Simplified technique of faulty element detection in rural power supply systems

Abstract

Reliability, as a property of the power supply system to remain operational for the required time, should be ensured with the least possible expenditure of labor and material resources. The increase of the number of failures and malfunctions in medium and low voltage electrical networks in rural areas, in remote and isolated territories leads to the need for an effective search for a faulty element. Therefore, the problem of maintaining reliability standards for medium and low voltage distribution electric networks is extremely relevant. The experience of operation of the considered power supply system shows that the duration of the search for defects is significantly longer than the time to eliminate them. Therefore, simplified troubleshooting techniques for the elements of the analyzed networks present new opportunities to improve the efficiency of their operation. In conditions of uncertainty, lack and often unreliability of information about failures of rural power supply system elements as well as in the practical absence of modern controls, the task is to develop a simplified methodology for finding a faulty element. A relatively simple method of element-by-element checks is proposed where there are two outcomes for each element: “serviceable” and “defective”. The method gives the greatest effect when used in situations of insufficiently qualified personnel who lack the skills to recognize the symptoms observed during failures or damages. The basis of the method is the construction of a binary tree of checks of elements of the power supply system which can significantly increase the efficiency of the consumer functioning. The possibilities of using the mathematical apparatus of graph theory to solve the problem of finding a failed element of an electrical supply system are shown. The examples given show the possibilities of applying graph theory when using the method of sequential checks in different schemes and in different ways. It is emphasized that troubleshooting for any power supply system represented by a graph containing a Hamiltonian path is reduced to the case of sequentially connected elements.