System Description and Operation

The system is composed of five main components:

The detectors are installed at predetermined locations on bare conductor over-head medium voltage lines. Under MV fault conditions these devices are automatically activated and start flashing along the path of the fault down stream from the feeding end to the fault location, thus allowing EDZ crews to quickly detect the location of the defected MV circuit.
The detectors are equipped with radio transmitter device that under fault condition send signal to the receiving unit (installed near by) which in turn send the information to the Central Base Unit at the main office and automatically updates the attending engineer through his mobile phone.
All information received at the Central Base Unit is stored in a special data base bank for further treatment.

Two types of units are installed over the network. Unit type A is installed on the feeding end of every MV feeder. The unit detects the presence/absence of voltage and the fault signal from the first line fault detector. The unit transmits the above information through RF to the Repeater Unit and then to the Central Base Unit at any time the line status changes or the line falls under fault condition.

Unit type B is installed at predetermined locations on the MV lines. The unit receives the fault signal from the fault module mounted on top of the MV line. The unit transmits the above information through RF to the Repeater unit and then to the Central Base Unit at any time the Medium Voltage line falls under fault condition

If the transmitting of either units A or B is not successful, communication repeats until all data is transferred safely. Both units data transmission are bidirectional and are as well equipped to receive remote commands to activate motorized line switches for power disconnection or restoration.

The Repeater Unit is installed on the highest geographic location in Zahle and surrounding areas to provide communication channel to all A and B units.

The unit transmits all above information to the central base unit located at EDZ offices. If the transmitting is not successful, communication repeats  until all data is transferred safely.

The Base Unit or the receiver station is installed at EDZ offices and interfaces a personal computer through a serial port to transfer received data.

The unit registers the received records for about one month period.

The software performs data analysis and interfaces the GIS system.

The developed algorithm treats the data as soon as received and notifies the attending engineer(s) via telephone call. Up to three persons can be informed simultaneously by the voice message. The data is stored parallel in a database for later interpretation. Typically on the monitor, their will be shown the following information: transmitting unit ID, kind of transmission, status of the line, date and time of the incident, battery level, ambient temperature, etc..

The software interfaces the GIS system to geographically allocate network faults.The active fault indicators are identified on map for the dispatcher to easily position the defective network segment.