Experimental Investigation of Power Systems Arcing Faults Electromagnetic Source Characteristics

Conventional power systems protection functions mainly deal with over- currents and voltages associated with faults and most protection devices use relays and circuit breakers to monitor current, voltage, or impedance of critical setting values. However, in many arc fault conditions of earlier stage, the arc associated current amount is under the setting of relays, and subsequently the arc continues to burn with devastating effects which may put the entire system under risk. It has been observed that the power arc generates electromagnetic signals. It has been further observed that radiation producing power arcs can originate from different sources and causes: for instance, tree leaned on energized conductors or degradation of insulation materials. Since the advent of radar technology and…