Series arcing detection by algebraic derivative of the current

Abstract

We present in this paper an algebraic derivative method of the line current in order to detect the presence of series arcs in an AC or DC electrical installation. The first derivative is computed from a limited Taylor-McLaurin series transposed in Laplace space. The temporal estimation is achieved by integration over a sliding window of the product of a particular polynomial with the instantaneous current. The discrete version can be synthesized by a simple FIR filter. The tests, with and without series arc, are conducted on experimental currents (3-12 A) measured on domestic loads (resistors, vacuum drill, dimmer). The sampling frequency is set to 1 MHz. Short integration times (50 microseconds in AC and 200 microseconds in DC) are sufficient to observe, with high contrast, the derivative peaks due to the arc ignition. The detection is then performed by comparing the derivation filter output to its instantaneous noise level. The response time is equal to the integration duration. This method, simple to set up and easy to implement, is ideally suited for installations that do not use load switching current.

An embedded system for AC series arc detection by inter-period correlations of current

“…It may be necessary to adjust the central coefficient P(D/2) in order for the sum of the filter coefficients to be equal to zero; • Further explanations of this method are given in [19].…”

“…In a previous paper [19], we presented a detection method based on the algebraic derivation of the line current. This method, which can be used in AC or DC regimes, is very robust with respect to measurement noise, but remains limited to installations which do not use switching electrical devices.…”

Kalman filter and a fuzzy logic processor for series arcing fault detection in a home electrical network

“…The correction mechanism employs Equations (9), (10) and (11) to calculate the innovation (inno), the corrected state vector and the error covariance matrix. Finally, the estimated output signal is obtained from Equation (12).…”

“…For stability analysis purposes, the Kalman filter dynamic can be also expressed substituting Equation (6) in (10).…”

“…Methods based on the temporal evolution of the current signal use the crest factor [8], inter-period correlations of current [9] or algebraic derivative of the line current [10].…”