WO2015179908A1 - Electrical monitoring and evaluation process - Google Patents

Electrical monitoring and evaluation process Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2015179908A1
WO2015179908A1 PCT/AU2015/000329 AU2015000329W WO2015179908A1 WO 2015179908 A1 WO2015179908 A1 WO 2015179908A1 AU 2015000329 W AU2015000329 W AU 2015000329W WO 2015179908 A1 WO2015179908 A1 WO 2015179908A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
voltage
neutral line
impedance
neutral
site
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/AU2015/000329
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Ian Jackson DAVIS
Original Assignee
Landis & Gyr Pty Ltd
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 AU2014902074A external-priority patent/AU2014902074A0/en
Application filed by Landis & Gyr Pty Ltd filed Critical Landis & Gyr Pty Ltd
Priority to AU2015268091A priority Critical patent/AU2015268091B2/en
Publication of WO2015179908A1 publication Critical patent/WO2015179908A1/en
Priority to AU2019246817A priority patent/AU2019246817B2/en

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Classifications

    • 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
    • G01R31/08—Locating faults in cables, transmission lines, or networks
    • G01R31/081—Locating faults in cables, transmission lines, or networks according to type of conductors
    • G01R31/086—Locating faults in cables, transmission lines, or networks according to type of conductors in power transmission or distribution networks, i.e. with interconnected conductors
    • 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
    • H02H3/26—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 difference between voltages or between currents; responsive to phase angle between voltages or between currents
    • H02H3/32—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 difference between voltages or between currents; responsive to phase angle between voltages or between currents involving comparison of the voltage or current values at corresponding points in different conductors of a single system, e.g. of currents in go and return conductors
    • H02H3/33—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 difference between voltages or between currents; responsive to phase angle between voltages or between currents involving comparison of the voltage or current values at corresponding points in different conductors of a single system, e.g. of currents in go and return conductors using summation current transformers
    • H02H3/338—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 difference between voltages or between currents; responsive to phase angle between voltages or between currents involving comparison of the voltage or current values at corresponding points in different conductors of a single system, e.g. of currents in go and return conductors using summation current transformers also responsive to wiring error, e.g. loss of neutral, break
    • 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
    • H02H3/40—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 ratio of voltage and current
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H02—GENERATION; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER
    • H02H—EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS
    • H02H5/00—Emergency protective circuit arrangements for automatic disconnection directly responsive to an undesired change from normal non-electric working conditions with or without subsequent reconnection
    • H02H5/10—Emergency protective circuit arrangements for automatic disconnection directly responsive to an undesired change from normal non-electric working conditions with or without subsequent reconnection responsive to mechanical injury, e.g. rupture of line, breakage of earth connection
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y04—INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
    • Y04S—SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
    • Y04S10/00—Systems supporting electrical power generation, transmission or distribution
    • Y04S10/50—Systems or methods supporting the power network operation or management, involving a certain degree of interaction with the load-side end user applications
    • Y04S10/52—Outage or fault management, e.g. fault detection or location

Definitions

  • This specification relates generally to electrical distribution networks and the evaluation of neutral line and active line function.
  • Electrical distribution networks transfer electrical energy from a utility to individual consumer sites.
  • the electrical energy is typically produced by a power generation facility (such as a hydroelectric plant) and distributed at high voltages to localised electrical sub-stations before being transferred to consumer sites.
  • the electrical utility typically manages the distribution network. This can include maintaining the physical network connecting consumer sites to electrical sub-stations and regulating the electrical performance of the network.
  • Electrical energy can be distributed to consumer sites in either single phase or polyphase (such as three-phase) .
  • Industrial sites typically operate with three-phase
  • the neutral line is ideally maintained at the same potential as an earth (ground) line.
  • a voltage difference may develop between the neutral line and the earth line if the neutral line is damaged or broken.
  • a floating neutral' (where the neutral line and earth line have different electrical potential) increases the risk of an electric shock and can interfere with the
  • Neutral line integrity checks are typically performed by technicians as a fault finding procedure or instillation check.
  • Single phase and three phase instillations utilise at least one active line.
  • the active line delivers energy to the consumer site.
  • the impedance of the active line is minimised to increase efficiency of the electrical distribution network.
  • Impedance of the active line may increase if the active line is damaged or broken. This increases energy loss and can interfere with the operation of electrical devices at the site.
  • integrity checks are typically performed by technicians as a fault finding procedure or instillation check.
  • the invention provides a polyphase neutral evaluation process for monitoring the function of a site neutral line.
  • the process comprises: obtaining supply impedance estimates for a polyphase electrical supply, each of the supply impedance estimates representing the distribution network impedance between a site and an electrical utility for an individual phase, recurrently measuring the voltage and current of the supply phases at the site, the measurements being captured by an electrical meter, determining an instantaneous neutral line voltage estimate for the site, the instantaneous neutral line voltage being derived from a voltage balance between the respective phases of the electrical supply, and calculating an instantaneous impedance estimate for the neutral line, the neutral line impedance estimate being calculated from the estimated neutral line voltage and a return current derived from the current measurements obtained by the electrical meter.
  • the process is implemented by a control system that receives measurements obtained by the electrical utility meter installed at the site (the device that measures energy exchanged between the site and an electrical utility) .
  • the control system may be integrated with the electrical utility meter or a remote management system associated with an electrical utility.
  • the control system may perform an automated fault determination process that identifies active line and/or neutral line fault conditions.
  • the fault determination process may categorises faults using established fault criteria. Possible fault categories and associated criteria include:
  • Degraded neutral line neutral line impedance is within a defined operating zone and neutral line voltage exceeds an operating threshold for a defined period of time.
  • Reverse active/neutral line to neutral voltages exceed a threshold, supply voltage angles are outside normal operating range, ratio of maximum voltage of all phases to minimum voltage of all phases is outside normal operating range, and these persist for a defined period of time.
  • Unknown status due to high load current at least one of the phases exceeds an operating current threshold for a defined period of time.
  • the control system monitors the estimated neutral line parameters (typically the neutral line voltage and impedance) for deviations from defined operating zones.
  • the respective operating zones may be dynamically refined by the control system using historic neutral line characteristics to compensate for cyclic deviations (such as diurnal fluctuations) and/or long term trends (such as gradual parameter creep) .
  • the invention provides a polyphase neutral evaluation process for tracking fluctuations of a site neutral line.
  • the process comprises: recurrently measuring the voltage and current of an electrical supply, the measurements being captured by an electrical meter installed at the site, deriving an instantaneous neutral line indicator from the voltage and current measurements obtained by the
  • the neutral line indicator representing the function of the site neutral line
  • Instantaneous parameters obtained for the site may be influenced by transient electrical irregularities (such as ephemeral supply voltage unbalances) .
  • the volatility index is a stability reference for parameter evaluation that is derived from historic neutral line characteristics. Fault monitoring may be suspended when the volatility index indicates that monitored parameters are susceptible to uncharacteristic fluctuations.
  • the invention provides a polyphase neutral evaluation process for determining the stability of a site neutral line.
  • the process comprises recurrently determining instantaneous voltage and impedance estimates for a neutral line, statistically tracking the estimated neutral line voltage and impedance, and deriving a stability
  • the control system may derive a plurality of statistical characteristics for the neutral line voltage and/or impedance estimates.
  • Some statistical characteristics include:
  • control system typically maintains a record of absolute statistical measures for the site (such as the maximum estimated neutral line voltage experienced at the site) . Parameter characteristics may also be established for defined monitoring periods (such as monthly reporting intervals) .
  • Some parameters may be actively tracked to ensure fluctuations are within acceptable ranges despite not violating absolute fault thresholds. This facilitates identification of persistent parameter fluctuations that can influence site operation (such as persistent supply voltage fluctuations that do not exceed a corresponding fault
  • the control system may establish time profiles for these parameters to assist the tracking process. Time profiles also enable gradual site changes (such as neutral line voltage and/or impedance creep) to be detected.
  • the invention provides a polyphase active and neutral evaluation process for monitoring the function of a site neutral line.
  • the process comprises: obtaining supply impedance estimates for a polyphase electrical supply, each of the supply impedance estimates representing the distribution network impedance between a site and an electrical utility for an individual phase, recurrently measuring the voltage and current of the supply phases at the site, the measurements being captured by an electrical meter, determining an instantaneous neutral line voltage estimate for the site, the instantaneous neutral line voltage being derived from a function with inputs comprising of;
  • the invention provides a single phase or polyphase active and neutral evaluation process for tracking fluctuations of a site neutral line.
  • the process comprises : recurrently measuring the voltage and current of an electrical supply, the measurements being captured by an electrical meter installed at the site, deriving an instantaneous neutral line indicator from the voltage and current measurements obtained by the
  • the neutral line indicator representing the function of the site neutral line
  • Correlation coefficents indicate the influence a parameter may have on the neutral line indicator. If the influence is strong it may be an indication of a fault. An active line fault may be raised if the load current
  • Figure 1 is a schematic representation of an electrical distribution network connected to a residential site.
  • Figure 2 is a schematic wiring diagram for a three phase electrical meter depicting two possible neutral line wiring configurations .
  • Figure 3 is a simplified electrical circuit diagram for a three phase site.
  • Figure 4a is an equivalent circuit model for a polyphase site exhibiting nominal simulation conditions.
  • Figure 4b is an equivalent circuit model for a polyphase site exhibiting simulation conditions indicative of degraded neutral line.
  • Figure 4c is an equivalent circuit model for a polyphase site exhibiting simulation conditions indicative of a broken neutral line.
  • An automated process for monitoring and evaluating the integrity of an active line and/or neutral line for a polyphase site uses measurements obtained at the site to estimate the voltage and impedance of the neutral line. These estimates are compared with established operating zones for the site to evaluate the condition of the active and/or neutral line.
  • An electrical utility meter installed at the site captures instantaneous usage measurements (typically the voltage and current for each phase of an electrical supply) . The measurements are transmitted to an evaluation module that derives active and/or neutral line performance
  • a management module interfaces with the evaluation module to monitor the
  • the management module may determine the reliability of
  • the evaluation module and management module may be integrated with the electrical meter, implemented by a site computing system or associated with remote management system maintained by the electrical utility.
  • the respective modules may implemented by the same hardware system or divided between physically separate systems.
  • the system enables electrical utilities to remotely monitor the integrity of site active and/or neutral lines without direct technician intervention. It also supports on- site fault finding and electrical safety precautions.
  • a faulty neutral line can increase the risk of electric shock, affect the performance of sensitive electrical components (particularly motors and instruments), disrupt operation of electrical networks and damage equipment.
  • a faulty active line can reduce electrical distribution network efficiency and affect the performance of electrical components.
  • Manual checks can be susceptible to false diagnosis as they do not evaluate long term trends .
  • the exemplary neutral line evaluation process disclosed in this specification facilitates reliable detection of four fundamental neutral line states (nominal, degraded broken and reversed active/neutral) and two active line states (normal and abnormal) under various operating conditions.
  • the process passively monitors site electrical properties (i.e. the meter does not switch an electrical load to obtain measurements) to derive the active and/or neutral line states.
  • the general process comprises:
  • the process is performed recurrently so that degradation of a site active and/or neutral line can be detected before affecting operation at the site.
  • the electrical properties of individual sites are recorded to facilitate performance tracking and statistical parameter
  • Historic site records can also be used to improve classification of instantaneous measurements derived from the site by identifying deviations from 'normal' operation.
  • volatility index and dynamic operating zone thresholds reduce the incidence of false fault detections by giving the system statistical insight into historic trends.
  • the system is also capable of identifying gradual changes (such as temporal creep) that are not readily evident in the
  • FIG. 1 A schematic representation of a polyphase residential installation 100 is depicted in Figure 1.
  • the installation 100 comprises a residential site 101 connected to a three phase, four wire electrical network 102.
  • the network comprises three active phases (represented by wires 106, 107, 108) and a neutral line 105.
  • the active phase wiring 106, 107, 108 is terminated at a site utility meter 201 (shown in Figure 2) via fuses or circuit breakers 205.
  • the meter 201 interfaces the
  • the neutral line 105 may be terminated at the meter 201 or directly at a neutral block 215 (both arrangements are depicted schematically with dotted lines in Figure 2) .
  • the illustrated site network 200 accommodates both polyphase 210 and single phase 211 electrical loads. A similar network arrangement may also be used for industrial sites with limited single phase loading.
  • the site neutral block 215 is electrically connected to ground through an earth block 216 and earth stake 217. Ideally this
  • FIG. 3 A simplified equivalent electrical circuit diagram for a three phase site installation is presented in Figure 3. The diagram represents the electrical load of a local site 101 and a section of electrical distribution network 102
  • the electrical source for each phase is represented by an independent power supply 301a, 301b and 301c.
  • the power supplies 301 produce electrical waveforms that are 120° out of phase.
  • the nominal load for each phase 301 is divided into a supply impedance 310 and a load impedance 320 that are connected in series.
  • the supply impedance 310 represents the impedance of the distribution network between the electrical utility (typically an electrical sub-station) and the meter 201 for each phase.
  • the site impedance 320 is the
  • the distribution circuit is completed by a neutral line 105 with neutral impedance 305.
  • the neutral line 105 is tied to an electrical earth 306.
  • the supply impedance for a site may be obtained from impedance estimates maintained by the electrical utility, derived from network characteristics or captured from measurements of the relevant network section.
  • the site impedance 320 is determined from measurements captured by the electrical utility meter installed at the site.
  • the disclosed fault detection process derives neutral line characteristics for a site from measured electrical parameters .
  • Typical characteristics include the instantaneous neutral line voltage, current and impedance.
  • the neutral line voltage is derived from a function with inputs comprising voltage and current vectors of each supply phase, supply impedance estimates of each supply phase and an offset voltage.
  • the function is derived from a vector summation of the voltage for each supply phase.
  • ground and neutral are typically held at the same potential and the star point voltage is zero when the neutral line is functioning
  • Equation 1 represents voltage summation of the supply phases when the supply is balanced .
  • Vxn the active to neutral (ground at the generator) supply voltage vector for each supply phase.
  • the phase voltage vectors can be resolved into
  • Van Vzsa + ⁇ zla + ⁇ zn Equation 2
  • Vbn Vzsb + Vzib + Vzn Equation 3
  • vcn v zsc + v zic + v zn Equation 4
  • Vzsx the voltage drop across the supply
  • Vzlx the load voltage for each phase.
  • Vzn the neutral voltage
  • Equation 1 Substituting Equations 2 to 4 into Equation 1 produces a decomposed voltage representation for each phase of the equivalent circuit.
  • Equation 5 produces the reduced equivalent circuit voltage representation presented in Equation 6. vzsa+ v zla+ v zsb+ v zlb+ v zsc+ v zlc
  • the load voltage (Vzlx) for each phase is measured directly by metrology units integrated with the site utility meter.
  • the supply voltage drop (Vzsx) can be derived from a supply impedance estimate and load current.
  • the neutral voltage derivation can be simplified if the supply impedance is negligible.
  • the reduced neutral voltage derivation with negligible supply impedance is presented in Equation 7. vzla+ v zlb+ v zlc
  • the current passing through the neutral line is
  • the neutral line impedance is determined from the derived voltage and current using Ohm's Law.
  • the impedance derivation can only be performed when there is a load unbalance at the site as there is negligible neutral current when the site load 320 is balanced. This limitation does not restrict application of the evaluation process in practice as most polyphase installations experience regular load
  • the neutral impedance is a direct indicator of neutral line state. As the neutral line degrades, the neutral impedance increases. A neutral line impedance of greater than 5 ⁇ is typically unsatisfactory for most residential applications. Metropolitan sites are often more strictly regulated by electrical utilities than rural site. A neutral line impedance greater than 1 ⁇ may indicate neutral line degradation in metropolitan applications, whereas this threshold is likely to be greater for rural sites (such as a 1 ⁇ degradation threshold) .
  • the neutral line voltage is also indicative of neutral line state.
  • the neutral line voltage will increase with degradation when there is a load unbalance at the site.
  • the neutral line voltage and impedance can be monitored to facilitate automated fault determination.
  • a fault management module associated with the electrical utility or the site electrical utility meter can perform the monitoring function. Active and neutral line faults are typically derived from prolonged deviation of monitored characteristics from established operating zones.
  • the fault management system may infer a neutral line fault when the neutral impedance and/or voltage exceed corresponding operating thresholds for defined time periods. Alternatively the fault management system may infer an active line fault when fluctuations in derived neutral impedance are correlated with load current for defined time periods.
  • a fault timer may be integrated with the management system to facilitate the fault delay
  • the management system initiates a fault timer when a fault condition is determined (such as the neutral line voltage or impedance deviating from a defined operating zone) .
  • the timer delays a corresponding fault notification by a predefined time to compensate for temporary fluctuations in active and/or neutral line performance.
  • the management system typically generates a fault notification at the expiration of the fault timer if the fault condition persists.
  • the fault timer is ideally reset by the management system (i.e. the timer is stopped and reinitialized with the preset fault time) if the fault condition subsides before expiration of the fault time. This process reduces false fault notifications.
  • the management system may suspend active and/or neutral integrity fault monitoring or suppress active and/or neutral integrity fault notifications when the neutral line
  • Typical wiring induced faults include 'loss of phase' (indicating one of the active phases is correctly terminated) , 'reversed neutral' (indicating that the neutral line and an active phase wire have been interchanged) and 'incorrect sequencing' (indicating that the active phase wires are terminated out of order) .
  • the management system typically suspends active and/or neutral integrity checks when the supply voltage for any of the active phases drops below satisfactory operating levels. This is characterized as a 'loss of phase' fault condition.
  • a 'loss of phase' fault is typically determined by comparing the voltage for each phase to a defined operating voltage threshold.
  • a 'loss of phase' fault notification is
  • the management system may also monitor the supply frequency of each phase to supplement the 'loss of phase' determination.
  • a 'reversed neutral' fault condition can be determined from the active line RMS voltage ratio (the ratio of minimum RMS voltage to maximum RMS) .
  • a voltage magnitude comparison with a threshold may also be used to establish 'reversed neutral' wiring.
  • a 'reversed neutral' fault is established when the active line voltage ratio, active phase angle or voltage magnitude comparisons deviate from
  • a 'phase sequencing' fault condition is typically determined from comparative analysis of the voltage zero crossing for each active phase.
  • 'Phase sequencing' fault notifications are similarly delayed by a fault time to reduce fault notifications from temporary fluctuations.
  • Earthing irregularities can interfere with the active and neutral integrity evaluation process governed by
  • Equations 1 to 6 A low earth impedance relative to the neutral line is likely to divert neutral current through the ground stake.
  • the neutral impedance estimate generated by the evaluation module is lower than the actual neutral line impedance in this situation.
  • Low earth line impedance is typically encountered in sites with conductive soil or installations where the earthing system is indirectly connected to the neutral line of an adjacent site (often through metallic piping extending between the sites) .
  • additional current in the neutral line from adjacent sites is likely to influence the neutral line estimates obtained by the management system.
  • Excessive load current can interfere with neutral integrity checks performed by the management system.
  • An 'excessive current' fault condition is typically determined by comparing the RMS current for each phase to a current threshold.
  • the management system may suspend active and neutral integrity checks and establish an 'excess current' fault when the RMS current for a phase exceeds the current threshold for a predefined time. A voltage unbalance between the active phases of the supply can complicate derivation of neutral line
  • Equation 1 is derived for systems with negligible supply voltage unbalance.
  • the neutral line voltage derivation is more complicated if the supply voltages are not balanced.
  • Equation 8 represents a system with supply voltage unbalance.
  • Verr the voltage error introduced by the
  • the neutral line voltage and current both vary as the voltage unbalance between the supply phases increases.
  • the derived neutral line voltage also varies with supply voltage unbalance. However, the unbalance introduces an error component (represented by Verr in Equation 8) that reduces the accuracy of the voltage estimate.
  • An artificial voltage unbalance may develop when the supply impedance 310 (the impedance of the distribution network between the electrical utility and the site) is high and the site load 320 is relatively high.
  • This loading combination emphasizes any loss differential between the supply phases (the difference in voltage drop experienced across the supply line for each phase) , generating an
  • Voltage unbalances can be determined by calculating the voltage unbalance factor using voltage for each active supply line.
  • the management system may suspend the neutral integrity checks when the error component introduced by voltage unbalanced becomes excessive.
  • the error component can be evaluated using a voltage
  • the management system may alternatively compensate for expected errors introduced by supply voltage unbalances by incorporating an error component that is proportional to the detected unbalance (represented by Equation 8) .
  • management system may suspend the neutral integrity checks when fluctuations become excessive.
  • the management system may alternatively correlate fluctuations with load current on a particular phase and raise a egraded active' fault
  • a monitoring system ideally tracks site operating parameters to facilitate diagnostic analysis and operational evaluations. Records for the tracked parameters may be stored in a memory module associated with the site utility meter, a site computing system or a database maintained by the electrical utility. The monitoring system uses the historic records to establish statistical site profiles. The parameters tracked by the monitoring may include:
  • the monitoring system ideally derives a neutral line volatility index from historic neutral line parameters
  • the volatility index is a stability reference for parameter evaluation.
  • Typical site parameter volatility measures include variance, standard deviation, mean difference, median absolute deviation and average absolute deviation.
  • Instantaneous parameter deviations may be quantified relative to historic fluctuations at the site by establishing dynamic operating zone fault thresholds from the volatility index.
  • the monitoring module may also establish time profiles for monitored site parameters.
  • Parametric time profiles facilitate detection of parameter creep and other gradual trends not readily discernable from short term parameter analysis.
  • Statistical parameters for the site can also be extracted from the time profiles. Typical statistics
  • Control logic for a neutral line evaluation process is presented in Appendix A.
  • the control logic is presented in pseudo-code.
  • the management module may implement similar fault determination logic to check the operating conditions of a polyphase site installation and evaluate the state of a site active and/or neural line.
  • the control logic embodied in Appendix A classifies the neutral line state as nominal, degraded or broken depending on the neutral line attributes derived by the evaluation module. Several operating preconditions are evaluated before the neutral line state is classified. An incremental counter is used to delay fault notifications once a fault condition is detected.
  • a set of equivalent circuits used to simulate the neutral state derivation process summarized in Equations 1 to 6 are depicted in Figures 4a to 4c. The neutral line state varies from nominal ( Figure 4a) to broken ( Figure 4c) in the figures. The site operating conditions (including the supply impedance) are maintained constant for each simulation.
  • the supply impedance 310 is balanced for each
  • the equivalent circuits all display a site load 320 unbalance.
  • the site load unbalance is the same for each equivalent circuit.
  • Neutral impedances of 0.25 ⁇ (nominal), 2.0 ⁇ (degraded) and ⁇ , ⁇ , ⁇ (broken) are used for the respective simulations.
  • the derived site parameters for each simulation are summarized in Table 1 and depicted in the respective figures.

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Abstract

The invention relates to an automated process for monitoring and evaluating the integrity of an active line and/or neutral line for a polyphase site. The process uses measurements obtained at the site to estimate the voltage and impedance of the neutral line. These estimates are compared with established operating zones for the site to evaluate the condition of the active and/or neutral line. An electrical utility meter installed at the site captures instantaneous usage measurements (typically the voltage and current for each phase of an electrical supply). The measurements are transmitted to an evaluation module that derives active and/or neutral line performance characteristics for the site.

Description

ELECTRICAL MONITORING AND EVALUATION PROCESS
Field of the Invention
This specification relates generally to electrical distribution networks and the evaluation of neutral line and active line function.
Background
Electrical distribution networks transfer electrical energy from a utility to individual consumer sites. The electrical energy is typically produced by a power generation facility (such as a hydroelectric plant) and distributed at high voltages to localised electrical sub-stations before being transferred to consumer sites. The electrical utility typically manages the distribution network. This can include maintaining the physical network connecting consumer sites to electrical sub-stations and regulating the electrical performance of the network.
Electrical energy can be distributed to consumer sites in either single phase or polyphase (such as three-phase) . Industrial sites typically operate with three-phase
electrical supply. Residential sites may operate on either a three-phase electrical supply (for high energy consumption households) or a single phase electrical supply (for lower household energy consumption) . Three phase instillations typically utilise a single neutral return line. The neutral line completes the electrical loop between the consumer site and the
distribution network for each active phase. The neutral line is ideally maintained at the same potential as an earth (ground) line. A voltage difference may develop between the neutral line and the earth line if the neutral line is damaged or broken. A Afloating neutral' (where the neutral line and earth line have different electrical potential) increases the risk of an electric shock and can interfere with the
operation of electrical devices at the site.
The state of the neutral line for an electrical
installation can be checked by measuring the voltage
difference between the neutral line and an independent earth connection. Neutral line integrity checks are typically performed by technicians as a fault finding procedure or instillation check.
Single phase and three phase instillations utilise at least one active line. Typically the active line delivers energy to the consumer site. Ideally the impedance of the active line is minimised to increase efficiency of the electrical distribution network.
Impedance of the active line may increase if the active line is damaged or broken. This increases energy loss and can interfere with the operation of electrical devices at the site.
The state of the active line for an electrical
installation can be checked by measuring the active line voltage while a load current is present. Active line
integrity checks are typically performed by technicians as a fault finding procedure or instillation check.
Summary of the Invention
In a first aspect, the invention provides a polyphase neutral evaluation process for monitoring the function of a site neutral line. The process comprises: obtaining supply impedance estimates for a polyphase electrical supply, each of the supply impedance estimates representing the distribution network impedance between a site and an electrical utility for an individual phase, recurrently measuring the voltage and current of the supply phases at the site, the measurements being captured by an electrical meter, determining an instantaneous neutral line voltage estimate for the site, the instantaneous neutral line voltage being derived from a voltage balance between the respective phases of the electrical supply, and calculating an instantaneous impedance estimate for the neutral line, the neutral line impedance estimate being calculated from the estimated neutral line voltage and a return current derived from the current measurements obtained by the electrical meter.
In an embodiment, the process is implemented by a control system that receives measurements obtained by the electrical utility meter installed at the site (the device that measures energy exchanged between the site and an electrical utility) . The control system may be integrated with the electrical utility meter or a remote management system associated with an electrical utility. The control system may perform an automated fault determination process that identifies active line and/or neutral line fault conditions. The fault determination process may categorises faults using established fault criteria. Possible fault categories and associated criteria include:
• Broken neutral line: the neutral line impedance exceeds an operating impedance threshold for a defined period of time,
• Degraded neutral line: neutral line impedance is within a defined operating zone and neutral line voltage exceeds an operating threshold for a defined period of time.
• Supply voltage unbalance: the voltage unbalance factor
exceeds a threshold for a defined period of time.
• Reverse active/neutral: line to neutral voltages exceed a threshold, supply voltage angles are outside normal operating range, ratio of maximum voltage of all phases to minimum voltage of all phases is outside normal operating range, and these persist for a defined period of time.
• Unknown status due to high load current: at least one of the phases exceeds an operating current threshold for a defined period of time.
• Unknown status due to volatility: excessive fluctuations of neutral line voltage and/or impedance persist for a defined period of time.
• Degraded active line: neutral line impedance is correlated with load current In an embodiment, the control system monitors the estimated neutral line parameters (typically the neutral line voltage and impedance) for deviations from defined operating zones. The respective operating zones may be dynamically refined by the control system using historic neutral line characteristics to compensate for cyclic deviations (such as diurnal fluctuations) and/or long term trends (such as gradual parameter creep) .
In a second aspect, the invention provides a polyphase neutral evaluation process for tracking fluctuations of a site neutral line. The process comprises: recurrently measuring the voltage and current of an electrical supply, the measurements being captured by an electrical meter installed at the site, deriving an instantaneous neutral line indicator from the voltage and current measurements obtained by the
electrical meter, the neutral line indicator representing the function of the site neutral line, and tracking fluctuations of the derived neutral line indicator and determining a volatility index for the site neutral line.
Instantaneous parameters obtained for the site (either measured or estimated) may be influenced by transient electrical irregularities (such as ephemeral supply voltage unbalances) . The volatility index is a stability reference for parameter evaluation that is derived from historic neutral line characteristics. Fault monitoring may be suspended when the volatility index indicates that monitored parameters are susceptible to uncharacteristic fluctuations.
In a third aspect, the invention provides a polyphase neutral evaluation process for determining the stability of a site neutral line. The process comprises recurrently determining instantaneous voltage and impedance estimates for a neutral line, statistically tracking the estimated neutral line voltage and impedance, and deriving a stability
indicator from temporal characteristics of the voltage and current estimates.
The control system may derive a plurality of statistical characteristics for the neutral line voltage and/or impedance estimates. Some statistical characteristics include:
• minimum voltage and/or impedance values;
• maximum voltage and/or impedance values;
• average voltage and/or impedance values;
• voltage and/or impedance variability values; and
• median voltage and/or impedance range .
In an embodiment, the control system typically maintains a record of absolute statistical measures for the site (such as the maximum estimated neutral line voltage experienced at the site) . Parameter characteristics may also be established for defined monitoring periods (such as monthly reporting intervals) .
Some parameters may be actively tracked to ensure fluctuations are within acceptable ranges despite not violating absolute fault thresholds. This facilitates identification of persistent parameter fluctuations that can influence site operation (such as persistent supply voltage fluctuations that do not exceed a corresponding fault
threshold) . The control system may establish time profiles for these parameters to assist the tracking process. Time profiles also enable gradual site changes (such as neutral line voltage and/or impedance creep) to be detected.
In a fourth aspect, the invention provides a polyphase active and neutral evaluation process for monitoring the function of a site neutral line. The process comprises: obtaining supply impedance estimates for a polyphase electrical supply, each of the supply impedance estimates representing the distribution network impedance between a site and an electrical utility for an individual phase, recurrently measuring the voltage and current of the supply phases at the site, the measurements being captured by an electrical meter, determining an instantaneous neutral line voltage estimate for the site, the instantaneous neutral line voltage being derived from a function with inputs comprising of;
voltage and current vectors of each supply phase, supply impedance estimates of each supply phase and an offset voltage, determining an instantaneous neutral line current by either; i) deriving from current measurements of the supply phases. 11) deriving from the direct measurement of the differential current between supply phases and neutral.
in) deriving from the direct measurement of the sum of all supply currents .
IV) directly measuring neutral current. and calculating an instantaneous impedance estimate for the neutral line, the neutral line impedance estimate being calculated from the estimated neutral line voltage and a neutral line current.
In a fifth aspect, the invention provides a single phase or polyphase active and neutral evaluation process for tracking fluctuations of a site neutral line. The process comprises : recurrently measuring the voltage and current of an electrical supply, the measurements being captured by an electrical meter installed at the site, deriving an instantaneous neutral line indicator from the voltage and current measurements obtained by the
electrical meter, the neutral line indicator representing the function of the site neutral line, tracking fluctuations of the derived neutral line indicator and determining a volatility index for the site neutral line, and correlating fluctuations of the derived neutral line indicator with time and/or load current and determining correlation coefficients.
Correlation coefficents indicate the influence a parameter may have on the neutral line indicator. If the influence is strong it may be an indication of a fault. An active line fault may be raised if the load current
correlation coefficient is high.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Embodiments of the invention are described in this specification (by way of example) with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic representation of an electrical distribution network connected to a residential site.
Figure 2 is a schematic wiring diagram for a three phase electrical meter depicting two possible neutral line wiring configurations .
Figure 3 is a simplified electrical circuit diagram for a three phase site.
Figure 4a is an equivalent circuit model for a polyphase site exhibiting nominal simulation conditions.
Figure 4b is an equivalent circuit model for a polyphase site exhibiting simulation conditions indicative of degraded neutral line.
Figure 4c is an equivalent circuit model for a polyphase site exhibiting simulation conditions indicative of a broken neutral line. Detailed Description
An automated process for monitoring and evaluating the integrity of an active line and/or neutral line for a polyphase site is disclosed in this specification. The process uses measurements obtained at the site to estimate the voltage and impedance of the neutral line. These estimates are compared with established operating zones for the site to evaluate the condition of the active and/or neutral line. An electrical utility meter installed at the site captures instantaneous usage measurements (typically the voltage and current for each phase of an electrical supply) . The measurements are transmitted to an evaluation module that derives active and/or neutral line performance
characteristics for the site. Ideally, a management module interfaces with the evaluation module to monitor the
variability of electrical parameters at the site. The management module may determine the reliability of
instantaneous neutral line estimates before initiating fault notifications.
The evaluation module and management module may be integrated with the electrical meter, implemented by a site computing system or associated with remote management system maintained by the electrical utility. The respective modules may implemented by the same hardware system or divided between physically separate systems.
The system enables electrical utilities to remotely monitor the integrity of site active and/or neutral lines without direct technician intervention. It also supports on- site fault finding and electrical safety precautions. A faulty neutral line can increase the risk of electric shock, affect the performance of sensitive electrical components (particularly motors and instruments), disrupt operation of electrical networks and damage equipment. A faulty active line can reduce electrical distribution network efficiency and affect the performance of electrical components.
Conventional active and neutral integrity checks are
performed by an on-site technician. Manual checks can be susceptible to false diagnosis as they do not evaluate long term trends .
The exemplary neutral line evaluation process disclosed in this specification facilitates reliable detection of four fundamental neutral line states (nominal, degraded broken and reversed active/neutral) and two active line states (normal and abnormal) under various operating conditions. The process passively monitors site electrical properties (i.e. the meter does not switch an electrical load to obtain measurements) to derive the active and/or neutral line states. The general process comprises:
• obtaining supply impedance estimates for the electrical
network connecting a polyphase site to an electrical utility,
• recurrently measuring the voltage and current of the supply phases at the site,
• validating that voltage and current are within a nominal
range, • deriving an instantaneous neutral line voltage estimate for the site from a function of load voltage, load current, supply impedance and error voltage vectors,
• calculating an instantaneous impedance estimate for the
neutral line from the estimated neutral line voltage and a return current (derived from the current measurements obtained by the electrical meter) , and
• calculating statistical characterizations of the neutral line impedance and voltage estimates.
Existing smart meter installations that comply with established active and neutral wiring conventions can be upgraded to implement the detection process without
installing dedicated hardware (upgrades are typically implemented through firmware updates) . This reduces the implementation cost and complexity of active and neutral line fault detection.
The process is performed recurrently so that degradation of a site active and/or neutral line can be detected before affecting operation at the site. Ideally, the electrical properties of individual sites are recorded to facilitate performance tracking and statistical parameter
characterization. This enables electrical utilities to monitor the state of site installations and initiate
preventative maintenance before definitive faults occur.
Historic site records can also be used to improve classification of instantaneous measurements derived from the site by identifying deviations from 'normal' operation.
Statistical characterizations (such as an impedance
volatility index) and dynamic operating zone thresholds reduce the incidence of false fault detections by giving the system statistical insight into historic trends. The system is also capable of identifying gradual changes (such as temporal creep) that are not readily evident in the
instantaneous records .
A schematic representation of a polyphase residential installation 100 is depicted in Figure 1. The installation 100 comprises a residential site 101 connected to a three phase, four wire electrical network 102. The network comprises three active phases (represented by wires 106, 107, 108) and a neutral line 105.
The active phase wiring 106, 107, 108 is terminated at a site utility meter 201 (shown in Figure 2) via fuses or circuit breakers 205. The meter 201 interfaces the
electrical distribution network 102 with a local site network 200. The neutral line 105 may be terminated at the meter 201 or directly at a neutral block 215 (both arrangements are depicted schematically with dotted lines in Figure 2) .
The illustrated site network 200 accommodates both polyphase 210 and single phase 211 electrical loads. A similar network arrangement may also be used for industrial sites with limited single phase loading. The site neutral block 215 is electrically connected to ground through an earth block 216 and earth stake 217. Ideally this
arrangement provides a low impedance path to earth to prevent hazardous equipment voltages if a neutral line fault
develops . A simplified equivalent electrical circuit diagram for a three phase site installation is presented in Figure 3. The diagram represents the electrical load of a local site 101 and a section of electrical distribution network 102
connecting the site 101 to an electrical sub-station. The electrical source for each phase is represented by an independent power supply 301a, 301b and 301c. The power supplies 301 produce electrical waveforms that are 120° out of phase. The nominal load for each phase 301 is divided into a supply impedance 310 and a load impedance 320 that are connected in series. The supply impedance 310 represents the impedance of the distribution network between the electrical utility (typically an electrical sub-station) and the meter 201 for each phase. The site impedance 320 is the
instantaneous electrical load on the local site network 200. The distribution circuit is completed by a neutral line 105 with neutral impedance 305. The neutral line 105 is tied to an electrical earth 306. The supply impedance for a site may be obtained from impedance estimates maintained by the electrical utility, derived from network characteristics or captured from measurements of the relevant network section. The site impedance 320 is determined from measurements captured by the electrical utility meter installed at the site.
The disclosed fault detection process derives neutral line characteristics for a site from measured electrical parameters . Typical characteristics include the instantaneous neutral line voltage, current and impedance. The neutral line voltage is derived from a function with inputs comprising voltage and current vectors of each supply phase, supply impedance estimates of each supply phase and an offset voltage. In the following exemplary embodiment the function is derived from a vector summation of the voltage for each supply phase. This process may be simplified by several constraints that are often applicable to polyphase electrical networks. These constraints include:
• the vector summation of supply voltages is zero when the
supply voltage is balanced,
• the is no neutral current with a star connected load when supply voltage and load are balanced (the neutral current increases as the load becomes unbalanced) , and
• the star point voltage at the load is equivalent to the
voltage differential between ground and neutral with a grounded balanced lossless supply (ground and neutral are typically held at the same potential and the star point voltage is zero when the neutral line is functioning
correctly) .
A neutral line voltage derivation process for the equivalent circuit presented in Figure 3 is summarized quantitatively in Equations 1 to 6. Equation 1 represents voltage summation of the supply phases when the supply is balanced .
0 = van + vbn + Vcn Equation 1
Where: Vxn = the active to neutral (ground at the generator) supply voltage vector for each supply phase. The phase voltage vectors can be resolved into
components based on the voltage drop across each equivalent load depicted in Figure 3 using Kirchhoff's voltage law. The decomposition of each phase is presented in Equations 2 to 4.
Van = Vzsa + ^zla + ^zn Equation 2
Vbn = Vzsb + Vzib + Vzn Equation 3 vcn = vzsc + vzic + vzn Equation 4
Where: Vzsx = the voltage drop across the supply
impedance for each phase.
Vzlx = the load voltage for each phase.
Vzn = the neutral voltage.
Substituting Equations 2 to 4 into Equation 1 produces a decomposed voltage representation for each phase of the equivalent circuit.
0 = Vzsa + Vzla + ¾n + ^zsb + ^zlb + ¾n + ¾sc + ^zlc + ¾n Equation 5
Summing the neutral line voltage components from
Equation 5 produces the reduced equivalent circuit voltage representation presented in Equation 6. vzsa+vzla+vzsb+vzlb+vzsc+vzlc
Vzn — Equation 6
The load voltage (Vzlx) for each phase is measured directly by metrology units integrated with the site utility meter. The supply voltage drop (Vzsx) can be derived from a supply impedance estimate and load current. The neutral voltage derivation can be simplified if the supply impedance is negligible. The reduced neutral voltage derivation with negligible supply impedance is presented in Equation 7. vzla+vzlb+vzlc
Vzn — Equation 7
The current passing through the neutral line is
determined from a vector sum of the instantaneous phase currents measured by the electrical utility meter. This assumes negligible current leakage through the site's electrical earth.
The neutral line impedance is determined from the derived voltage and current using Ohm's Law. The impedance derivation can only be performed when there is a load unbalance at the site as there is negligible neutral current when the site load 320 is balanced. This limitation does not restrict application of the evaluation process in practice as most polyphase installations experience regular load
unbalances .
The neutral impedance is a direct indicator of neutral line state. As the neutral line degrades, the neutral impedance increases. A neutral line impedance of greater than 5Ω is typically unsatisfactory for most residential applications. Metropolitan sites are often more strictly regulated by electrical utilities than rural site. A neutral line impedance greater than 1Ω may indicate neutral line degradation in metropolitan applications, whereas this threshold is likely to be greater for rural sites (such as a 1Ω degradation threshold) .
The neutral line voltage is also indicative of neutral line state. The neutral line voltage will increase with degradation when there is a load unbalance at the site. The neutral line voltage and impedance can be monitored to facilitate automated fault determination. A fault management module associated with the electrical utility or the site electrical utility meter can perform the monitoring function. Active and neutral line faults are typically derived from prolonged deviation of monitored characteristics from established operating zones. The fault management system may infer a neutral line fault when the neutral impedance and/or voltage exceed corresponding operating thresholds for defined time periods. Alternatively the fault management system may infer an active line fault when fluctuations in derived neutral impedance are correlated with load current for defined time periods. A fault timer may be integrated with the management system to facilitate the fault delay
mechanism.
The management system initiates a fault timer when a fault condition is determined (such as the neutral line voltage or impedance deviating from a defined operating zone) . The timer delays a corresponding fault notification by a predefined time to compensate for temporary fluctuations in active and/or neutral line performance.
The management system typically generates a fault notification at the expiration of the fault timer if the fault condition persists. The fault timer is ideally reset by the management system (i.e. the timer is stopped and reinitialized with the preset fault time) if the fault condition subsides before expiration of the fault time. This process reduces false fault notifications.
The management system may suspend active and/or neutral integrity fault monitoring or suppress active and/or neutral integrity fault notifications when the neutral line
indicators (such as the derived neutral line impedance and voltage) are determined to be unreliable. Some site
conditions that can produce unreliable neutral line
indicators include:
• Loss of a supply phase,
• Reversed neutral and active line,
· Incorrect phase sequencing,
• Earthing irregularities,
• Excessive current draw,
• Voltage unbalance between the supply phases, and
• Incorrect supply impedance estimates. Abnormal site operating conditions (including operating conditions that cause suspension of active and/or neutral integrity checks) are ideally monitored by the management system. The management system may generate fault
notifications for persistent operating fault conditions and/or reoccurring faults indicative of abnormal operation.
Incorrect termination of the supply wiring at the site can produce operating conditions that interfere with the active and/or neutral integrity evaluation process. Typical wiring induced faults include 'loss of phase' (indicating one of the active phases is correctly terminated) , 'reversed neutral' (indicating that the neutral line and an active phase wire have been interchanged) and 'incorrect sequencing' (indicating that the active phase wires are terminated out of order) .
The management system typically suspends active and/or neutral integrity checks when the supply voltage for any of the active phases drops below satisfactory operating levels. This is characterized as a 'loss of phase' fault condition. A 'loss of phase' fault is typically determined by comparing the voltage for each phase to a defined operating voltage threshold. A 'loss of phase' fault notification is
established when the supply voltage is less than the
threshold for a predefined time. The management system may also monitor the supply frequency of each phase to supplement the 'loss of phase' determination.
A 'reversed neutral' fault condition can be determined from the active line RMS voltage ratio (the ratio of minimum RMS voltage to maximum RMS) . A voltage phase angle
comparison for each active phase may also be used to
establish 'reversed neutral' wiring. A voltage magnitude comparison with a threshold may also be used to establish 'reversed neutral' wiring. A 'reversed neutral' fault is established when the active line voltage ratio, active phase angle or voltage magnitude comparisons deviate from
established operating thresholds for a predefined time. A 'phase sequencing' fault condition is typically determined from comparative analysis of the voltage zero crossing for each active phase. 'Phase sequencing' fault notifications are similarly delayed by a fault time to reduce fault notifications from temporary fluctuations.
Earthing irregularities can interfere with the active and neutral integrity evaluation process governed by
Equations 1 to 6. A low earth impedance relative to the neutral line is likely to divert neutral current through the ground stake. The neutral impedance estimate generated by the evaluation module is lower than the actual neutral line impedance in this situation.
Low earth line impedance is typically encountered in sites with conductive soil or installations where the earthing system is indirectly connected to the neutral line of an adjacent site (often through metallic piping extending between the sites) . Similarly, additional current in the neutral line from adjacent sites is likely to influence the neutral line estimates obtained by the management system. Excessive load current can interfere with neutral integrity checks performed by the management system. An 'excessive current' fault condition is typically determined by comparing the RMS current for each phase to a current threshold. The management system may suspend active and neutral integrity checks and establish an 'excess current' fault when the RMS current for a phase exceeds the current threshold for a predefined time. A voltage unbalance between the active phases of the supply can complicate derivation of neutral line
characteristics. The voltage relationship defined in
Equation 1 is derived for systems with negligible supply voltage unbalance. The neutral line voltage derivation is more complicated if the supply voltages are not balanced. Equation 8 represents a system with supply voltage unbalance.
I/ _ Vzsa+Vzla+vzsb+vzlb+vzsc+Vzlc~verr
Vzn — Equation 8 Where: Verr = the voltage error introduced by the
supply unbalance.
The neutral line voltage and current both vary as the voltage unbalance between the supply phases increases. The derived neutral line voltage also varies with supply voltage unbalance. However, the unbalance introduces an error component (represented by Verr in Equation 8) that reduces the accuracy of the voltage estimate.
An artificial voltage unbalance may develop when the supply impedance 310 (the impedance of the distribution network between the electrical utility and the site) is high and the site load 320 is relatively high. This loading combination emphasizes any loss differential between the supply phases (the difference in voltage drop experienced across the supply line for each phase) , generating an
apparent voltage unbalance at the terminal of the site utility meter.
Voltage unbalances (both actual and artificial) can be determined by calculating the voltage unbalance factor using voltage for each active supply line. The management system may suspend the neutral integrity checks when the error component introduced by voltage unbalanced becomes excessive. The error component can be evaluated using a voltage
unbalance threshold as the difference between the actual neutral voltage and voltage estimated using Equation 6 is proportional to the degree of unbalance between the supply phases. The management system may alternatively compensate for expected errors introduced by supply voltage unbalances by incorporating an error component that is proportional to the detected unbalance (represented by Equation 8) .
Incorrect supply impedance estimates and/or supply irregularities can interfere with the active and neutral integrity evaluation process governed by Equations 2 to 6. As load current varies on a particular phase the voltage drop Vzlx will vary on that phase due to the supply impedance. An incorrect supply impedance estimate will introduce an error in the calculated voltage drop. The neutral voltage and impedance estimate generated by the evaluation module will vary from the actual neutral line voltage and impedance in this situation. When supply impedance estimates are
incorrect, fluctuations in load current will cause
fluctuations of the neutral impedance estimate. The
management system may suspend the neutral integrity checks when fluctuations become excessive. The management system may alternatively correlate fluctuations with load current on a particular phase and raise a egraded active' fault
condition . A monitoring system ideally tracks site operating parameters to facilitate diagnostic analysis and operational evaluations. Records for the tracked parameters may be stored in a memory module associated with the site utility meter, a site computing system or a database maintained by the electrical utility. The monitoring system uses the historic records to establish statistical site profiles. The parameters tracked by the monitoring may include:
• Neutral line voltage estimates,
· Neutral line impedance estimates,
• Neutral line current,
• Supply voltage unbalances (voltage unbalance factor) ,
• Fault notifications generated by the management system,
• Fluctuations in neutral line performance,
· Supply voltage, and
• Load current.
The monitoring system ideally derives a neutral line volatility index from historic neutral line parameters
(typically the derived neutral line voltage and impedance) . The volatility index is a stability reference for parameter evaluation. Typical site parameter volatility measures include variance, standard deviation, mean difference, median absolute deviation and average absolute deviation.
Instantaneous parameter deviations may be quantified relative to historic fluctuations at the site by establishing dynamic operating zone fault thresholds from the volatility index.
The monitoring module may also establish time profiles for monitored site parameters. Parametric time profiles facilitate detection of parameter creep and other gradual trends not readily discernable from short term parameter analysis. Statistical parameters for the site can also be extracted from the time profiles. Typical statistics
parameters for neutral line voltage and impedance include:
• Minimum absolute values;
• Maximum absolute values;
• Historic averages;
• Variability measures;
• Median values; and
• Correlation coefficients.
Control logic for a neutral line evaluation process is presented in Appendix A. The control logic is presented in pseudo-code. The management module may implement similar fault determination logic to check the operating conditions of a polyphase site installation and evaluate the state of a site active and/or neural line.
The control logic embodied in Appendix A classifies the neutral line state as nominal, degraded or broken depending on the neutral line attributes derived by the evaluation module. Several operating preconditions are evaluated before the neutral line state is classified. An incremental counter is used to delay fault notifications once a fault condition is detected. A set of equivalent circuits used to simulate the neutral state derivation process summarized in Equations 1 to 6 are depicted in Figures 4a to 4c. The neutral line state varies from nominal (Figure 4a) to broken (Figure 4c) in the figures. The site operating conditions (including the supply impedance) are maintained constant for each simulation.
The supply impedance 310 is balanced for each
simulation. The equivalent circuits all display a site load 320 unbalance. The site load unbalance is the same for each equivalent circuit. Neutral impedances of 0.25Ω (nominal), 2.0Ω (degraded) and Ι,ΟΟΟ,ΟΟΟΩ (broken) are used for the respective simulations. The derived site parameters for each simulation are summarized in Table 1 and depicted in the respective figures.
Figure imgf000027_0001
Table 1 The word "comprise" (and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising") is used in the description and claims in an inclusive sense (i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features), except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modification may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the scope of spirit or scope of the invention broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive .
Further, any reference herein to prior art is not intended to imply that such prior art forms or formed a part of the common general knowledge in Australia or any other country .
Appendix A
State = normal.
If (all load currents less than max limit)
If (all phases are present)
If (neutral current > min limit)
If (neutral impedance > degraded limit)
State=degraded;
Else if (neutral impedance > broken limit) State=broken;
Else if (neutral voltage > min limit)
If (voltage unbalance > min limit)
State=broken;
Else
State=degraded;
If (State == Old State)
Increment counter;
If (Counter > persistence time)
Generate neutral integrity warning;
Old State= State;

Claims

Claims
1. A polyphase neutral evaluation process comprising: obtaining supply impedance estimates for a polyphase electrical supply, each of the supply impedance estimates representing the distribution network impedance between a site and an electrical utility for an individual phase, recurrently measuring the voltage and current of the supply phases at the site, the measurements being captured by an electrical meter, determining an instantaneous neutral line voltage estimate for the site, the instantaneous neutral line voltage being derived from a voltage balance between the respective phases of the electrical supply, and calculating an instantaneous impedance estimate for the neutral line, the neutral line impedance estimate being calculated from the estimated neutral line voltage and a return current derived from the current measurements obtained by the electrical meter.
2. The process of claim 1 comprising monitoring the estimated neutral line impedance for deviations from a defined
impedance operating zone.
3. The process of claim 1 or claim 2 comprising tracking fluctuations in neutral line impedance and determining a volatility index for the site from historic neutral line impedance characteristics.
4. The process of any one of claims 1 to 3 comprising determining an instantaneous voltage unbalance between phases of the electrical supply by comparing the voltage
measurements obtained at the electrical meter and tracking fluctuations in voltage unbalance.
5. The process of any one of claims 1 to 4 comprising tracking neutral voltage estimates for the site and
determining an acceptable operating zone for the neutral voltage from historic estimate characteristics.
6. The process of any one of claims 1 to 5 comprising establishing a neutral voltage time profile and monitoring the neutral line for voltage creep.
7. The process of any one of claims 1 to 6 comprising tracking neutral impedance estimates for the site and determining an acceptable operating zone for the neutral impedance from historic estimate characteristics.
8. The process of any one of claims 1 to 7 comprising establishing a neutral impedance time profile and monitoring the neutral line for impedance creep.
9. The process of claim 5 or claim 6 comprising deriving statistical characteristics for the neutral line voltage estimate, the statistical characteristics comprising: · a minimum voltage value; • a maximum voltage value;
• an average voltage value;
• a variability value;
• a median value; or
• a correlation coefficient.
10. The process of claim 7 or claim 8 comprising deriving statistical characteristics for the neutral line impedance estimate, the statistical characteristics comprising:
• a minimum impedance value;
• a maximum impedance value;
• an average impedance value;
• a variability value;
• a median value; or
• a correlation coefficient.
11. The process of claim 7 or claim 8 comprising deriving statistical characteristics for the active and neutral line currents, the statistical characteristics comprising:
• a minimum current value;
• a maximum current value;
• an average current value;
• a variability value;
• a median value; or
• a correlation coefficient.
12. The process of any one of claims 1 to 11 comprising inferring a neutral line fault when the neutral line
impedance exceeds an operating impedance threshold for a defined period of time.
13. The process of any one of claims 1 to 12 comprising inferring a neutral line fault when the neutral line voltage exceeds a operating voltage threshold for a defined period of time .
14. The process of any one of claims 9 to 11 comprising inferring an active line fault when at least one statistical characteristic exceeds a threshold for a defined period of time .
15. The process of claim 14 comprising inferring an active line fault when a statistical characteristic includes a variability value.
16. The process of claim 14 comprising inferring an active line fault when a statistical characteristic includes a correlation coefficient.
17. The process of any one of claims 9 to 11 comprising indicating unreliable active and neutral integrity evaluation process when at least one statistical characteristic exceeds a threshold for a defined period of time.
18. An electrical meter that measures energy exchanged between an electrical utility and a site, the electrical meter being configured for installation at the site and having a control system that executes the polyphase active and neutral evaluation process of any one of claims 1 to 17.
19. A remote control system that executes the polyphase active and neutral evaluation process of any one of claims 1 to 17 and having a communication path to one or more
physically separate electrical meters that measure energy exchanged between an electrical utility and a site, the electrical meters being configured for installation at the site .
20. A neutral line evaluation process comprising: recurrently measuring the voltage and current of an electrical supply, the measurements being captured by an electrical meter installed at the site, deriving an instantaneous neutral line indicator from the voltage and current measurements obtained by the
electrical meter, the neutral line indicator representing the function of the site neutral line, and tracking fluctuations of the derived neutral line indicator and determining a volatility index for the site neutral line.
21. The process of claim 20 comprising determining an instantaneous neutral line voltage estimate for the site and monitoring the neutral line voltage estimate for deviations from a defined operating zone.
22. The process of claim 20 or claim 21 comprising
calculating an instantaneous impedance estimate for the neutral line from the current measurements obtained by the electrical meter and an estimated neutral line voltage.
23. The process of claim 21 comprising determining a
correlation coefficient of the instantaneous neutral line voltage estimate.
24. The process of claim 22 comprising determining a
correlation coefficient of the instantaneous impedance estimate for the neutral line.
25. The process of any one of claims 20 to 24 comprising determining a dynamic threshold for inferring a neutral line fault from the derived volatility index.
26. The process of any one of claims 20 to 24 comprising determining a dynamic threshold for inferring an active line fault from the derived volatility index.
27. The process of any one of claims 20 to 24 comprising determining a dynamic threshold for inferring an active line fault from the correlation coefficient.
28. An electrical meter that measures energy exchanged between an electrical utility and a site, the electrical meter being configured for installation at the site and having a control system that executes the polyphase active and neutral evaluation process of any one of claims 20 to 27.
29. A neutral line evaluation process comprising recurrently determining instantaneous voltage and impedance estimates for a neutral line, statistically tracking the estimated neutral line voltage and impedance, and deriving a stability indicator from temporal characteristics of the voltage and current estimates.
30. The process of claim 29 comprising recurrently measuring current and voltage for an electrical supply associated with the neutral line and deriving neutral line characteristics from the measurements in an electrical meter installed at the site .
31. The process of claim 29 or claim 30 comprising monitoring the neutral line impedance for deviations from a defined impedance operating zone.
32. The process of any one of claims 29 to 31 comprising determining an instantaneous voltage unbalance between phases of the electrical supply by comparing the voltage
measurements obtained at the electrical meter and tracking fluctuations in voltage unbalance.
33. The process of any one of claims 29 to 32 comprising tracking neutral voltage estimates for the site and
determining an acceptable operating zone for the neutral voltage from historic estimate characteristics.
34. The process of any one of claims 29 to 33 comprising establishing a neutral voltage time profile and monitoring the neutral line for voltage creep.
35. The process of any one of claims 29 to 33 comprising establishing a neutral impedance time profile and monitoring the neutral line for impedance creep.
36. An electrical meter that measures energy exchanged between an electrical utility and a site, the electrical meter being configured for installation at the site and having a control system that executes the polyphase neutral evaluation process of any one of claims 29 to 35.
37. An electrical utility meter comprising: a metrology unit that recurrently measures voltage and current for a plurality of supply phases, an evaluation module that derives neutral line
parameters using the supply phase measurements captured by the metrology unit, the parameters including a neutral line voltage estimate, and a management module that infers a neutral line state from the parameters derived by the evaluation module and generates fault notifications when the neutral line state is indicative of a fault.
38. The meter of claim 37 comprising a monitoring module that tracks the derived neutral line parameters and statistically characterises neutral line function.
39. The meter of claim 37 or 38 comprising a management module that infers an active line state from the parameters derived by the evaluation module.
40. A single phase active and neutral evaluation process comprising : obtaining a supply impedance estimate for a single phase electrical supply, the supply impedance estimate representing the distribution network impedance between a site and an electrical utility for an individual phase, recurrently measuring the voltage and current of the supply phase at the site, the measurements being captured by an electrical meter, determining an instantaneous neutral line voltage estimate for the site, the instantaneous neutral line voltage being derived from a function with inputs comprising of;
voltage and current vectors of the supply phase, supply impedance estimate of the supply phase and an offset voltage, and calculating an instantaneous impedance estimate for the neutral line, the neutral line impedance estimate being calculated from the estimated neutral line voltage and a return current derived from the current measurements obtained by the electrical meter.
41. The process of claim 40 comprising monitoring the estimated neutral line impedance for deviations from a defined impedance operating zone.
42. The process of claim 40 or claim 41 comprising tracking fluctuations in neutral line impedance and determining a volatility index for the site from historic neutral line impedance characteristics.
43. The process of any one of claims 40 to 42 comprising tracking fluctuations in neutral impedance.
44. The process of any one of claims 40 to 43 comprising tracking neutral voltage estimates for the site and
determining an acceptable operating zone for the neutral voltage from historic estimate characteristics.
45. The process of any one of claims 40 to 44 comprising establishing a neutral voltage time profile and monitoring the neutral line for voltage creep.
46. The process of any one of claims 40 to 45 comprising tracking neutral impedance estimates for the site and determining an acceptable operating zone for the neutral impedance from historic estimate characteristics.
47. The process of any one of claims 40 to 46 comprising establishing a neutral impedance time profile and monitoring the neutral line for impedance creep.
48. The process of claim 44 or claim 45 comprising deriving statistical characteristics for the neutral line voltage estimate, the statistical characteristics comprising: · a minimum voltage value;
a maximum voltage value;
an average voltage value;
a variability value;
a median value; or
a correlation coefficient.
49. The process of claim 46 or claim 47 comprising deriving statistical characteristics for the neutral line impedance estimate, the statistical characteristics comprising:
• a minimum impedance value;
• a maximum impedance value;
• an average impedance value;
• a variability value;
• a median value; or
• a correlation coefficient.
50. The process of claim 46 or claim 47 comprising deriving statistical characteristics for the active and neutral line currents, the statistical characteristics comprising:
• a minimum current value;
• a maximum current value;
• an average current value;
• a variability value;
• a median value; or
• a correlation coefficient.
51. The process of any one of claims 40 to 50 comprising inferring a neutral line fault when the neutral line impedance exceeds an operating impedance threshold for a defined period of time.
52. The process of any one of claims 40 to 51 comprising inferring a neutral line fault when the neutral line voltage exceeds a operating voltage threshold for a defined period of time .
53. The process of any one of claims 48 to 50 comprising inferring an active line fault when at least one statistical characteristic exceeds a threshold for a defined period of time .
54. The process of claim 53 comprising inferring an active line fault when a statistical characteristic includes a variability value.
55. The process of claim 53 comprising inferring an active line fault when a statistical characteristic includes a correlation coefficient.
56. The process of any one of claims 48 to 50 comprising indicating unreliable active and neutral integrity evaluation process when at least one statistical characteristic exceeds a threshold for a defined period of time.
57. An electrical meter that measures energy exchanged between an electrical utility and a site, the electrical meter being configured for installation at the site and having a control system that executes the polyphase active and neutral evaluation process of any one of claims 40 to 56.
58. A remote control system that executes the polyphase active and neutral evaluation process of any one of claims 40 to 56 and having a communication path to one or more
physically separate electrical meters that measure energy exchanged between an electrical utility and a site, the electrical meters being configured for installation at the site .
59. A polyphase active and neutral evaluation process comprising : obtaining supply impedance estimates for a polyphase electrical supply, each of the supply impedance estimates representing the distribution network impedance between a site and an electrical utility for an individual phase, recurrently measuring the voltage and current of the supply phases at the site, the measurements being captured by an electrical meter, determining an instantaneous neutral line voltage estimate for the site, the instantaneous neutral line voltage being derived from a function with inputs comprising of;
voltage and current vectors of each supply phase, supply impedance estimates of each supply phase and an offset voltage, and calculating an instantaneous impedance estimate for the neutral line, the neutral line impedance estimate being calculated from the estimated neutral line voltage and a return current derived from the current measurements obtained by the electrical meter.
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