Simulated analysis of high impedance fault in distribution lines

Smart grids have emerged to provide an alternative to traditional electricity grids, to transmit more efficient and safe electrical energy. Another important awareness from the traditional network is that it can provide bidirectional transmission. Today, smart grid applications are in different areas of our lives, and therefore, various malfunctions that may occur for smart grids should be predicted and necessary precautions should be taken. Smart grids are used in power line communication as well as other communication technologies for energy transmission. In the literature, there are different faults that may occur for smart grids in power line communication. An example of these faults is a high impedance fault. High impedance faults in distribution and utility networks can cause safety hazards, arcing and potential equipment and property damage due to fires. However, high impedance faults in electrical distribution systems are extremely difficult to detect with conventional overcurrent relays or fuses, they do not produce enough fault current to detect the cause. In this study, the effects of load impedance faults that may occur in communication over power lines in distribution systems with smart grid structure, distribution line length on main branch current and high impedance fault current, are analyzed and interpreted in MATLAB/Simulink based simulations with different models.