Noise Effects on Detection and Localization of Faults for Unified Power Flow Controller-Compensated Transmission Lines Using Traveling Waves

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the effects of noise on the detection and localization of faults in transmission lines compensated with a unified power flow controller using traveling wave-based methods. This study focuses on the impact of harmonic and transient noises, which are inherent to power generation, transmission, and UPFC operation. A novel algorithm is proposed combining the Discrete Wavelet Transform and Clarke Transform to detect and localize faults under various noise conditions. The algorithm is tested on a simulated transmission line model in MATLAB/Simulink (Version R2022b) with noise levels of 20 dB, 30 dB, and 40 dB and transient frequencies of 1 kHz, 5 kHz, and 10 kHz. The results demonstrate that the algorithm achieves an average fault localization error of 0.523% under harmonic noise and 0.777% under transient noise, with fault detection rates of 96.3% and 90.75%, respectively. This study highlights the robustness of the traveling wave method in noisy environments and provides insights into the challenges posed by UPFC-compensated lines.