CSEE JOURNAL OF POWER AND ENERGY SYSTEMS, VOL. 2, NO.
4, DECEMBER 2016
Analytical Method of Fault Characteristic and
Non-unit Protection for HVDC Transmission Lines
Xu Chu, Guobing Song, Member, IEEE, and Jun Liang, Senior Member, IEEE
Abstract—An analytical method of fault characteristic for
the HVDC system based on frequency response characteristics
of boundary elements is presented here. The computational
formulas of transfer function and input impedance are deduced
using the distributed parameter model of HVDC transmission
line, and the amplitude-to-frequency-characteristics of the trans-
fer function and input impedance are analyzed. Based on the
amplitude-to-frequency difference between internal and external
faults, a non-unit protection method for VSC-HVDC transmission
line is presented. Using the current ratio of high-to-low-frequency,
this protection method can distinguish internal from external
fault. The presented algorithm only uses local-end current, has
high operation speed, and is easy to implement. Simulations on a
±200 kV VSC-HVDC system are conducted to demonstrate the
validity and feasibility of the developed protection method.
Index Terms—Analytical method of fault characteristic,
broadband signals, HVDC transmission line, non-unit protection.
I. I NTRODUCTION
H IGH-voltage direct-current (HVDC) systems include
voltage source converter HVDC (VSC-HVDC) and line
commutated converter LCC-HVDC, and are used in modern
power systems due to their originally excellent priorities in
renewable energy transmission, asynchronous system connec-
tions, and urban power delivery [1]–[5].
Currently, traveling wave protection and differential protec-
tion are the main protection and backup systems for HVDC
transmission lines [3]–[6]. The protection algorithms presently
being used for these systems, however, are marked by the
following demerits: 1) Inadequate sensitivity: The main pro-
tection scheme lacks reliable setting principles and is easily
affected by system fluctuation. 2) Low action speed: The
differential current protection criterion is formulated based on
measured current at both ends, leading to a low operation
speed [6]–[9]. When a fault occurs, the stored energy at
the DC side results in an extremely high fault current and
subsequently can damage the power electronic equipment. As
Manuscript received August 26, 2016; revised October 12, 2016; accepted
October 16, 2016. Date of publication December 30, 2016; date of current
version November 10, 2016. This work was supported in part by the Science
and Technology Project Funds through Grid State Corporation (Grant No.
SGSNKYOOKJJS1501564), the National Science Foundation of China (Grant
No. 51477131).
X. Chu (corresponding author, e-mail: chu.xu@hotmail.com) and G. B.
Song are with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong
University, Xi’an 710049, China.
J. Liang is with Cardiff University, Cardiff CF 24 3AA, U.K.
DOI: 10.17775/CSEEJPES.2016.00047
2096-0042
c 2016 CSEE
37
high-voltage DC circuit breakers become more commercially
viable, studying the non-unit protection principle of HVDC
transmission lines becomes an important issue for improving
system security [1], [5].
The above stated problems thus have led to a study of non-
unit protections based on boundary characteristics of LCC-
HVDC lines. These protections can distinguish internal faults
from external ones on LCC-HVDC transmission lines using
single-end current only [10]–[13]. Based on the frequency
response characteristics of the boundary units positioned in
an HVDC transmission system, a universal analytical method
of fault characteristic for HVDC power systems is devel-
oped in this paper, which is suitable for all HVDC power
systems with boundary units. The computational formulas of
transfer function and input impedance are deduced using the
distributed parameter model of transmission lines, and the
amplitude-to-frequency characteristics of the deduced transfer
function and input impedance are also analyzed. Finally, a
protection algorithm using single-end current for VSC-HVDC
transmission line is presented based on the above analysis.
II. C ONFIGURATION OF HVDC T RANSMISSION S YSTEM
A. Configuration of HVDC Power System
The configuration of the HVDC system is depicted in
Fig. 1. It shows the HVDC converter stations, consisting of
transformers, converters, shunt capacitors (in VSC-HVDC),
and DC-filter units (in LCC-HVDC) positioned at both ends.
The transmission lines (positive-pole and negative-pole trans-
mission) link side K and M, and the current and voltage
dividers are arranged on the DC transmission lines.
F1 denotes internal faults over the DC line; F2 denotes
external faults at inverter side; F3 denotes reverse faults outside
of transmission line at the rectifier side.
B. Distributed Parameter Model of Transmission Line
Using the distributed parameter model of the power line, the
voltage and current along the line are indicated below [14],
[15]:
(
U̇x = U̇K cosh (γx) − I˙K Zc sinh (γx)
(1)
I˙x = −U̇K sinh (γx)/Zc + I˙K cosh (γx)
where U̇K , I˙K indicate the voltage and current measured at the
rectifier side. U̇x , I˙x indicate
p the voltage and current at point
x km from end-K. γ = (R + jωL) (jωC) is the propagation
38 CSEE JOURNAL OF POWER AND ENERGY SYSTEMS, VOL. 2, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2016

= U̇kg cosh (γx) − I˙kg Zc sinh (γx)


iKp 0
F3 F1 F2 
 U̇kg
Ikg = −U̇kg sinh (γx)/Zc + I˙kg cosh (γx)
˙ 0




K

M U̇ /I˙ = −Z

BK 1 BK 2 kg kg s
(2)

 U̇ mg /I˙mg = Z s

U̇mg = U̇kg 0
cosh (γx0 ) − I˙mg
0
Zc sinh (γx0 )


DC filter unit 
Rectifier iKn Inverter ˙
Img = −U̇kg sinh (γx )/Zc + I˙mg

0 0 0
cosh (γx0 )
Current and voltage divider
(a) where Zs is the impedance of the boundary unit, U̇kg , I˙kg
iKp are the fault component voltage and current measured at the
F3 F1 F2
rectifier end, Lw is the length of the power line, x is the fault
K
M distance from the rectifier side, and fault distance from the
BK 1 BK 2 inverter side to fault point x0 = Lw − x.
For the internal faults that occur on the power lines, Hin in
iKn Shunt capacitor and Zin in are illustrated as follows:
Rectifier Inverter 
U̇
Hin in (ω, x) = F

Current and voltage divider 
U̇kg 

(b)



0

= − A (x) − 1 · B(x) + B (x ) A (x) · R
1


Fig. 1. Configuration structure of a bipolar HVDC transmission system. (a) 
 F
LCC-HVDC transmission system. (b) VSC-HVDC transmission system.  Zs Zs A (x0 )
(3)
 U̇F
Zin in (ω, x) =
q 
constant, and Zc = R+jωL

is the characteristic impedance I˙kg


jωC 

B (x0 )
  
of the power line. Here, R, L, and C are the series resistance, 

= A (x) + B(x) + A (x) · RF


series inductance, and shunt capacitance of the line per km, 
A (x0 )
respectively; ω is the frequency (angular rate). (
A(x) = cosh (γx) Zs + sinh (γx) Zc
where , RF is the
B(x) = cosh (γx) + sinh (γ · x) Zs /Zc
III. A NALYTICAL M ETHOD OF FAULT C HARACTERISTIC transition resistance.

The fault component networks are presented in Figs. 2 B. External Fault

to 4, when fault occurs on the power lines. In the fault
1) Reverse Fault at Rectifier Side
component network, the voltage source at the fault point works
as the excitation source. Via the transfer function Hin and For reverse fault at rectifier side, the fault component
input impedance Zin , the excitation source generates the fault network is pictured in Fig. 3.
component current and voltage at the local terminal. Thus, the DC transmission line
fault characteristics of the electrical quantities are up to the Zek Lw
frequency response of the Hin and Zin . The transfer function
I&kg I&mg
Hin is defined as the voltage source U̇F divided by the fault RF I&kg
′
voltage U̇kg at the local end. The input impedance Zin is  Zs Zs
defined as the voltage source U̇F divided by the fault current U& F +
I˙kg at the local end. U& kg U& mg

A. Internal Fault Fig. 3. Fault component network when reverse fault occurs at rectifier side.

For internal fault, the fault component network of an HVDC In Fig. 3, using distributed parameter model, the fault
system in Fig. 1 is illustrated in Fig. 2. voltage and current can be indicated below:

˙
DC transmission line U̇mg = U̇kg cosh (γLw ) − Ikg Zc sinh (γLw )

x x′ I˙mg = −U̇kg sinh (γLw )/Zc + I˙kg cosh (γLw ) (4)
˙

U̇mg /Img = Zs

I&kg I&kg
′ RF I&mg
′ I&mg
 where Zek is the impedance from the fault point to the bottom
Zs U& F Zs of power line. For LCC-HVDC power system, Zek = jωLs is
+
U& kg U& kg
′ the reactance of the smoothing reactor. For the VSC-HVDC
U& mg
transmission system, Zek = x (R + jωL), where x = 0.1 km
is the distance from fault point to the end-point of the power
Fig. 2. Fault component network when internal fault occurs.
line, and the R, L is the parameter of the power line.
In Fig. 2, using the distributed parameter model, the fault Using distributed parameter model, Hin ex r and Zin ex r ,
voltage and current can be exhibited as follows: are formed as follows:
CHU et al.: ANALYTICAL METHOD OF FAULT CHARACTERISTIC AND NON-UNIT PROTECTION FOR HVDC TRANSMISSION LINES 39

The Transfer Coefficient

U̇ Fault at F1 (internal fault)
Hin ex r (ω, x) = F


105 Fault at F2 (external fault)
U̇kg 



  Fault at F3 (external fault)
B (Lw ) 1



= −1 − A (L ) + Z · (RF + Zek )


w s
(5) 100
 U̇ F
Zin ex r (ω, x) =


 ˙
 Ikg

101 100 101 102 103 104


 

 A (Lw ) 1 A (Lw ) Fault at F1 (internal fault)
= − − · − 1 · (RF + Zek ) .



The Input-impedance
B (Lw ) Zs B (Lw ) Fault at F2 (external fault)
Fault at F3 (external fault)
2) External Fault at Inverter Side

(ohm)
For external fault at inverter end, the fault component 105
network is pictured in Fig. 4.

DC transmission line 100 1

Lw Zem 10 100 101 102 103 104
Frequency (Hz)
I&kg I&mg I&mg
′
RF Fig. 5. Amplitude-frequency characteristic (LCC-HVDC).
Zs Zs 
U& F and Zin , between internal fault and external fault is larger
+
U& kg U& mg than 102 times; 2) The amplitude-frequency characteristic of
Zin shows that the amplitude difference between internal fault
Fig. 4. Fault component network when external fault occurs at inverter side. and external fault is far greater than 104 times at the harmonic
frequency of the DC-filter (i.e., 600, 1200, and 1800 Hz).
In Fig. 4, using distributed parameter model, the fault
In summary, due to frequency response characteristics of the
voltage and current can be indicated below:
 boundary units (i.e., DC-filter unit) positioned on LCC-HVDC
˙ transmission lines, the amplitude-to-frequency characteristics
U̇mg = U̇kg cosh (γLw ) − Ikg Zc sinh (γLw )

I˙mg = −U̇kg sinh (γLw )/Zc + I˙kg cosh (γLw ) (6) of Hin and Zin when internal fault occurs, are different from

˙ that of external fault. Moreover, the amplitude of electrical
U̇kg /Ikg = −Zs .

quantities in high-frequency band (i.e., above 300 Hz) or in
The Hin ex i and Zin ex i , are calculated as follows: characteristic frequency (i.e. 600, 1200, and 1800 Hz), when
 fault occurs outside the line, is far lower than that of internal
U̇F 1
=− · A (Lw )


 Hin ex i (ω, x) = fault, which can be used to distinguish the internal from

 U̇kg Z s

 external fault.
− 1 · [A (Lw )/Zs + B (Lw )] (RF + Zem )


 2) VSC-HVDC Transmission System
Zs (7) The amplitude-frequency characteristics of the transfer func-
U̇F

tion and input impedance (3), (5), and (7) for VSC-HVDC


 Zin ex i (ω, x) =
I˙kg

power system, are provided in Fig. 6.





= A (L ) + [A (L )/Z + B (L )] (R + Z )
w w s w F em
The Transfer Coefficient

1010 Fault at F1 (internal fault)

where Zem is the impedance from the fault point to the Fault at F2 (external fault)
terminal of DC line. For LCC-HVDC transmission system, 105 Fault at F3 (external fault)
Zem = jωLs is the reactance of the smoothing reactor. For
VSC-HVDC transmission system, Zem = x (R + jωL), where 100
x = 0.1 km is the distance from fault point to the bottom of
105 1
power line. 10 100 101 102 103 104

1010 Fault at F1 (internal fault)

The Inputimpedance

C. Analysis of Amplitude-frequency Characteristic Fault at F2 (external fault)

1) LCC-HVDC Transmission System 105 Fault at F3 (external fault)
(ohm)

The amplitude-frequency characteristics of the transfer func-

tion and input impedance (3), (5), and (7) for LCC-HVDC 100
power system, are provided in Fig. 5.
105 1
In Fig. 5, the solid black lines denote the internal fault at 10 100 101 102 103 104
F1 , the dotted red lines denote the external fault at F2 , and the Frequency (Hz)
dot-dash blue lines denote the reverse fault outside of power
Fig. 6. Amplitude-frequency characteristic (VSC-HVDC).
line at F3 .
A comparison of the characteristic curves of internal fault In Fig. 6, the solid black lines denote the internal fault at
and external fault yields the following: 1) In high frequency F1 , the dotted red lines denote the external fault at F2 , and the
band (i.e., above 300 Hz), the amplitude difference of Hin dot-dash blue lines denote the reverse fault outside of line at F3 .
40 CSEE JOURNAL OF POWER AND ENERGY SYSTEMS, VOL. 2, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2016
By comparing the characteristic curves of internal fault and
external fault, we find that 1) for the internal fault (depicted in
solid black line), the amplitude difference, of the Hin and Zin ,
between the high-frequency and the low-frequency is lower
than 102 times, and 2) for the external fault (depicted in dotted
red line and dot-dash blue line), the amplitude difference of
Hin and Zin between the high-frequency and low-frequency
is far over than 104 times.
In summary, due to the frequency response characteristics
of the boundary units (i.e., shunt capacitors) positioned in
VSC-HVDC transmission lines, the amplitude-to-frequency
characteristics of Hin and Zin , when internal fault occurs,
differ from that of external fault. Additionally, the amplitude
ratio of high frequency signals (i.e., above 1000 Hz) to low
frequency signals (i.e. from 0.1–100 Hz) of external fault is
far lower than that of internal fault, which can be used to
distinguish the internal and external fault.
IV. N ON - UNIT P ROTECTION FOR VSC-HVDC
T RANSMISSION L INES
A. Protection Principle
Different from the DC-filter unit in LCC-HVDC systems,
the large shunt capacitors are positioned at both sides of
VSC-HVDC transmission lines. These capacitors behave as
the boundary of the VSC-HVDC transmission lines, blocking
the high-order-frequency signals from the DC power line.
In the fault component network, the voltage source at fault
point works as the excitation source. Via the input impedance
Zin , it generates the fault component current at the local
end. Thus, the amplitude-frequency characteristic of the fault
component current is determined by that of Zin . According to
the analysis in Section III, 1) for the external fault, the input
impedance of high frequency is much greater than that of low
frequency, and 2) for the internal fault, the Zin has almost no
difference between high frequency and low frequency. Thus,
the current amplitude ratio of high-order-frequency to low-
order-frequency, when fault occurs outside the power lines, is
much lower than that when fault occurs over the lines. Based
on the frequency versus characteristics of the boundary units,
a protection algorithm using single-end current is developed
for VSC-HVDC transmission lines.
B. Protection Criterion
The low-frequency current ilf in 0.1–100 Hz and the high-
frequency current ihf above 3500 Hz are used in this paper.
To avoid the influence of lighting, twice of the transmission
time, or 5 ms is recommended in choosing the data window
length, and the protection criterion obtained is as follows:
M Fig. 8.
1 X
|ihf (m)|
M m=1
> RHL set (8)
M positive pole. From Fig. 8(b), the direction of 0-mode current
1 X
|ilf (m)|
M m=1
where m denotes a series of sampled data from 1, 2, · · · , to
M, M is total sampled points in 5 ms, RHL set is the threshold.
Considering the error of the DC sensor, the coefficient is taken
as RHL set = 2·10−3 . The threshold is set based on the current
ratio when the most serious external fault occurs in the inverter
station. That is to say, the metallic ground fault occurs outside
the DC power line at inverter side.
C. Starting Criterion
The schematic diagram of 1-mode fault component network
for the VSC-HVDC power system in Fig. 1(b) is pictured
in Fig. 7. And the direction from converter to power line is
defined as the reference direction of the DC current.
K M
ZSE1 ig1 ZRE1
−
UF1 ZST_M1
+ C C
(a)
K M
ZSE1 ig1 ZRE1
ZST_K1 − ZST_M1
UF1
C + C
(b)
Fig. 7. Schematic diagram of 1-mode fault component network when fault
occurs. (a) Reverse fault. (b) Forward fault.
From the schematic diagram illustrated in Fig. 7(a), we
know that the 1-mode-fault-component current is in reverse
with the reference direction when reverse fault occurs. In Fig.
7(b), the direction of 1-mode-fault-component current is the
same with the reference direction when forward fault occurs.
Thus, the 1-mode current is used to formulate the starting
criterion as follows:
M
1 X
i1 (m) ≥ Iset (9)
M m=1
where m is a series of sampled data from 1, 2, · · · , to M, M is
the total sampled points in 5 ms, Iset = 1.1In 1 is the starting
threshold, In 1 is the rated 1-mode current of VSC-HVDC
transmission system.
D. Fault-pole-selection Criterion
The schematic diagram of 0-mode fault component network
for the VSC-HVDC power system in Fig. 1(b) is presented in
From the schematic diagram outlined in Fig. 8(a), it can be
seen that the 0-mode current is positive when fault occurs at
is negative when fault occurs at negative pole. Furthermore,
when the system operates in symmetric state, the 0-mode
current will be almost zero when inter-polar fault occurs.
Therefore, the 0-mode current is used to formulate the fault-
pole-selection criterion indicated below.
CHU et al.: ANALYTICAL METHOD OF FAULT CHARACTERISTIC AND NON-UNIT PROTECTION FOR HVDC TRANSMISSION LINES 41

K M
ZSE0 i0 ZRE0 V. S IMULATION R ESULTS
VSC-HVDC power system built in PSCAD is adopted for
ZST_K0 − the simulation, and the general structure sketch of the VSC-
UF0 ZST_M0
C C HVDC system is exhibited in Fig. 1(b). The direct current
+
control strategy based on cascade PI controller is adopted in
the control system [5], [16]. In the system, the rated voltage is
(a) ± 200 kV, the system capacity is 400 MW, and the cable line
K M with the length of 100 km is adopted. The shunt capacitances
ZSE0 i0 ZRE0
of the positive and negative poles are 1000 µF. The sampled
rate is 10 kHz. The performances of the presented scheme
ZST_K0 + are evaluated for different fault conditions, and the simulation
UF0 ZST_M0
C − C results are provided in Figs. 10–14.

0-mode Current (A) 1-mode Current (A)

2,500
(b) 1-mode current
2,000 Starting threshold
Fig. 8. Schematic diagram of 0-mode fault component network when fault 1,500
occurs. (a) Fault occurs at positive pole. (b) Fault occurs at negative pole. 1,000
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
M

 1 X 0-mode current

 i0 (m) > kp In ⇒ Positive pole fault Slector threshold (positeive)
 M m=1



 1,000 Slector threshold (negative)
 M
1 500
 X
i0 (m) < −kp In ⇒ Negative pole fault
 M m=1 0


 M -500
1 X 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45


−kp In ≤ M i0 (m) ≤ kp In ⇒ Pole-to-pole fault



High-to-low-frequency current ratio
m=1
Current Ratio

(10) Protection threshold

0.01
where m is a series of sampled data from 1, 2, · · · , to M, M
is sampled point number in 5 ms, kp = 0.1 is the selection 0.005
threshold, In is the rated current of HVDC transmission
0
system. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
The Operation Results

Starting component
E. Flowchart Pole-selector component
The operation result
The presented protection method is executed according to 8
the flowchart shown in Fig. 9. 6 Pole-to-pole fault
4 Negative pole fault
Positive pole fault
2
Start
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Time (ms)
Sampling
Fig. 10. Simulation result of protection operation when positive-pole-to-
ground fault occurs over the transmission line with 200 Ω transition resistance.
1 M No
M∑
i1 (m) ≥ I set ?
m=1
A. Internal Fault Occurring Over DC Transmission Line
Yes
The simulation results for internal fault with 200 Ω tran-
1 M sition resistance is given in Figs. 10, 11 and 12, with the
 M ∑ i0 (m) > kp I n ⇒ Positive pole fault
 m=1 positive-pole-to-ground fault depicted in Fig. 10, the negative-
1 M pole-to-ground fault depicted in Fig. 11, the inter-polar fault
 ∑ i0 (m) < − k p In ⇒ Negative pole fault
 M m=1 M depicted in Fig. 12, respectively.
−k I ≤ 1
 p n M ∑
i0 (m) ≤ k p I n ⇒ Pole-to-pole fault From Figs. 10–12, we observe that the 1-mode current
m=1
increase when the external fault occurs, and exceed the start-
ing threshold. The starting and fault-pole-selection compo-
Calculation of
the current ratio nents operate properly. The current ratio of the high-to-low-
frequency exceeds the protection threshold. And according
RHL ≥ RHL_set ? to the criterion (8), the fault is identified as internal fault
on the protected DC line. From the simulation results, it is
Yes No obtained that the protection component can operate reliably
Internal fault External fault within 5 ms when internal fault occurs. Results of different
distances and transition resistances over the line demonstrate
Fig. 9. Flowchart of the protection method.
42 CSEE JOURNAL OF POWER AND ENERGY SYSTEMS, VOL. 2, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2016

1-mode Current (A)

2,500 that the current protection component operates reliably with
1-mode current
2,000 Starting threshold high operation speed.
1,500
1,000
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
B. External Fault Occurs out of DC Transmission Line
0-mode current 1) Reverse Fault at Rectifier Side
0-mode Current (A)

Slector threshold (positeive) The simulation result for metallic positive-pole-to-ground

500 Slector threshold (negative)
fault at rectifier side is depicted in Fig. 13.
0
-500

1-mode Current (A)

1-mode current
-1,000 5,000 Starting threshold
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
0
High-to-low-frequency current ratio -5,000
Current Ratio

Protection threshold
0.01
-10,000
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
0.005 0-mode current

0-mode Current (A)

×104 Slector threshold (positeive)
0 1
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Slector threshold (negative)
0
The Operation Results

Starting component
Pole-selector component -1
The operation result -2
8 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
6 Pole-to-pole fault
4 Negative pole fault High-to-low-frequency current ratio

Current Ratio
Positive pole fault 0.1 Protection threshold
2
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 0.05
Time (ms)
0
Fig. 11. Simulation result when negative-pole-to-ground fault occurs at 95 km 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
The Operation Results

from the rectifier side with 200 Ω transition resistance.

Starting component
Pole-selector component
×105 8 The operation result
1-mode Current (A)

3
1-mode current 6 Pole-to-pole fault
2 Starting threshold 4 Negative pole fault
Positive pole fault
2
1
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
0 Time (ms)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
0-mode Current (A)

0-mode current Fig. 13. Simulation result when metallic positive-pole-to-ground reverse fault
50 Slector threshold (positeive) occurs out of the DC line at the rectifier side.
Slector threshold (negative)
0
From Fig. 13, we can observe that the 1-mode current
decrease when reverse fault occurs, and is lower than the
-50
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 starting threshold. The starting component does not operate
High-to-low-frequency current ratio when reverse fault occurs at rectifier side. The fault is iden-
Protection threshold tified as external fault over the protected power line and the
Current Ratio

0.03 protection does not mal-operate when external fault occurs at

0.02 rectifier side.
0.01 2) External Fault Occurs at Inverter Side
0 The simulation result for metallic positive-pole-to-ground
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
fault at inverter side is depicted in Fig. 14.
The Operation Results

Starting component
Pole-selector component From Fig. 14, the 1-mode current increase when external
8 The operation result fault occurs, and exceeds the starting threshold. The start-
6
Pole-to-pole fault
ing component and fault-pole-selector operates properly. The
4 Negative pole fault current ratio of the high-to-low-frequency is lower than the
Positive pole fault
2 protection threshold and according to the criterion (8), the fault
0 is identified as external fault outside of the DC line.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Time (ms) From the simulation results above, within 5 ms, the relay
protection can operate reliably when internal fault occurs over
Fig. 12. Simulation result when an inter-polar fault occurs at 95 km from
the rectifier side without transition resistance.
the line, and the relay protection does not mal-operate when
fault occurs outside of the DC power line.
CHU et al.: ANALYTICAL METHOD OF FAULT CHARACTERISTIC AND NON-UNIT PROTECTION FOR HVDC TRANSMISSION LINES 43

1-mode Current (A) 15,000 [6] P. M. Anderson, Power System Protection, New York: McGraw-Hill,
1-mode current 1999, pp. 915–955.
10,000 Starting threshold [7] X. L. Liu, A. H. Osman, and O. P. Malik, “Stationary wavelet transform
5,000 based HVDC line protection,” in North American Power Symposium
0 2007, Las Cruces, TX, Sep. 2007, pp. 37–42.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 [8] G. Wang, M. Wu, H, F. Li, and C. Hong, “Transient based protection
for HVDC lines using wavelet multi resolution signal decomposition,”
0-mode current in Proceedings of 2005 IEEE/PES Transmission and Distribution Con-
Current Ratio 0-mode Current (A)

×104 Slector threshold (positeive) ference and Exhibition: Asia and Pacific, Aug. 2005. pp. 1–4.
2 Slector threshold (negative) [9] X. D. Zheng, N. L. Tai, J. S. Thorp, and G. L. Yang, “A transient
1 harmonic current protection scheme for HVDC transmission line,” IEEE
0 Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 2278–2285, Oct.
2012.
-1
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 [10] M. You, B. H. Zhang, R. F. Cao, J. D. Xu, S. Zhang, Z. Q. Bo, and
A. Klimek, “Study of non-unit transient-based protection for HVDC
×103 transmission lines,” in 2009 Asia-Pacific Power and Energy Engineering
8
6 High-to-low-frequency current ratio Conference, Mar. 2009, pp. 27–31.
4 Protection threshold [11] K. Z. Liu, J. L. Yu, H. C. Shu, and Z. Y. Chen, “Study on electrical
2 transient protection for ±800 kV UHVDC transmission lines,” in 2012
0 Asia-Pacific Power and Energy Engineering Conference, Mar. 2012, pp.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 27–29.
The Operation Results

Starting component
Pole-selector component
8 The operation result
6 hibition: Asia and Pacific, Aug. 2005, pp. 1–4.
4 Negative pole fault
2
0 lines using one-end current,” IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery,
0 5 10 15 20 25
Time (ms)
Fig. 14. Simulation result when metallic positive-pole-to-ground fault occurs
beyond the DC line at the inverter side.
VI. C ONCLUSION
An analytical method of fault characteristic for the HVDC
transmission system is developed. This method is based on
the frequency response characteristics of the boundary units
positioned on HVDC transmission lines. Using the distributed
parameter model of the power line, the computational formulas
of the transfer function and input impedance are deduced, and
their amplitude-frequency characteristics are analyzed in de-
tail. Based on the analysis of the fault characteristics, a protec-
tion algorithm for VSC-HVDC is developed in this paper. This
algorithm is able to distinguish internal fault from external
fault by using single-end current only. The presented method
has high operation speed, involves no complex computation,
needs low sampling frequency, and can be implemented easily.
Simulations have demonstrated the excellent performances of
this non-unit protection algorithm.
[12] G. Wang, M. Wu, H. F. Li, and C. Hong, “Transient based protection
for HVDC lines using wavelet-multi resolution signal decomposition,”
in 2005 IEEE/PES Transmission and Distribution Conference and Ex-
Pole-to-pole fault
[13] G. B. Song, X. Chu, S. P. Gao, X. N. Kang, and Z. B. Jiao, “A new
Positive pole fault whole-line quick-action protection principle for HVDC transmission
30 35 40 45 vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 599–607, Apr. 2015.
[14] G. B. Song, X. Chu, S. P. Gao, X. N. Kang, Z. B. Jiao, and J. L. Suonan,
“Novel distance protection based on distributed parameter model for
long-distance transmission lines,” IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery,
vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 2116–2123, Oct. 2013.
[15] H. V. Nguyen, H. W. Dommel, and J. R. Marti, “Modelling of single-
phase nonuniform transmission lines in electromagnetic transient sim-
ulations,” IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, vol. 12, no. 2, pp.
916–921, Apr. 1997.
[16] M. Han, J. Wen, and Y. Xu, The Operating Principle of HVDC, Beijing,
China: Machinery Industry Press. 2009. (in Chinese)
Xu Chu received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in
electrical engineering from Xi’an Jiaotong Univer-
sity, Xi’an, China. Her research interests include
power system protection and fault location.
Guobing Song (M’10) received the Ph.D. degree at
the Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China, in 2005.
Currently he is a Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong Uni-
versity. His research interests include transmission
line fault location and protections.

R EFERENCES
[1] W. Long and S. Nilsson, “HVDC transmission: Yesterday and today,”
IEEE Power and Energy Magazine, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 22–31, Mar. 2007.
[2] B. T. Ooi and X. Wang, “Voltage angle lock loop control of the boost
type PWM converter for HVDC application,” IEEE Transactions on
Power Delivery, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 229–335, Apr. 1990. Jun Liang (M’02-SM’12) received the B.Sc. degree
[3] J. Liang, O. Gomis-Bellmunt, J. Ekanayake, N. Jenkins, and W. An, from Huazhong University of Science and Technol-
“A multi-terminal HVDC transmission system for offshore wind farms ogy, Wuhan, China, in 1992, and the M.Sc. and
with induction generators,” International Journal of Electrical Power & Ph.D. degrees from China Electric Power Research
Energy Systems, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 54–62, Dec. 2012. Institute, Beijing, China, in 1995 and 1998, respec-
[4] H. F. Latorre and M. Ghandhari, “Improvement of power system stability tively. Currently, he is a Reader with the School
by using a VSC-HVDC,” International Journal of Electrical Power & of Engineering, Cardiff University, Wales, U.K. His
Energy Systems, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 332–339, Feb. 2011. research interests include FACTS devices/HVDC,
[5] D. Van Hertem, O. Gomis-Bellmunt, J. Liang, Comparison of HVAC power system stability and control, power electron-
and HVDC Technologies, New York, USA: Wiley-IEEE Press. 2016, ics, and renewable power generation.
pp. 35–45.