Locating Fault on Transmission Line with Static Var Compensator Based on Phasor Measurement Unit

The flexible alternating current transmission systems (FACTS) have been widely used in modern power systems. Because of the presence of the FACTS devices, distance relays in transmission lines may inaccurately locate fault locations. Therefore, it is significant to find a mechanism for locating fault in transmission lines connected to FACTS in which a static var compensator (SVC) is investigated in this work. Based on the development of a phasor measurement unit (PMU) with global positioning system (GPS), this paper proposes a new method for calculating apparent impedance seen by the distance relay location while a short-circuit fault occurs in a transmission line connected the SVC to the midpoint of the line. According to the method, sampled voltage and current measurement at the relay and SVC locations are synchronized using PMUs and the synchronized measurements are then used to calculate a new apparent impedance and to locate the fault location in the line. The method in this paper has the capability for fast calculation and it also has the robustness for identifying different fault types in power systems. Matlab/Simulink software is applied to simulate the study results and to evaluate the correctness of the modeling and effectiveness of the proposed method for locating fault in this paper.