuring device and use of same
US7460346B2 (en) * 2005-03-24 2008-12-02 Honeywell International Inc. Arc fault detection and confirmation using voltage and current analysis

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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Title
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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2007035488A3 (fr) 2007-05-18
WO2007035488A2 (fr) 2007-03-29

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