Journal of Electronics and Informatics (2021)

Vol.03/ No.01
Pages: 36-48
https://www.irojournals.com/iroei/
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36548/jei.2021.1.004

Effective Automatic Fault Detection in

Transmission Lines by Hybrid Model of
Authorization and Distance Calculation through
Impedance Variation
Dr. Bindhu V,
Professor and Head,
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering,
PPG Institute of Technology,
Villankurichi Saravanampatti P.O,
Coimbatore, India.

Dr. G. Ranganathan,
Head of the department,
Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering,
Gnanamani College of Technology,
Namakkal, India.

Abstract- Fault detection in the transmission is a challenging task when examining the accuracy
of the system. This fault can be caused by a man-made force or by using concurrent overvoltage
in the power distribution line. This research focuses on two sections to handle the power
transmission line problem and can be rectified as previously stated. An intelligent approach is
utilized for monitoring and controlling line faults in order to improve the accuracy of the
equipment in transmission line fault detection. After several iterations of the procedure, the
combination of line and master unit improves the system's accuracy and reliability. The master
unit identifies faulty poles in the network based on the variation of current and voltage of each
node and calculates the distance between the station and the faulty node to reduce manual effort.
In the proposed work, many sensors are used to detect the line fault in a network by placing the
appropriate point. The pure information can be transferred to an authorized person or unit after
many iterations due to knowledgeable devices. The faulty status of the pole information is
displayed in the control unit by a display unit comprised of an alarm unit to alert the
corresponding section using ZigBee techniques. The GSM unit provides the faulty status of an

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ISSN: 2582-3825 (online)
Submitted:26.01.2021
Revised: 19.02.2021
Accepted: 12.03.2021
Published: 27.03.2021
Journal of Electronics and Informatics (2021)
Vol.03/ No.01
Pages: 36-48
https://www.irojournals.com/iroei/
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36548/jei.2021.1.004

authorized person to rectify the problems immediately which further improve the reliability of
the system. When compared to existing methods, our hybrid proposed method achieves a higher
accuracy of 90%. This method aids to reduce the labor costs gradually to visit all-pole points
instead of faulty pole points and thereby increasing the reliability of the electrical consumers.

Keywords: Transmission line faults, Microcontroller, ZigBee, GSM

1. INTRODUCTION
Globally, the power supply system includes the generation unit, transmission unit, and
distribution unit. These units are carrying out their assigned functions and activities. The
monitoring transmission phase is more difficult and expensive everywhere [1]. The power is
already being transmitted through the lines that have been built between the nodes in networks.
The tower is used to maintain the cables for transmission lines from the substation to many nodes
in the area network, such as domestic and commercial points [2]. This power range also is very
high and gives to the distribution unit. The different transmission line is connected with many
distribution units for customer equipment service [3]. The distributed unit is reducing the power
range from high to low and distributes it to appropriate nodes in the network. The power
transmission lines consist of many properties for occurring faults between nodes [4]. The
electrical faults are happening due to many natural parameters lightening, tree fallen on lines,
flying giant bird between the line during a heavy storm. The causes are faults in the transmission
line, which should be identified and corrected as soon as possible [5]. The accuracy and
reliability maintenance is a very challenging task in transmission line problems. Besides, the
electrical equipment short circuit or damaged scenario is unpredictable and impossible to solve
in transmission lines. Fault detection is an important consideration to the safeguard of the power
line for the distribution unit. Most of the methods are semi-automatic to detect the problems in
transmission lines [6]. Figure 1 shows the main functional units for fault detection in the
transmission line.

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Submitted:26.01.2021
Revised: 19.02.2021
Accepted: 12.03.2021
Published: 27.03.2021
Journal of Electronics and Informatics (2021)
Vol.03/ No.01
Pages: 36-48
https://www.irojournals.com/iroei/
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36548/jei.2021.1.004

Figure 1 Main units of General Automatic Fault Detection in Transmission Line

This type of identification will be more effective and not satisfying with accuracy and
reliability due to many components. Many units are using semi-automatic methods to converts
the energy from one to another. So energy consumptions are more and computation time also
high in their procedure [7]. There is an absence of effective examination, reliability, and
accuracy. The identification of faulty poles in a transmission line leads to sensing the voltage and
current output. Most of the research articles fail to provide the distance calculation between
sources to faulty poles [8]. This is our motivation and planning to construct the model
accordingly. The combination of problem finding and statistical analysis with distance
calculation is very rare in modern techniques. Therefore, the proposed model is constructed to
solve many problems in transmission lines that exist already. Many investigations including the
magnetic field sensor coils is used to detect the fault in the transmission line which is more
expensive [9]. During our proposed model, the cost-effectiveness is compared with the existing
models. The classification fails in many semi-automatic methods from termination to terminal in
the network. An accurate faulty pole location is based on error finding and distance calculation
from one to another [10]. These units are non-homogeneous with many trees and loads in the line
which makes it complex to find fault. Impedance-based methods are mostly cost-effective for

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Revised: 19.02.2021
Accepted: 12.03.2021
Published: 27.03.2021
Journal of Electronics and Informatics (2021)
Vol.03/ No.01
Pages: 36-48
https://www.irojournals.com/iroei/
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36548/jei.2021.1.004

terminal measurement. The combination of knowledge-based and impedance measures can be

providing good accuracy and reliability [11].

1.1 Problem statement

The reduction of response time needed to repair faults in order to achieve optimal
transmission line reliability. The cost-effectiveness of the communication protocol provides a
reliable product achievement environment. The implementation of the control system in the
substation with knowledgeable devices was accurate.

1.2 Proposed Solution

This research article comprises efficient impedance and knowledgeable hybrid techniques
to identify the fault in the transmission line. The hybrid technique is used to increase productivity
and reduce the response time due to its double unit consist of line and master unit control. The
separation of the line and the master unit can provide well-reduced computation time and
reliability due to the accurate finding of the system.

1.3 Scope of the research article

This research comprises the design of an efficient approach for fault identification in
transmission lines and includes comparing several existing methods with our proposed hybrid
model. This may lead to ensure stability in a good position and increase the accurate fault
identification after several iterations.

2. ORGANIZATION OF THE RESEARCH

The structure of this article is organized as follows; Section 3 gives recent technology of
fault detection of the transmission line. Section 4 describes an efficient method with a block
diagram. Section 5 addresses the results and discussion of proposed methods with existing
methods. The conclusion and the future task discusses in section 6.

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Submitted:26.01.2021
Revised: 19.02.2021
Accepted: 12.03.2021
Published: 27.03.2021
Journal of Electronics and Informatics (2021)
Vol.03/ No.01
Pages: 36-48
https://www.irojournals.com/iroei/
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36548/jei.2021.1.004

3. PRELIMINARIES
This section comprises related works about fault detection in the transmission line. There
are many types of detection called fully automated fault detection and semi-automated fault
detection, manual fault detection in the transmission line. The communication protocol for
exchanging the data between poles to the system is necessary before understanding fault
detection. The distance calculation is very important to select the appropriate communication
protocol for fault detection. This communication protocol is selecting based on bit rate, range,
nodes between source to destination, cost, and so on. A. Lavric et al., proposed a ZigBee
communication protocol for the transmission fault detection module [12]. M. N. Jivani et al.,
discussed WiFi importance in GSM-based automation systems [13]. Xiaoxin Xu et al., proposed
about wireless healthcare monitoring system by ZigBee technology. Sathesh et al., discussed
smart homes with environmental concerns in future challenges through Wi-Fi Technology. This
ZigBee technology has a range of around 100 metres, which is greater than other technologies
such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. During the development of a communication protocol, network
topology is an important parameter to consider when choosing a path. It is based on the
geographical area over a communication range, structure consideration of local area network,
outdoor environment nodes, the total number of nodes calculation in a region [14].
A. A. Siddiqui et al., the author discussed the lighting control system comprises of
various topology can be constructed and influenced in local area network such as a tree, star,
mesh, bus, and ring topologies. This star topology can have only one master to control all the
slaves in their network is a suitable choice of any dominant communication protocol [15]. Other
topologies are needed to construct the model with multiple routers and nodes which leads to cost
expensive. This configuration setup has been chosen based on the application and network
model. Siddiqui et al., proposed the configuration of the group-based control system for the
street light control system. They concentrated on preferred costing with total expenses [15]. But
this method cannot operate for individual utility pole since group-based control. The ZigBee
communication protocol will support individual utility poles well and determine the distance
between poles in a fast manner. The ZigBee-based integrated control system is used to analyze
the status of the utility pole which should be monitored continuously. Also, it is consuming less
number of nodes used between the utility poles. This makes the fastest delivery between a node
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Accepted: 12.03.2021
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Journal of Electronics and Informatics (2021)
Vol.03/ No.01
Pages: 36-48
https://www.irojournals.com/iroei/
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36548/jei.2021.1.004

to nodes. As a result, a model is proposed to built with the ZigBee communication protocol to
detect faulty signals between utility poles.

4. METHODOLOGIES
These parameters are considered in our proposed structure to construct the
communication protocol for fault detection between poles.
The proposed system comprises identifying a faulty pole, a faulty lamp in the pole, and
the distance between poles. Figure 2 depicts the preliminary work of our proposed system. Field
devices are active poles and it's connected with Base Transceiver Station (BTS) which is used to
receive and collect the signal from field station called a base station. Base Station Control (BSC)
operates based on the activities of the transmission line that can be categorized and provides the
switching system for the further classified process. The signal conditioning unit is controlling the
incoming signal to better transmission.

Figure 2 Ground station for transmission control

4.1 Proposed Detection methods

4.1.1 Impedance with frequency factor
The detection is based on impedance with frequency components of the system. For the
impedance-based estimation process, the voltage and current values are measured on both sides
of the pole. The fundamental frequency in the line terminal is measured with voltage and current
before and during the pole fault. The single-phase ground fault identification with circular
properties, identifying a line problem of a short circuit between line and ground through the use
of physical contact. Here, the proficient electronic devices are constructed with oscillography
function. This function will be installed at the substation level, and information will be taken as
reading with all electrical parameters [16]. In general, this procedure faces the problem of

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Revised: 19.02.2021
Accepted: 12.03.2021
Published: 27.03.2021
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Vol.03/ No.01
Pages: 36-48
https://www.irojournals.com/iroei/
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36548/jei.2021.1.004

statistical estimation under reliable conditions. As a result, the specific procedure should be
followed in the iterative process to identify the fault type [17].

4.1.2 High frequency and waveguide factor

This procedure is functioning with high frequency with a traveling waveguide signal for
identifying the fault generation pole. But the implementation of this procedure is very complex
in the power network. This reflection-based transmission is providing high accuracy and the cost
is very high. Our proposed method can be upgradeable to GSM and ZigBee technologies [18]
[19] [20]. The installation of the GPS is comprised of many transient sensors to detect and
display software tools. But this fault transient is very big complex to detect in the field. The
proposed approach is based on knowledge-oriented such as statistical analysis with
microcontroller unit. The probability can be a support to detect the future prediction of the fault
that occurs due to circuit break due to high voltage, an abnormal condition of the power line
feeders, short circuit due to internal signal conditioning unit [21] [22] [23]. The faulty pole is
identified and used to calculate the distance between the source and the destination of the pole.
This method is used to achieve an accurate finding with an estimation of the faulted unit. Fault
distance measurement at the substation is computed by a combination of estimation and accurate
sensor output. Threshold values can be assigned to the default values of poles in a network when
they are in normal condition [24].

Figure 3 Connected components with microcontroller of Line unit

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The changes in this value can be viewed as faulty poles in terms of voltage and current
checking with the estimation of fault points in the network. If both the procedure is identified as
same 100% it is a fault point in a network. And the calculation between the station to the pole in
a network takes place by node addition procedure. To transmit data from the microcontroller unit
in the line unit, the intelligent device is linked to a display unit, sensor module model, and
modem. The proposed systems have three major components: a communication protocol, a
knowledgeable controlling unit, and an input module, as shown in Figure 3. The CT and PT
transformers are connected to the R, Y, and B which receive the power signal using
the protecting unit of the proposed module. Furthermore, the signal can be converted into a
digital format for analysis by a intelligent device known as a microcontroller. The heart of our
proposed module is a microcontroller, which serves as the controlling component of the
proposed approach. The programming portion is also written in the EEPROM for our
convenience. A microcontroller device can perform the classification, which is used to find
faulty poles based on the threshold value and distance calculation between the source and the
faulty pole.

Figure 4 Connected components with microcontroller of master unit

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Pages: 36-48
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.36548/jei.2021.1.004

The master unit of our proposed system comprised many units which is shown in figure
4. The data from the line unit is received by modem to monitor and control the microcontroller
unit. The voltage and current values of the line unit can be classified and categorized by the
microcontroller to display which pole has failed and the distance is calculated by the
microcontroller unit. The master unit is providing a good accurate reading of the line unit of the
proposed system through serial port communication between the modem and microcontroller
unit. Generally, RS 232 is used for serial communication ports between them. The result of the
calculation distance and the faulty pole identification number can be transferred to the authorized
person or unit that has an alarm to indicate a faulty status in the transmission line.

5. RESULTS DISCUSSION
Table 1 shows performance measures based on the common measuring techniques with
an existing system. Every measuring parameter is significant in the computation. The proposed
model has higher accuracy in detecting faulty poles in a network. It is concluded that the
proposed model identifies much time accurately in the faulty poles. After several iterations, the
system's reliability is very excellent.

Table 1 Performance comparison results obtained by Hybrid Model

Our hybrid method is relatively low in computation time compared to existing methods.
It is concluding that the system is faster than other system performance. It can be appended with
more reliable nodes in its network with new up-gradation. Besides, the authorized units
incorporate the hybrid model in order to improve the accuracy and reliability of the system. The

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presence of a distance calculation unit provides a valid impact on our project. Collectively, the
overall efficiency is near to very high due to all performance of parameters are relatively high. It
can be concluded that the overall performance is excellent by our proposed hybrid efficiency
model. Figure 5 shows the overall performance comparison of the proposed hybrid model.

Figure 5 Overall performance comparison of Proposed Model

6. CONCLUSION
In this research work, an efficient fault detection technique is developed with the
assistance of transmission lines. The causes of overhead power transmission and techniques for
identifying them were discussed using existing methods. The knowledge-based method of
identification of faulty poles and distance calculation through microcontrollers were discussed.
The accuracy and reliability of the proposed system are increased by combining two methods,
while the cost expenses are reduced. The proposed system fails in digital conversion much time
due to minimum cost integrated circuits. It will be replaced in our extended version of this
research work. The computation time of identifying the faulty pole can be increased in further
research. Handling high voltage circuits will be implemented in future research. The optimized
system will be constructed as our future work. The combination of microcontroller and ZigBee,
GSM model is providing good communication protocol for the system. This proposed algorithm

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Vol.03/ No.01
Pages: 36-48
https://www.irojournals.com/iroei/
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36548/jei.2021.1.004

can be applied for fault detection in the generator and motor. The proposed model will be
upgradable to interface many applications to detect the faulty by the human in many remote
areas. Besides, the improvement in detection will be taking into industrial automation. It extends
to improve the security in the design of the authorization unit of the proposed hybrid model.

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Published: 27.03.2021
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Pages: 36-48
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