UNDERGROUND CABLE FAULT DETECTION

ABSTRACT:

Due to subsurface environments, wear and tear, rats, and other factors, underground cables are
susceptible to a wide range of problems. Diagnosing the source of a defect is complex, and to verify and
correct issues, the entire cable must be removed from the ground. Using a PIC16F877A controller, the project
effort aims to detect the location of faults in underground cable lines from the base station in kilometres. The
wire must be examined for defects in order to discover a fault. The elementary concept of Ohms law is used in
this prototype. The current would fluctuate based on the cable's fault length. Instead of overhead wires,
electrical cables go underground in metropolitan areas. When a fault arises in an underground cable,
pinpointing the exact site of the problem is difficult to do in order to repair that cable. The suggested approach
locates the fault in its exact position. The prototype is made up of a collection of resistors that represent cable
length in kilometres, and a set of switches that create faults at every known distance to double-check the
accuracy of the model. When a defect occurs, the voltage between series resistors changes, which is then input
to an ADC, which generates exact digital data and sends it to a programmable PIC IC, which shows the fault
location in distance. On a 16X2 LCD connected to the microcontroller, the fault distance, phase, and time are
displayed. Using the ESP8266 Wi-Fi module, IoT is used to show information over the Internet. The
information concerning the occurrence of the defect is displayed in a webpage produced with HTML code.

keywords: Underground cable, fault location methods, microcontroller and Wi-Fi module, webpage

1.INTRODUCTION:

Power supply networks are constantly expanding, and their dependability is more critical than ever. The
network's complexity includes several components that can fail and cause the end user's power supply to be
interrupted. Underground cables have been utilised for decades for the majority of the world's low voltage and
medium voltage distribution lines. Because they are not affected by weather conditions, such as heavy rain,
storms, snow, or pollution, underground high voltage cables are becoming increasingly popular.

1.1 Types of fault in cables

1.1.1 Open Circuit Fault

The term "open circuit fault of the cable" refers to a break in the conductor of the cable.Megger can be
used to check for open circuit faults. The three conductors of the 3-core wire at the distant end are
 shorted and earthed for this purpose. A megger is then used to measure the resistance between each
conductor and the earth. In the circuit of the conductor that is not broken, the megger will show 0
resistance. The megger, on the other hand, will show infinite resistance in its circuit if the conductor is
severed.

1.1.2 Short Circuit Fault

A short-circuit fault occurs when two conductors of a multi-core cable come into electrical contact with
each other due to insulation breakdown. The megger's two terminals can be attached to any two
conductors. A zero reading on the megger indicates a short-circuit issue between these two conductors.
The same procedure can be used with additional conductors, two at a time.

1.1.3 Earth Fault

Earth fault or ground fault occurs when the cable conductor comes into touch with the earth. One
terminal of the megger is attached to the conductor and the other terminal is linked to earth to identify
this issue. The conductor is earthed if the megger shows a zero reading. The similar method is followed
for the cable's other conductors [4,6].This project is used to digitally detect the location of a defect.
Locating a defective spot in an underground cable allows for faster repair, increased system reliability,
and shorter outage times.The following is a breakdown of the article's structure. Section 2 delves into
the various ways for detecting the location of a defect in underground cables. The proposed fault
locating method's essential premise is described in Section 3. Section 4 uses a flow graphic to explain
the operation of the proposed system. The circuit, which is a prototype model for the proposed system,
is presented in Section 5. Section 6 shows how Proteus 8.5 Professional software was used to simulate
the work. The hardware implementation and results are also explained in this section. The work's
conclusion and future scope are presented in Section 7.

2. LITERATURE SURVEY
2.1 Sectionalizing

Because it relies on physically cutting and splicing the line, this process diminishes cable reliability. The
search for a fault can be narrowed by dividing the cable into smaller portions and measuring both ways
with an ohmmeter or a high-voltage insulation resistance (IR) tester. This time-consuming technique
usually entails multiple cable excavations [2,8].
2.2 Thumping

When a high voltage is applied to a defective cable, the high current arc that results produces a noise
loud enough to be heard above ground. While this method avoids the cutting and splicing of the
sectionalizing method, it has its own disadvantages. To generate an underground noise loud enough to
be heard above ground, thumps require currents in the tens of thousands of amps at voltages as high as
25 kV. The cable insulation is frequently degraded as a result of the high current's heating. By passing
the minimum required power to execute the test, the damage limit can be reduced [2].

2.3 Time Domain Reflectory

The TDR is an electronic instrument that employs time domain reflectometry to characterise and find
flaws in metallic cables. The TDR transmits a low-energy signal across the cable that does not degrade
the insulation. The signal is returned in a known time and profile by a hypothetically flawless cable.
Impedance differences in a "real-world" cable change the time and profile, which is graphically
represented on the TDR screen or printout. TDR has the disadvantage of not being able to pinpoint
errors.

2.4 Arc Reflection Method

This technology is known as a high voltage radar technique because it overcomes the low-voltage
radar's 200 volt restriction. An arc reflection filter and a surge generator are also required in addition to
the TDR. The surge generator is used to induce an arc across the shunt fault, resulting in a momentary
short circuit that may be seen on the TDR as a downward reflection.The filter protects the TDR from the
surge generator's high voltage pulses while routing the low-voltage pulses down the cable. The most
accurate and simple pre-location approach is arc reflection. There is no need to interpret the defect
because it is presented in connection to other cable landmarks such splices, taps, and transformers. The
TDR can display "before" and "after" traces or wire signatures thanks to arc reflection. The "before"
trace displays all cable landmarks but does not reveal the downward reflection of a high resistance shunt
fault since it is a low-voltage radar signature. Even though its resistance may be more than 200, the
"after" trace is the high-voltage signature that includes the fault site.The cursors are positioned to read
the distance to the high resistance fault [8]. This trace is digitised, saved, and presented on the screen.
 2.5 Blavier Test

When a ground fault occurs in a single cable and no other cables are present, a blavier test can be used
to find the fault. In other words, in the absence of a sound cable to find a fault in the cable, the blavier
test is the measurement of resistance from one side or end. Blavier's test can be used to discover a single
cable's ground fault. In this type of test, a bridge network is used with a low voltage supply, an ammeter,
and a voltmeter.While the "Far End" is isolated from the earth, the resistance between one end of the
cable (Sending End) and the earth is measured [2, 8].

3.INTERNET OF THINGS

The application of IoT in the electrical power industry changed the way things were done previously. In
order to reduce power consumption and costs, IoT boosted the usage of wireless technology to connect power
sector assets and infrastructure. The Internet of Things (IoT) has a wide range of applications, including energy
systems, residences, industries, cities, logistics, health, and agriculture, to name a few. Over more than 13
decades, the whole power grid infrastructure has been built up to meet the ever-increasing demand for
electricity since 1881. Power grids are currently regarded as one of the most important pieces of infrastructure
on which modern society relies. It is critical to deliver continuous power without interruptions or losses. It's
difficult to accept that, due to various losses, the power generated does not equal the power used at the end
point. It's even more difficult to imagine the aftereffects if you don't have any power. Short circuits are the
cause of power outages. This is a high-cost event because it has an impact on industrial output, commercial
activity, and consumer behaviour. Governments and independent power suppliers are constantly looking for
ways to improve power quality, boost grid uptime, reduce power consumption, improve grid operations
efficiency, and eliminate outages, power loss, and theft. Most crucial, the service should give customers real-
time visibility into every penny they pay for energy. Governments and independent power suppliers are
constantly looking for ways to improve power quality, boost grid uptime, reduce power consumption, improve
grid operations efficiency, and eliminate outages, power loss, and theft. Most crucial, the service should give
customers real-time visibility into every penny they pay for energy. A centralised management system that is
cost effective, secure, and interoperable is becoming increasingly necessary for more reliable, scalable, and
managed operations. Furthermore, the system should allow power suppliers and utilities to execute effective
demand forecasting and energy planning in order to meet the growing demand for reliable power [5]. The
purpose of the Internet of Things is to not only connect things like machines, gadgets, and appliances, but also
to allow them to communicate with one another, sharing control data and other important information while
running applications. It is made up of IoT devices with distinct identities that may conduct remote sensing,
monitoring, and actuation functions. These gadgets can communicate with one another either directly or
indirectly. Locally or remotely, data is collected using centralised servers or cloud-based apps.

At the perception layer, sensors, global positioning systems (GPS), cameras, and radio frequency identification
devices (RFID) are examples of gadgets. Under the limits of device capabilities, network limitations, and
application constraints, the network layer is responsible for passing data from the perception layer to the
application layer. Based on the communicated parties, IoT systems use a combination of the Internet and short-
range networks. Information is transmitted from perception devices to a nearby gateway using short-range
communication technologies like Bluetooth and ZigBee. Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, 4G, and Power Line Communication
(PLC) are examples of other technologies that can transfer data over vast distances depending on the
application. The application layer is the top layer, which processes incoming data to generate insights for better
power distribution design and management techniques.
3.1 Online Monitoring of Power lines:

The number and severity of power outages increase when more buildings and regions are served by
power line networks, resulting in reduced system dependability.Reliability is critical because it has
major consequences for public health and economic systems. The goal of integrating IoT technology
with the electricity grid is to increase grid dependability by continuously monitoring transmission line
status, as well as environmental behaviours and customer activities, and sending periodic data to grid
control units. To detect defects, isolate the fault, and finally rectify faults, the control units process and
extract information from the reported data. The location criticality of blackouts must be considered
while doing energy restoration in the smart grid. . For example, ensuring high dependability in health
and industrial systems is crucial. When the huge number of combinations of switching operations,
which exponentially rises with the number of system components, is taken into account, the restoration
problem becomes a tremendously complicated problem. In a hierarchical architecture, the smart grid
separates the problem into many control units, each of which is responsible for restoring electricity
within its region or scope.This reduces the amount of time it takes to process the data and speeds up the
recovery process. If certain control units fail to restore energy in some locations within their scope, they
report the problem to higher levels, which can take better action and handle the situation since they
have a bigger system perspective [5].
3.2 Demand Side Energy Management:
 Demand-Side Energy Management (DSM) is the process of changing consumers' energy usage profiles
in response to changing electricity prices over time and other utility company payment incentives.
Demand response is used to reduce electricity bills for consumers, shift peak load demand, reduce
power grid management costs, and reduce energy loss and greenhouse gas emissions. IoT components
capture energy usage data from various household appliances and deliver it to smart metres. In a smart
grid, the control unit schedules energy usage of household appliances based on the user's preferences in
order to reduce the power cost. At several layers of the hierarchical smart grid architecture, the DSM
problem can be handled. To protect customers' privacy, it can be solved at the level of home premises.
It may also be addressed at a higher level to provide more efficient scheduling plans that benefit both
consumers and the utility business [5].
 
3.3 INTEGRATION OF DISTRIBUTED ENERGY SOURCES :

Because of environmental concerns, climate change, and their low cost, renewable energy producers
are being incorporated into today's electricity infrastructure. As a result, greenhouse gas emissions are
reduced, and the Earth's temperature is lowered. Many governments, businesses, and people have
begun to build solar cells and wind turbines to provide a portion of their electricity needs in recent
years. Germany, for example, intends to meet all of its electricity needs using renewable energy sources
by 2050. Wireless sensors are used by IoT technology to collect real-time meteorological data in order
to estimate energy availability in the near future. For energy scheduling models, the accuracy of
anticipated power quantities over the following time intervals is critical. In order to successfully
manage renewable energy sources within the environment, several methodologies and optimization
solutions have been created in study within the smart grid[5].
 
3.4 INTEGRATION OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES

When electric vehicles (EVs) are not in use, they are utilised as energy storage devices. They also
provide transportation that is both efficient and clean. Developing effective charging and discharging
scheduling systems for electric cars has the potential to cut emissions, reduce peak demand, and
improve the amount of renewable energy used.To increase the effectiveness of charging and
 discharging scheduling algorithms, perception devices gather information on electric cars' identity,
battery state, location, and so on [5].
 
3.5 SMART HOMES
 
Sensors and actuators in the system and appliances monitor the environment and communicate
surveillance data to a home control unit. The control device allows homeowners to monitor and
regulate their electrical appliances at all times. It also uses surveillance data to forecast future actions so
that a more convenient, pleasant, safe, and efficient living environment may be created [5].
 
4. PROPOSED SYSTEMS

An IoT-enabled underground cable failure detection system is presented. Ohms law is the system's
fundamental premise. The voltage fluctuates when a fault occurs in the cable, which is used to compute the
fault distance. The Wi-Fi module, Microcontroller, and Real-Time Clock make up the system. Figure 2 depicts
a block schematic of the fault detection system. A step-down transformer, rectifier, and regulator are used to
provide power. The microcontroller receives the amount of voltage drop across the resistors from the cable's
current sensing circuit, and the fault distance is calculated based on the voltage [1,2].

BLOCK DIAGRAM
 
5.FLOW CHART

The system's Microcontroller, LCD display, RTC, and Wi-Fi module's input and output ports are setup
and initialised. When a defect occurs (the switch is pressed), the distance, timing, and phase of the fault are
shown. Using the Wi-Fi module, the following problem information will be shown on the webpage [9,10].

6.CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION
The cable length is represented by resistors in the prototype. The R phase of the wire is represented by
the resistors RR1 through RR5. Similarly, the Y and B phases of the cable are represented as RY1 to RY5 and
RB1 to RB5. The neutral lines are represented by the numbers RN1 through RN12. Switches are used to depict
the occurrence of a defect in subterranean cables. Each phase is connected to a relay, which is connected to the
Microcontroller's Port C. The LEDs linked to each relay illuminate when there is no malfunction.When a
switch attached to a certain phase is closed, just the LED associated with that phase shines.
 FLOW CHART

The resistance linked to that phase mounts up, and the resulting voltage drop is sent to the Microcontroller's
Port A. The voltage drop is translated to distance and shown in the LCD . Furthermore, the Port C pin
associated to that specific LED becomes high, and the name of the faulty phase is shown on the LCD. To show
the time when the problem occurred, the Real Time Clock DS1307 is attached to Port C of the Microcontroller.
The time is increased every clock cycle. During a fault, the RTC's SCL pin synchronises data, and the RTC's
SDA pin transfers data to the Microcontroller, which is shown on the LCD. During the cable's failure phase,
the switch over connection is triggered to deliver an uninterrupted power supply.

CABLE SIDE CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

SWITCH OVER CONNECTION

7.OBSERVATION AND RESULT

Proteus 8.5 professional software is used to simulate the fault detection system, and the fault
information is presented on the LCD. Figures 6 and 7 depict the defect detection system's simulation and
hardware configuration, respectively. Table 2 displays the Fault display message.The project "IoT Based
Underground Cable Problem Detector" is a useful technology since it cuts down on the time it takes to find the
exact site of a fault.

SYSTEM SIMULATION

8.CONCLUSION

The short circuit fault is placed at a specific distance in the subterranean cable in order to efficiently fix
the problem using simple Ohms law ideas. With the aid of a PIC 16F877A and an ESP8266 Wi-Fi module, the
work automatically shows the phase, distance, and time of the occurrence of the defect in a webpage. Faster
repair of the power system, improved system performance, lower operating costs, and reduced time to detect
problems in the field are all advantages of precise fault location.
 
9.FUTURE SCOPE
 Open circuit fault, short circuit Line to Line Fault (LL), and double Line to Ground Fault can be added
to the task (LLG). A capacitor in an ac circuit may detect an open circuit fault by measuring the change in
impedance and calculating the fault distance.
 
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