ARTIGO TÉCNICO Hugo Ricardo dos Santos Tavares1

Teresa Alexandre Nogueira2

ISEP - Institute of Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of Porto (1Student)
CIETI – Center for Innovation in Engineering and Industrial Technology2

GROUND FAULT PROTECTION METHODS FOR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

Abstract
The system grounding method option has a direct influence voltages. The solidly earth neutral (directly connected to
on the overall performance of the entire medium voltage earth) minimizes the voltage surge but it results in high
network as well as on the ground fault current magnitude. current values.

For any kind of grounding systems: ungrounded system,

solidly and low impedance grounded and resonant grounded, The resonant-grounded has gained popularity in recent years

we can find advantages and disadvantages. A thorough in distribution networks, mainly due to the significant
study is necessary to choose the most appropriate grounding increase in continuity service [1]. A reactance is installed,
protection system. The power distribution utilities justify their known as the Petersen coil, which permits the adjustment of

choices based on economic and technical criteria, according the inductance value to preserve the tuning condition of the

to the specific characteristics of each distribution network. system for different network topologies. The variable
In this paper we present a medium voltage Portuguese reactance is connected to the secondary neutral power

substation case study and a study of neutral system with transformer or to the neutral of a grounding bank [2].
Petersen coil, isolated neutral and impedance grounded.
This grounded system protection is particularly
1. Introduction advantageous in rural areas, to solve the occurrence of
lightning, birds and tree branches caused faults. In urban
The system grounding in power distribution substations is an areas, with mostly permanent faults, resonant grounding

important issue for the proper operation of the entire system can also be used to guarantee electrical service
network. Main goals of system grounding are to minimize continuity.

voltage and thermal stresses on equipment, provide

personnel safety, reduce communications system Resonant grounding provides self-extinction of the fault arc
interference and give assistance in rapid detection and in overhead lines for about 80% of temporary ground faults
elimination of ground faults. [3]. Considering that about 80 % of ground faults are
temporary, we conclude that more than 60 % of overhead
The choice of neutral systems has influence on the line ground faults clear without breaker tripping. High-

distribution network performance and on the choice of impedance grounded systems are grounded through a high-
installed equipment protection. The main differences among impedance resistor or reactor with an impedance equal to or
neutral systems are related to the network behaviour in case slightly less than the total system capacitive reactance to

of a ground fault. ground. The neutral resistor is of such a high value that
ground faults on such systems have very similar
There is a wide range of neutral grounding systems in MV characteristics to those of resonant-grounded systems [4-5].
distribution networks. The neutral conductor can be
connected to ground through different ways, according to In the next sections we will see different grounded systems

the type (capacitive, resistive or inductive), and with its value and we will analyze their influence on the occurrence of a

(0 to infinite). Isolated neutral eliminates the fault current line-to-ground fault, and the influence of direct and resistive

flow to earth through the neutral conductor but causes high faults at different network points.

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2. Earthing Ground Systems 2.2. Solidly earthed neutral

2.1. Isolated Neutral In this case, the connection between neutral point and earth
A network is called isolated neutral when there is no physical is a straight line with zero impedance (Fig. 2). The network
connection between the neutral point of the MV impedance, the fault and earth return set the fault values.
transformer and earth (Fig. 1).
Usually, the current intensity of a large number of ground
faults can show significant variations depending on the
location and on the kind of fault, making it more difficult to
reconfigure the network [3]. In this case, line-to-ground
voltage is applied to fault, and the neutral potential remains
the same as the earth potential. Upon the occurrence of this
fault, a large amount of energy is released [4]. The line-to-
ground fault current is a short-circuit line-neutral, and this
Figure 1. Earth fault in isolated neutral system value can be high enough to trigger protections at the first
The average voltage depends on the impedance between fault.
line conductors and the ground. This impedance includes the
predominant capacitances between the lines and earth and
leakage impedances of other network components [6].

The residual voltage, which is the vector sum of the three

line-to-line voltages, is never entirely zero. Monitoring this
residual voltage can be a good solution, because it indicates
the insulation quality, since any fault between line and earth
Figure 2. Earth fault in solidly earthed neutral power system
causes a strong imbalance between the impedance and the
increase of residual voltage. This system is mainly used in This system is very good to eliminate overvoltage's but
aerial and short length distribution lines. In the case of long brings danger to people and service continuity does not exist
distances, the capacitance to ground is very high, causing in case of a fault.
dangerous situations due to high current values. Because of
the line-to-line voltage, the network must be isolated The single-phase earth fault current in a solidly earthed
between phases and earth [7]. system may exceed the three-phase fault current. The
magnitude of the current depends on the fault location and
The fault current Ik1 can be determined as 3.C.w.V, where, C the fault resistance. One way to reduce the earth fault
is the capacitance between line and earth, w is the angular current is to leave some of the transformer neutrals
frequency and V is line-to-earth voltage. unearthed. The main advantage of solidly earthed systems is
low overvoltage's, which makes the Earthing design common
The main advantage of this system is the service continuity, at high voltage levels [8].
because fault current is low and not enough to trigger the
automatic protections, which occurs only at a second fault. 2.3. Impedance Earthing
The disadvantage is the inability to eliminate an overvoltage This method uses an impedance, which can be a resistor, a
transient across the earth, which can be a big problem if the coil or a low impedance between the neutral and the earth.
voltage is too high. This system can be found in Portugal, Spain and France.

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With this neutral system we can reduce the magnitude of implying the installation of a Peterson coil in HV/MV
current fault in a quickly and safely way. substations [9].

The impedance value is always high when compared to the The Petersen coil is also known as suppressor arcs, faults
lines impedance. Therefore the system fault current varies neutralizer or extinction coil. The systems with this neutral
with the fault. This current is approximately in the point are also known as neutral resonant or compensated
magnitude of hundreds of Ampere (100 A to 2000 A). This systems [10].
high value of fault current, as well as the preponderance of
components circulating in the neutral impedance, makes it A Petersen coil is usually connected to the neutral of the
easier to detect earth faults. distribution transformer (Fig. 5), or connected to the zigzag
transformer, so that the fault current is practically zero when
In Fig. 3 we can see the case of a resistive component a fault occurs [4]. The contribution to the fault current from
between neutral and earth. An alternative can be an the current capacity of the lines (where a ground fault
inductive component (Fig. 4), to partially compensate the circulates from a healthy conductor to the earth), is
capacitive component of network [6]. compensated by the current coil [7].

The inductive impedance limits the fault current and The inductance value of the Petersen coil must be equal to
overvoltage. However the protection must act automatically the capacities of the network, which may vary, as it happens
at the first earth fault. To easily detect the fault, the when switching operations occur in the network. When this
inductive current must be higher than the capacitive current happens the system is fully compensated, or 100% tuned.
that circulates in the system. In distribution systems The modern controllers constantly monitor the zero
inductive current values are between 300 A and 1000 A, sequence voltage and detect any changes in the capacities of
because they are easier to detect, thus preventing the network.
overvoltage's [1].
The controller will automatically adjust to the new level,
ensuring that the Petersen coil is properly tuned to
neutralize any ground fault that may occur [11]. This fast
limitation of current fault occurs automatically without any
intervention from another system [12].

Figure 3 and 4. Resistive and Inductive Earthing, respectively

This system limits the range of fault currents and the

protections are easy to implement if the current limit is
greater than the system capacitive current. The coil has low
resistance, and it does not dissipate a large amount of heat
energy. In HV networks this solution is more preferred to the
Figure 5. Petersen coil
earth resistance one
The inductive and capacitive currents compensate each
2.4. Petersen coil / Resonant grounded other provided that one is inductive (circuit ground) and the
This ground system can be used in aerial or mixed lines, other is capacitive (healthy capacity lines).
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Currents may be added in opposite phases, due to a slight 1) Impedance for 40 A

coil resistance with a magnitude of few Ampere.

 17 321 (3)
= = = 433,013 Ω
40
3. Case Study
2) Impedance for 20 A
In this work, we use a 30 kV distribution grid fed by SERPA

 17 321 (4)
substation in Portugal. The objective is to study and compare = = = 866,025 Ω
20
four different neutral systems giving special attention to the
results obtained when using the Petersen coil. These systems The selected network has the following characteristics:
are: Petersen coil, in two different situations; impedance a) Large network;
grounded; and isolated neutral (ungrounded) - for direct b) Overhead lines - 127 854 m (215 m cables);
faults and resistive faults. This study was supported by c) Rural network.
software used in Portuguese distribution utility. This
software was used to obtain line voltage and current values In Fig. 6 we can see five selected locations to take
after the occurrence of faults. Because the voltage triangle is measurements, where 1 is location where the earth fault
relatively undisturbed, these systems can remain operational occurs, 3 is the fed substation and 5 is the furthest point
during sustained, low-magnitude faults. Self-extinction of away from the earth fault.
ground faults in overhead-ungrounded lines is possible for
low values of ground fault current. The fault current flows through locations 1, 2 and 3, whereas
the other points only "see" the fault, and are affected by it.
3.1. Modelling Petersen Coil
In this case, the fault current is linked to the tuning coil For the neutral system using Petersen coil an impedance
which limits the fault to very low levels, but not exceeding was used to limit the fault current to 20 A and 40 A,
40A. The Petersen coil neutral system is studied here in two respectively. A reactance was used in the isolated system to
different situations. limit the fault current to 300A.

In the first situation, the fault current is less than 40 A and in

the second one it is below 20 A. Ideally the tuning should be
automatic, generating the lowest possible fault current.

In this study, the impedance value of the Petersen coil is a

fixed value, determined as to limit the fault current to 40 A,
and 20 A for the two situations. The resistance value is
ignored, because it has a very low value.

3.2. Analysing Impedance Coil

Figure 6. Study network
The values for the impedance are:
3.3. Direct Faults

 = 30 000
(1)
In the following tables we present the voltage values in L1

 30 000 (2) line in fault (line-earth), and the values in other lines. Tables

 = = = 17 321

√3 √3 1 and 2 refer to the case of using Petersen coil and limiting
the fault current respectively to 40 A and 20 A.

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Table 3 refers to the use of neutral reactance, and table 4 situations. As expected, in L2 and L3 lines voltage values rise
refers to the neutral isolated system. in all different situations and network points.
This increased voltage values in healthy phases can damage
Table 1. Petersen coil – 40 A
some equipment isolation or reduce its life. In all situations
Voltage
L1 L2 L3
we can observe a strong shift of the neutral point.

pu angle (°) pu angle (°) pu angle (°)

1 0 0 1,702 -148,6 1,681 149,8 3.4. Resistive Faults
2 0,006 -29,7 1,699 -148,6 1,679 149,7 We also studied the impact of resistive faults in line-earth L1
Point

3 0,042 -31,6 1,687 -148,2 1,665 149,5 under three soil conditions. The fault impedance depends on
4 0,021 -30,6 1,694 -148,4 1,673 149,7
the soil characteristics and the conditions when the fault
5 0,021 -30,6 1,694 -148,4 1,673 149,7
occurs. Thus, we simulate the fault for the case of 10, 500
and 1000 ohm. In the following figures we can see the
Table 2. Petersen coil – 20 A
Voltage
voltage values in lines and let us analyze the drop voltages in

L1 L2 L3 each situation of the four neutral systems considered: BP40

pu angle (°) pu angle (°) pu angle (°) – Peterson coil 40A, BP20 - Peterson coil 20A, REAN –
1 0 - 1,717 -149,3 1,706 149,9 Inductive impedance and ISOLADO – isolated system.
2 0,003 -30,3 1,715 -149,3 1,704 149,9
Point

3 0,022 -32,3 1,709 -149,1 1,697 149,8

4 0,011 -31,3 1,713 -149,2 1,702 149,8
5 0,011 -31,3 1,713 -149,2 1,702 149,8

Table 3. Inductive impedance

Voltage
L1 L2 L3
pu angle (°) pu angle (°) pu angle (°)
1 0 - 1,717 -149,3 1,706 149,9
2 0,003 -30,3 1,715 -149,3 1,704 149,9
Point

3 0,022 -32,3 1,709 -149,1 1,697 149,8

4 0,011 -31,3 1,713 -149,2 1,702 149,8 Figure 7. Resistive faults (10 Ω)
5 0,011 -31,3 1,713 -149,2 1,702 149,8

Table 4. Isolated system

Voltage
L1 L2 L3
pu angle (°) pu angle (°) pu angle (°)
1 0 - 1,732 -150 1,732 150
2 0 - 1,732 -150 1,732 150
Point

3 0 - 1,732 -150 1,732 150

4 0 - 1,732 -150 1,732 150
5 0 - 1,732 -150 1,732 150

The fault occurs in location 1, and location 2 is the closest

point. In both points we can notice a strong interference in Figure 8. Resistive faults (500 Ω)

the respective voltage values. In fault line L1 the voltage

drops to zero in local 1, and practically to zero in local 2, in all

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This is because of the drop voltage in the faulty line and the
healthy phases increase.

The neutral point using the reactance neutral is the situation

in which voltage drops are not so high; however, the fault
current is the highest.

In direct faults, as well as in resistive faults, the current is

limited by the type of neutral system. The lower the fault
current limit and the higher soil resistivity, the less is the
voltage drop across the fault line (L1), and the lower increase
in voltage in healthy lines (L2, L3), except for the neutral
Figure 9. Resistive faults (1000 Ω)
point isolated. In this case, upon the occurrence of a fault in
In the three different soil conditions we can notice that as phase L1, the healthy phases are always subject to line-to-
the soil resistivity increases, the voltage drops. In Figs. 7 and line voltage.
8, drop voltage is very small, remaining very close to 1 pu.
In both cases, for resistive and direct faults, displacement of
Usually in resistive faults, the voltage increase in healthy neutral point does occur.
lines is not so high as in the direct faults. That results in
fewer problems in equipment insulation and lifetime. In both Referências
direct and resistive faults the neutral displacement occurs. [1] Nelson, J. P. and Sen, P. K.: “System Grounding, Ground Fault Protection and
Electrical Safety”, IEEE Press Series on Power Engineering (Book 37), Wiley-IEEE
Press; 1 edition, Jun. 2014.
4. Conclusions [2] Bjerkan, E., Venseth, T.: Locating Earth-Faults in Compensated Distribution
Networks by means of Fault Indicators. International Conference on Power
Systems Transients, Canada, 2005.
In direct faults, except in the case of the isolated neutral
[3] Pühringer, M: Resonant Grounding as Approach to System Neutral Grounding.
system in point 3, and for the remaining systems, it is visible Haefely Trench, Feb. 1998.

a slight increase in voltage values, because point 3 is located [4] Roberts, J., Altuve, H.J., Hou, D.: Review of Ground Fault Protection Methods for
Grounded, Ungrounded, and Compensated Distribution systems, 2001.
in SERPA substation, which feeds the studied network. In all
[5] Hou, D.: Comparing Fault Resistance Coverage of Different Distribution System
systems we can observe a strong displacement of the neutral Grounding Methods. 37th Annual Western Protective Relay Conference, October

point. 2010.

[6] Fulchiron, D., “Basic selection of MV public distribution networks”, Cahier

technique no. 203, Schneider Electric, Maio 2001.
The default current is limited by the neutral at stake. In the [7] Griffel, D.; Leitloff, V.; Harmand, Y.; Bergeal,J.; , “A new deal for safety and

case of the isolated neutral, default current is zero, because quality on MV networks” , Power Delivery, IEEE Transactions on, vol.12, no.4, pp.
1428 – 1433, Outubro 1997.
the fault loop does not close, and thus no fault current is
[8] Guldbrand, A.: System earthing. Industrial Electrical Engineering and Automation,
generated. Using the Petersen Coil the fault current is Lund University, 2006.

[9] Escalier, S.; Raymongue, J.; Pinget. A.; Clément, M.; Jeanjean, R.: “Impédances de
limited to 40 A and 20 A, respectively in the two simulated
compensation pour la mise à la terre du neutre des réseaux HTA aériens et
situations, which is one of the advantages this system, mixtes”, Spécification Technique EDF, Outubro 2001.

because in both we can practically eliminate the fault current [10] Grid, A., “Network Protection & Automation Guide”, Julho 2002, ISBN: 2-
9518589-0-6
when the coil is tuned.
[11] HV Power, “Petersen Coils – Basic Principle and Application”, Abril 2012.

[12] Dolnik, B., Kurrimsky, J.: Contribution to earth fault current compensation in
After the fault occurrence, the voltage system becomes middle voltage distribution networks, Przeglad Elektro-techniczny (Electrical
Review), ISSN 0033-2097, R. 87 NR 2/2011.
unbalanced, as shown in the previous tables.

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