Performance Improvement of the SSTDR for Partial Disconnection Fault Detection of Low Voltage Cable

Background/Objectives: The Spread spectrum time domain reflectometry (SSTDR) among the reflectometry methods is superior to detect cable fault and find its location. But it is hard to find the location of partial disconnection fault. Methods/Statistical analysis: This paper usesthe improvedSSTDR, which employs the Wigner Ville Distribution (WVD) based time-frequency correlation analysis (TFCA) and removes the injection signals, in order to detect and locate partial disconnection fault of low voltage cable. The proposed method was validated in partial disconnection cable fault detection and location experiments of F-CV cable used for low voltage power supply in Korea. Findings: The improved SSTDR method in the experiment scan find partial disconnection faults accurately and clearly than the existing SSTDR. The proposed method has superior performance to detect and locate soft fault in cable because the maximum value of correlation function for the reflection signal, which injection signal is eliminated, has a value 1 vianormalization and elimination of injection signal. Improvements/Applications: The proposed method is looking forward to playing an important role in solving the problem to detect soft cable fault like as partial disconnection and insulation damage. Also, it can be applied to SSTDR devices or other reflectometry equipment used in real cable fault detection sites.