Effect of Earth Current Return Model on

Transmission Line Fault Location - A Case Study

Swagata Das and Surya Santoso Randy Horton Anish Gaikwad
The University of Texas at Austin Southern Company Services, Inc. Electric Power Research Institute

Abstract-Impedance-based fault location algorithms require
positive- and zero-sequence line impedance to determine the
distance to fault. When solving for these line constants in a multi
grounded transmission system, power system analysis programs
use Carson's model, modified Carson's model or Deri model to
account for earth current return. The study is motivated by the
fact that line constants calculated using each of these different
approaches are not exactly identical. Since transmission lines
traverse long distances, it was suspected that these seemingly
minor differences can affect accuracy of fault location estimates.
Therefore this paper aims to study the impact of line constants
calculated using different earth return models on impedance
based fault location algorithms. Analysis was conducted on
four actual fault events. For a fault located 14.37 miles from
substation, variation between location estimates using each of
the three earth models was observed to be within 1 %. The paper
therefore recommends using any of the three earth models for
fault location without significant variation in accuracy.
Index Terms-Power system faults, power system reliability,
transmission lines.
I. NOMENCLATURE
Permeability of free space 47f x 10-7 (Him)
=
Earth resistivity (n/m)
Earth conductivity (S/m)
System angular frequency (rad/s)
Constant to convert meter to feet 3.28084
=
[Zabel Phase impedance matrix (n)
[Zo d Sequence impedance matrix (n)
ZLine,O Zero-sequence line impedance (n)
Positive-sequence line impedance (n)
ZLine,l
ZLine,2 Negative-sequence line impedance (n)
II. INTRODUCTION
Impedance-based fault location algorithms such as the Tak
agi method are commonly used to locate faults in a networked
transmission system [1], [2]. These algorithms are straightfor
ward to implement and yield reasonable location estimates.
Voltage and current measurements captured by a digital relay
at one end of the line are used to calculate the apparent
impedance to fault. Knowing the positive- and zero-sequence
line impedance in ohms per unit distance, the corresponding
distance to fault can be easily obtained. Determining accurate
values of these line constants is therefore a critical step before
performing any fault location analysis.
Line constants are generally solved using power system
analysis programs like CAPE [3], OpenDSS [4], PSCAD [5]
and others. Information about tower configuration and con
ductor materials must be known. The motivation in this paper
stems from the fact that line constants, particularly the zero

sequence line impedance calculated using these programs are

Distance between conductors i and k (ft)
not exactly identical. The discrepancy can be explained by the
Distance between conductor i and image k' (ft)
various approaches used by different programs to account for
Distance between conductor i and its own image
earth current return in three-phase multi-grounded transmis
i' (ft)
sion systems. Well-known approaches are full Carson's model,
G Constant 0.1609347 x 1O-3(n/mi)
=

modified Carson's model and Deri model [6]. The full Car
GMRi Geometric mean radius of conductor i (ft)
son's model use a method of images to calculate the self-and
hi Height of conductor i above ground (ft)
mutual-impedance of a transmission line. Modified Carson's
I Faulted phase current (kA)
model is a simplified version of the full Carson's model and is
10 Zero-sequence fault current (kA)
most commonly used for power frequency calculations [7]. An
1sup Superposition current (kA)
alternative approach proposed by Dubanton and implemented
1preflt Pre-fault current (kA)
by Deri replaces the earth with a superconducting earth return
ncond Total number of phase and shield conductors
plane situated at a complex depth below the ground [8]. Since
Ii Radius of conductor i (ft)
transmission lines travel over long distances, seemingly minor
Rei Internal resistance of conductor i (n/mi)
differences in line impedance computed using each of the three
m Distance to fault (pu)
earth models can affect accuracy of fault location.
T Symmetrical component transformation matrix
The study presented in this paper is part of an EPRI
V Faulted line-to-ground voltage (kV)
fault location study and aims to investigate the impact of
Zii Self-impedance of conductor i (n/mi)
line constants calculated using different earth return models
Mutual-impedance between conductors i and k
on impedance-based fault location algorithms. Analysis was
(n/mi)
conducted on four actual fault events collected from a partic
This work was supported by Electric Power Research Institute. ipating utility. Line impedance calculated using each of the

978-1-4799-1303-9/13/$31.00 2013 IEEE

three earth return models was used as an input to the Takagi
method and the corresponding distance to fault estimates were
10 Ib
compared with known location of the fault. For some earth - -

"V
models, line impedances calculated using commercial software Ie
programs may be significantly different. Error may be due -
to incorrect data entry. Moreover some commercial software In
programs require additional data, namely conductor GMR,
-
bundling radius and conductor sag data when calculating line
impedance. Therefore, users should be aware of the earth / './ / / / / / / /,/ '/ /
...... "
model being used and how the software is calculating the .....
----------
line data. It is also recommended to validate line impedance
Earth
parameters calculated using different software with standard
equations presented in this paper. The paper also concludes
Fig. 1. Eartb Return in Three-pbase Four-Wire Multi-grounded System [12]
that if data is entered correctly and line impedance calculations
are correct, then any of the three earth modeling techniques k
can be used for fault location calculation. Error in estimation
d;k

@

is within 1 %.
The paper is organized as follows: Section III discusses
impedance-based fault location and illustrates the importance
of line constants for fault location estimation. Section IV h;
describes the equations governing full Carson's, modified D;k
D..
"
Carson's and Deri model. Utility test case is described in
Section V while analysis and conclusion are presented in
Sections V I and V II respectively.

III. IMPEDANCE-BASED FAULT LOCATION ALGORITHMS

Impedance-based fault location algorithms are straightfor

ward to implement, yield reasonable location estimates and
are widely used by utilities and commercial distance relays
for fault location purposes [1]. Voltage and current measure
ments captured during fault are used to estimate the apparent i' k'
impedance from the monitoring location to the faulted point.
Knowing the line impedance in ohms per unit distance, the Fig. 2. Conductors and their Images Used in Carson's Model

corresponding distance to fault can be easily obtained. Ac

curacy of location estimates therefore depend on accuracy of
calculated line impedance. For example, consider the Takagi earth cannot penetrate deep into the ground due to a condition
method implemented in Schweitzer relays [9]. Distance to fault similar to skin effect [11]. Instead they flow along the surface
is estimated as [2], just underneath the conductor, as shown in Fig. 1. When
calculating the impedance of a transmission line, the effect
m= imag (V x I;up)
,-
Zi ,

imag ( l ne l X Is x I;up)
---- -- --
(1)
of earth return must be taken into consideration. Three well
known modeling methods are described below.

where Isup = 1- Ipre!lt; Is = 1+ ( ZZLLiinnee,,lo ) 10 .

-1
A. Full Carson's Model
In this model, the earth is assumed to be an infinite,
As seen from (1), line impedances ZLine,l ZLine,O
and
an important role in fault location estimation.
play homogeneous solid with a constant resistivity. The calculation
procedure uses a method of images wherein every conductor
above the ground has a fictitious image conductor at the same
IV. EARTH CURRENT RETURN MODELS distance below the ground, as shown in Fig. 2. Self- and
mutual impedance of the line can be calculated as [6], [7],
Transmission systems are not perfectly balanced due to un
transposed lines, loads and occurrence of unbalanced faults. As
a result, residual current, which is the summation of currents Zii =RCi + 4wPG + [2WGln(GRi)+ j

2wG In(2i) + 4WQG]

in all the three phases, flows back to the source through the (2)
neutral. Since transmission lines are multi-grounded systems, Sl/mi
i.e. the neutral conductor is grounded at multiple points along
the length of the transmission line, this return current is shared
between the earth and neutral [lO]. The current through the
Zik = 4wPG + [2WG In(ii:) + 4WQG]
j Sl/mi . (3)
Here P and Q are complex correction factors to account for Complex penetration depth P can be calculated as,
the earth return and are defined as,

( )
C
l k2 2 - ---=j== .
P- (12)
- ,j WJ1.oo-
P kcos8+ cos28 0.6728 + In
!<)
= -

8 3v2 16 k To calculate the sequence impedances of the transmis

(4)
k2 k3cos38 7r k4cos48 sion line, one of the three models described in this Section
+ 8 sin28+
16 45V2 1536 is used to construct a primitive impedance matrix of size
ncond x ncond. Because shield wire conductors are assumed
1 2 1 7r k2 cos28
Q - 0.0386+ -In- + kcos8 - + to be solidly grounded, Kron reduction technique is applied
3v!<)

( )
=

2 k 2 64 to eliminate the shield wire conductors and obtain a reduced

k3cos38 k4 k4 2 phase impedance matrix [Zabel , which includes the effect of
- 8 sin48 - cos48 1.0895+ In-
45v!<)
- -

2 384 384 k the shield wires. Sequence impedance matrix [Zo d can be
(5) then computed as [7],

}
Constants k and 8 in (4) and (5) can be calculated as, [Zo d = [Tr1 [Zabel [Tl rljmi (13)

Vfi..pp
Diagonal terms of Z012 refer to ZLine,O, ZLine,l and ZL ine,2
k 1.713 X 1O-3hi
respectively. Off-diagonal terms are ignored.
=

for self-impedance (6)

}
8=0 V. DESCRIPTION OF UTILITY TEST CASE

q
To demonstrate the effect of different earth current return
k = 0.8565 X 10-3 Dik
Vp models on fault location estimates, analysis was conducted on

( )
for mutual-impedance. (7) actual fault event data collected from a participating utility.
_l hi+ hk Circuit model was available in CAPE [3] and is shown in
8 cos
Fig. 3. On 10th January, 2012, a B-phase to ground fault
=

Dik
B. Modified Carson's Model
The modified Carson's model is commonly used for all
power frequency calculations. It approximates the full Car
son's model by retaining only the first term of variable P
and two terms of variable Q. These few terms are sufficient
to maintain accuracy and the calculation of self- and mutual
impedance terms simplify down to [6], [7],
occurred 14.37 miles from 161 kV substation (Sub 378),
as indicated by "F" in Fig. 3. Root cause of the fault is
not known. A SEL-351-R relay present at the substation
for line protection samples the three-phase line currents and
line-to-neutral voltages at 16 samples per cycle. The fault is
momentary in nature and cleared by the first operation of the
recloser. The same fault then re-appears in the circuit after 15

( 2:r)
minutes, as shown by the event log in Fig. 4. Recloser operates
once to allow the temporary fault to clear from the circuit.

Z" Re,+O.00159f+jO.OO4657fiogw "1m; I Select Event Report

[QI
_

( 17 )
(8) # Event Descri p t ion
Compressed Event Report Do.te: 1/10/2012 Time: 12:59:41.999

2160
FIOSEL3S1R
1 Event: BG TLocation 14.65 Shot: 1 Freq: 60.01
Targets: 51

Zik 0.001591 + jO.0046571 10glO rljmi . 1_ Currents A8CNGO: 84 2336 "0 , 2330 2114

dt k
=
Compressed Event Report Date:' 110/2012 Time: 12:59:41.532
FIOSEL3S1R
2 Event: BG TLocation: 14.43 Shot: 0 Freq: 60.01
Targets: INST50
(9) Currents ABCNGQ: 74 2270 145 1 2335 2215
Compressed Event Report Dale: 1/10/2012 Time: 12:44:38.897
FIDSEL351R

C. Deri Model 3 Event: BG TLocotion: 14.18 Shot: 1 Freq: 60.00

Targets: 51
Currents ABCNGO: 92 2353 129 1 2336 2158
Equations proposed by Dubanton and implemented by Deri Compressed Event Report Date: 1/10/2012 Time: 12:44:38.413
FIOSEL3S1R
use simple expressions to calculate line impedance parameters 4 Event: 8G TLoc ation: 14.08 Shot: 0 Freq: 60.00
Targets: INST50
which are valid over a wide range of frequencies. The earth Currents ABCNGO: 72 2311 167 1 2399 2220

is replaced with a superconducting earth current return plane

located at a complex depth p below the ground. Self- and
Fig. 4. Fault Event Log Recorded by Relay
mutual impedance of the line are given as [6], [8],

Zii =
J1.o
Rei+ jw-In
27r
2hi+ 2P
ri
( ) rljml
.

(10)
Length of the faulted transmission line is 23.6 miles. The
line geometry is shown in Fig. 5. Spacing between the con
ductors is given in feet. Shield wires Sl and S2 are grounded
at the top of the tower and protect phase conductors A, B and
(11) C from direct lightning strikes. Characteristics of the materials
used to build phase and shield wires are given in Table 1. Next,
 Slb378

46.0kV
1
'"'"

161.0kV
8lb31 0----;;;;-
2.5kV
:

"'"1
G
I-------j:- +

i"
: :Q:

46.0kV F
I---- ,j
"

"

r
8lb 2617
2.5kV 161 0k f
+ +

161.0kV
8lb .1 1 8lb457 1 1

I o " I

"
Slb887- -
1 1.0klf"
0
-,-112.5k
@l-l
-,-1 12.5kV

.s k.1
146.0kvI "wr
Fig. 3. Utility Circuit Model in CAPE

TABLE I
8.56' 8.56' CONDUCTOR DATA

81 82 Material
Resistance Diameter GMR
(Wmile) (inch) (feet)
Phase 397,500 2617 ACSR 0.2537 0.7836 0.0265
A B C Shield 3/8 A HSS 5.6500 0.3600 0.0120

-,-
TABLE II
POSITlVE- AND ZERO-SEQUENCE IMPEDANCE OF FAULTED

I 16' 16' I 62.15' TRANSMISSION LINE (LENGTH = 23.6 MILES)

I I

51.15' Earth Return Model ZLine 1 (0) ZLine 0 (0)

l/ Full Carson's Model 6.0062 + j18.9956 19.7202 + j56.2246
,/ Modified Carson's Model 6.0062 + j18.9956 19.8193 + j55.9296
Deri Model 5.9165 + j18.9933 19.9538 + j56.5338

Fig. 5. Overhead Line Spacing in Feet
to compute the positive- and zero-sequence impedance of the
line using full Carson's and modified Carson's model, (2) -
(9) are implemented in MATLAB. Deri model is solved using
OpenDSS software. Typical earth resistivity value of 100 Sl
m and system frequency of 60 Hz is used. Results in ohms
are tabulated in Table II. As seen from this table, positive
sequence impedance from all the three models match relatively
well. This is because positive-sequence currents don't flow
through the earth and are hence not affected by earth model.
The zero-sequence impedance, particularly the zero-sequence
reactance show some minor differences. Since transmission
lines travel over wide geographical distances, analysis in the
next Section investigates if minor differences in these line
impedance values affects accuracy of fault location estimates.
V I. ANALYSIS
are used. Using actual fault data is advantageous since no
assumptions about the earth need to be made. Results are
therefore not biased. Analysis of first event report is explained
in details followed by a summary of the remaining events.
A. Event 1
Voltage and current waveforms of event 1 recorded by the
relay is shown in Fig. 6. This is a short-duration event. Fault
persists in the circuit only for 4 cycles before the first operation
of the recloser. Also note that the DC offset has not completely
decayed down. To extract the fault voltage and current phasors,
Fast Fourier transform (FFT) is performed on the third cycle
after the initiation of fault, as shown in Fig. 6 and are given
as,
V 46.74L158.1 kV
1 2.29L90.1 kA .
Takagi method also requires pre-fault current and zero
sequence fault current when estimating the distance to fault.
They are calculated to be,

To evaluate the effect of earth return model on fault location 1prejlt 116.38L - 177.57 A
algorithms, event reports recorded by the SEL-351-R relay 10 783.59L88.26 A .
 TABLE III
SUMMARY OF FAULT LOCATION ESTIMATES USING DIFFERENT EARTH
2000 RETURN MODELS
1000
S2 Fault Location (mil
!E Event Earth Return Model
-1000 Estimated Actual
-2000 Event 1 Full Carson's Model 14.20
100 111012012 Modified Carson's Model 14.24
12:44:38:413
is 50 Deri Model 14.15
>
Event 2 Full Carson's Model 14.07
ill
> 111012012 Modified Carson's Model 14.12
-50
12:44:38:897
;r
> -100
Deri Model 14.03 14.37

2.5 5.0 7.5 10.0 12.5
Cycles
Fig. 6. Event 1 Voltage and Current Recorded by SEL-351-R Relay
The approach consists of using line constants calculated using
each of the three earth return models as an input to an
impedance-based fault location algorithm. In this paper, the
Takagi method has been used. Estimated location is then
compared with known location of the fault. When data are
correctly entered to a line constant programs or computed
correctly, all the three earth modeling techniques yield almost
identical results. Takagi method estimates the distance to fault
(m) to be 0.6017 pu or 14.20 miles using full Carson's
model. Similarly, using modified Carson's model and Deri
model, distance to fault estimates are 14.24 and 14.15 miles
respectively.
B. Summary of Remaining Events
Fault location analysis on remaining events have been
summarized in Table III. Estimates from all the three modeling
techniques are close to the actual location of the fault. Max
imum deviation of 0.1 miles is observed. Also, note that for
the same fault event, results are not consistent. For example,
for events 1 and 2, modified Carson's model give location
estimates closer to the actual location of the fault. In events
3 and 4, Deri model is more accurate. This is because other
factors such as DC offset influence the accuracy of location
estimates.
V II. CONCLUSION
Accurate values of positive- and zero-sequence impedance
play an important role in estimating fault location using
impedance-based fault location algorithms. Power system
analysis programs are commonly used to solve for line con
stants using full Carson's, modified Carson's or Deri model.
Tower configuration and conductor materials must be known.
The method of entering this data is quite different in various
software programs. Moreover some programs require addi
tional data such as number of sub-conductors in a bundle,
bundling radius and conductor sag to calculate line impedance.
Error can occur due to incorrect data entry. Therefore, users
should be aware of the earth model being used and how the
software is calculating the line data. It is also recommended to
validate line impedance parameters calculated using different
15.0 Event 3 Full Carson's Model 14.46
1/10/2012 Modified Carson's Model 14.50
12:59:41:532
Deri Model 14.41
Event 4 Full Carson's Model 14.63
111012012 Modified Carson's Model 14.68
12:59:41:999
Deri Model 14.59
software with standard equations presented in this paper. This
will avoid any error due to incorrect data entry. The paper also
concludes that if data is entered correctly and line impedance
calculations are correct, then any of the three earth modeling
techniques can be used for fault location calculation. Analysis
on four actual fault events indicate that error in estimation is
less than 1 %.
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