This study conducts a simulation-based analysis of three-phase (ABC) symmetrical fault location on a 132 kV transmission line using a double-ended impedance-based approach implemented in MATLAB/Simulink. The method is derived from Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law and uses synchronized voltage and current measurements from both the sending and receiving ends to remove the dependency on fault-point voltage and directly estimate the fault distance based on apparent impedance. A 160 km distributed-parameter transmission line model, with realistic line and system parameters, is developed in SimPowerSystems to simulate both steady-state and transient fault conditions. Three-phase fault scenarios are tested at various locations (from 10 km to 120 km) with different fault resistances (5 Ω to 100 Ω) and fault inception times to assess the accuracy and robustness of the estimation. The results show that the proposed method gives highly accurate fault location estimates, with percentage errors typically below 1% in all test cases. The approach is resistant to changes in fault resistance and fault inception time, and maintains reliable performance across various fault distances. The study confirms that the double-ended impedance-based technique offers an effective, accurate, and computationally efficient solution for fault location and protection in high-voltage power systems.
Anierobi Patrick Ogechukwu (Fri,) studied this question.