Enhanced Fault Localization for Active Distribution Networks via Robust Three-Phase State Estimation

Accurate fault localization is critical for ensuring reliable power supply in active distribution networks, yet conventional state estimation (SE)-based methods fail to differentiate authentic fault responses from measurement distortions due to uncertainties in fault parameters. To overcome this limitation, a robust three-phase SE-driven fault localization methodology is proposed. First, a measurement transformation-based SE model is built for fault conditions, leveraging real-time voltage phasor measurements and pseudo-measurements derived from pre-fault SE results. Then, a robust fault SE model is built using the quadratic-constant-based generalized maximum likelihood estimation, solved through the iteratively reweighted least squares algorithm that postpones phasor measurement weight updates until after initial iterations to prevent residual contamination. Furthermore, a fault localization algorithm is proposed through the systematic traversal of candidate buses, where each potential fault localization is assessed by performing robust fault SE with the fault current injected into this bus. The matching index is designed, accounting for the weight disparity of different types of measurements and measurement placement. Extensive simulations on a 33-bus unbalanced distribution network validate the method’s effectiveness under various measurement noise levels, fault resistances and incorrect data severity. The approach maintains comparable accuracy to conventional SE under normal operating conditions, while it exhibits superior robustness against measurement anomalies and effectively preserves fault localization reliability when confronted with incorrect data.