1

Development of Open (Broken) Conductor

Detection System for High Resistivity Areas
Sami H. Al-Ghannam1, Yasin Khan2, Uzair Ahmad3, Nazar Hussain Malik2, Abdulrehman Ali Al-
Arainy2, Bader S. Al-Shahrani1
1Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia
2Department of Electrical Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
3

 environments, providing proper and fast protection

Abstract-- In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, some distribution methodologies is essential.
lines feed loads that are located in remote desert areas. Such
distribution systems, including medium and low voltage networks, HIF is usually caused when a current-carrying conductor
face difficulties regarding fault detection and localization as
inadvertently makes contact with the ground or is short-
compared with high voltage transmission systems. High
impedance fault (HIF) resulting from an open (or broken) circuited with another current carrying conductor through a
conductor in medium voltage (MV) overhead lines represents the high resistance material. The resulting fault current is usually
most challenging problem in such an environment. The aim of this lower than the nominal current of the system. Therefore,
paper is to report on a new method to detect and locate such high conventional over current protection devices are usually
impedance faults generated by downed conductors. These faults unable to detect the existence of HIF. Table 1 summarizes the
usually produce very low fault currents that are usually not
detectable by the feeder conventional over-current protection
typical fault current levels for different soil conditions for a
schemes. The proposed Open Conductor Detection (OCD) system distribution network of 12.5 kV [1].
is based on distributed voltage measurements performed at low
voltage (LV) sides of distribution transformers throughout the TABLE 1: TYPICAL CURRENTS FOR HIF ON DIFFERENT SURFACES [1].
distribution network with GSM network communication to locate
the faulty line section. The OCD detects the fault by activating all Surface Fault current (A)
units downstream of the fault. The network operator locates the 1 Dry asphalt 0
fault by searching for the last active and the first inactive unit, 2 Concrete (non-reinforced) 0
and then performs the necessary line sectionalizing to prevent
3 Dry sand 0
incidents and minimize downtime. The OCD has been successfully
4 Wet sand 15
piloted and has received patents.
5 Dry sod 20
6 Dry grass 25
Index Terms—High impedance fault (HIF), distribution
system, overhead lines, medium voltage, broken (open) conductor, 7 Wet sod 40
8 Wet grass 50
I. INTRODUCTION 9 Concrete (reinforced) 75

P ower transmission and distribution lines constitute a vital

link that provide the continuity of electricity supply from
the generating stations to the end users. Such overhead lines
This table clearly shows that HIF current can be in the
range 0~100A. This is well below the pickup current for most
are prone to physical contact with the neighboring objects such conventional ground fault protection schemes as indicated in
as trees, buildings, or surface below the conductor having high Figure 1.
resistivity. The detection of such conductors is an important
issue, which currently exists in the electric power utilities [1-
3]. For safe and reliable operation of a power system in such

S. H. Al-Ghannam is with Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia (e-

mail: sami.ghannam@aramco.com),
Y. Khan is with Department of Electrical Engineering, King Saud
University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (e-mail: yasink@ksu.edu.sa)
U. Ahmad is with PSATRI, College of Engineering, King Saud
University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (e-mail: uahmad@ksu.edu.sa)
N. H. Malik is with Department of Electrical Engineering, King Saud
University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (e-mail: nmalik@ksu.edu.sa)
A. A. Al-Arainy is with Department of Electrical Engineering, King Saud
University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (e-mail: aarainy@ksu.edu.sa)
B. S. Al-Shahrani is with Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia (e-mail:
bader.shahrani.1@aramco.com)
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Fault current
Overcurrent relay setting
Maximum load current
HIF fault current
1 p.u.
Average load current
0 p.u.
Figure 1: Relationship of HIF current to protection device
setting
Power system protection devices basically aim to detect the
occurrence of a fault to initiate the correct tripping action to
isolate the minimized faulted area as rapidly as possible [4, 5].
This is done to avoid the equipment damage and to keep the
service continuity. Delayed relay operation or malfunction
may increase the risk of equipment damage, loss of life and
supply interruption [6]. The complexities of large networks
reveal that traditional relaying algorithms may sometimes be
inadequate. More advanced protection techniques employing
modern signal processing capabilities, such as symmetrical
components, unbalanced currents, fault transients, signature
analysis using digital signal processing, energy functions,
randomness functions, neural networks and wavelets, etc.,
communication facilities, and intelligent elements are being
increasingly used for the next generation of relaying and
protection systems as summarized in Figure 2. Also, other
supplementary schemes, such as fault localization, are
becoming increasingly important [4-20].
Fig.2: Downed Conductor Detection Methods
As compared to high and extra-high voltage systems,
medium and low voltage distribution networks face
challenging situations regarding fault detection and
localization. High impedance faults (HIFs) resulting from
downed conductors represent the most challenging problem at
such voltage levels. Downed conductor conditions may cause
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2
damage, fire or electric shock hazards. The failure of HIF
detection can be life threatening and pose potential fire
hazards.
In the last few years, protective relay manufacturers
introduced some digital relays that incorporate HIF detection
elements. They are not yet successful in delivering a product
with 100% efficiency. Some of these detectors are introduced
as stand-alone relays while others are included as a built-in
element in a protective device; IED, relay or recloser. Some of
the commercial HIF relays available in the market are ABB
HIF DetectTM, GE HiZ, SEL-451, Areva Micom P521,
Siemens Distance Protection Relay 7SA522 and Nu-Lec Auto
Recloser (Schneider Electric), etc. No single technique can
address all the cases of HIF. Each technique is very well
formulated and is based on theory and experiment, but it works
only under specific and well defined conditions. Each
technique uses only certain parameters to set its attributes. The
nature and characteristics of the HIF are very random and in
some cases unpredictable. Therefore, the result of each
technique is not always certain.
The weather conditions in Saudi Arabia are harsh and the
inland areas are very hot, dry and sandy. Thousands of
kilometers of medium voltage overhead lines (4.6 kV, 11 kV,
13.8 kV and 33 kV) are located in deep desert areas.
Experimental as well as theoretical studies were carried out at
KSU on a host of subjects related to this research topic and,
based on the results obtained, it was concluded that due to the
extremely high ground resistivity of the inland desert sand, the
detection of downed conductor condition using upstream
current measurements cannot be reliably performed using the
quantitative analysis of the fault currents since they have
practically zero or extremely low magnitudes. The proposed
Open Conductor Detection (OCD) system is based on
distributed voltage measurements performed at low voltage
(LV) sides of distribution transformers throughout the
distribution network with GSM network communication to
locate the faulty line section. The OCD detects the fault by
activating all units downstream of the fault. The network
operator locates the fault by searching for the last active and
the first inactive unit, and then performs necessary line
sectionalizing to prevent incidents and minimize downtime.
The OCD has been successfully piloted and has received
patents [21].
II. SOIL RESISTIVITY AND ITS ELECTRICAL
CHARACTERISTICS
A. Soil Resistivity of Inland Desert
To understand this challenge, the resistivity of loose sand
was measured using a test cell that consisted of an insulating
tube with two brass flanges connected at each end as shown in
Figure 3. For measurements of sand resistivity, the test cell
was filled with selected sand sample and the two flanges were
then tightened up to hold the sand sample in between the
electrodes without any gaps. The resistance between the two
 3

flanges was measured with a precise Megger with sand filled B. Leakage Current in the Desert Sand
in the cell (R1) as well as without sand, i.e., empty (R2). It was To study the nature of the fault currents in the medium
found that R1 >>R2. Therefore, R1 effectively represents voltage distribution system with live conductor in contact with
resistance of sand particles between the electrodes. The the sand, an experimental setup shown in Figure 4 was used to
resistivity of sand particles was then determined using the study the effects of different parameters such as sand layer
well-known relation. thickness and applied voltage magnitude, etc., on the resulting
ρ RA (1) fault current. For a specified sand layer thickness and applied
l voltage used, the corresponding current flow to the earth was
where R = resistance of sand sample in : measured using a 50: detection resistance and an oscilloscope
U = sand resistivity in :.m (Tecktronics-320). The results for different measurements are
A = internal area of the tube (m2)
summarized next.
l = length of the tube filled with sand (m) HV
supply
A special test cell of 10 cm diameter, similar to one shown Cu conductor

in Fig.3 with one movables electrode, was used to study the

effect of pressure or compaction on the resistivity of loose
desert sand. The results for one type of sand samples are
shown in Table 2. These results indicate that the resistivity of Sand
sample
the sand sample decreases with an increase in applied pressure.
50 : Al. sheet
For loose sand, ρ=12.74×106Ωm. Under pressure of about 2
MT, it decreases many fold to a constant value of about
1.76×106 Ωm. Therefore, drifting and loose desert sand
exhibits extremely high resistivity and is the main reason for Figure 4: Schematic diagram of the test setup
HIF situations in the dry desert areas. In the inland deserts,
storms are common and a drifting sand layer usually covers Using 8 kVrms applied voltage, the measured values of
large areas. Such sand layers have very high ρ values. Soil leakage current for sand layer thicknesses of 10, 6, 4 and 2 cm
resistivity plays an important role in determining the amount of are shown in Table 3. It is clear that the value of fault current
current which can flow during HIF situation [22]. depends upon the sand layer thickness and as expected, an
increase in this thickness reduces the fault current and vice
versa. It is clear from these results that even for a few cm thick
sand layer above a perfect conducting ground; the fault current
is too low for reliable operation of conventional system
protection devices.
TABLE 3: LEAKAGE CURRENT IG (PA) UNDER HVAC
Thickness of the sand layer
Applied voltage
(kV) 2 cm 4 cm 6 cm 10 cm
Polymer Tube
2 0.186 0.148 0.125 0.098
4 0.33 0.249 0.214 0.166
AC voltage

6 0.48 0.391 0.345 0.262

Figure 3: Test cell used to measure the sand resistivity [22]. 8 0.69 0.518 0.474 0.352
10 0.86 0.642 0.578 0.44
TABLE 2: VARIATIONS IN THE SAND LAYER RESISTANCE AND RESISTIVITY 12 1.06 0.754 0.694 0.522
WITH PRESSURE*

Pressure Sand layer Resistance Resistivity (M

(M. Tons) thickness (cm) (M Ω) Ω-m) The above results were also confirmed by simulations using
0 10 150 12.74 MATLAB® and are reported in [23], which conclude that the
0.25 9.9 35 3 detection of such faults will not be possible using upstream
0.5 9.8 30 2.6 techniques. Such faults can be easily detected downstream by
0.75 9.75 26 2.27
designing a suitable voltage detector. Saudi Aramco and KSU
1.0 9.7 24 2.1
jointly developed this new OCD system, which is based on
1.25 9.65 22 1.94
distributed voltage measurements performed at LV sides of
1.5 9.65 20 1.76
2 9.65 20 1.76
distribution transformers throughout the distribution network
with GSM network communication to locate the faulty line
*Test cell details: Length (L) = 11.3cm. Cell diameter (d) = 10cm. section. Details of this OCD system are explained next.

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 4

III. OPEN (BROKEN) CONDUCTOR DETECTOR

Based on the results summarized in Section 3, Saudi
Aramco Chair in Electrical Power at Electrical Engineering
Department, King Saud University worked on the downstream
detection principle and developed an OCD system based on
GSM/GPRS. The developed detector system was designed,
fabricated and then extensively tested in the lab. Subsequently,
it was tested on an actual distribution network at Saudi
Aramco and is working satisfactorily.
A. Main Components of Open Conductor Detector: Figure 6: Proposed OCD Scheme.
The OCD, remotely obtains voltage measurements at lateral
ends of a medium voltage distribution feeder and transmits this
data to the base station via some communication media using C. Placement of the Developed OCD:
GSM technology. This information is used for further analysis The detector is designed such that the sensor is connected
and fault localization. This system’s main goal is to transmit on the LV side of the distribution transformer. The schematic
and interpret medium voltage networks abnormalities diagram of the typical placement of the proposed OCD is as
associated with the open conductor fault conditions and shown in Figure 7.
conveying the power line’s disconnection status to the base
station.
The developed OCD is composed of five main components,
which are: the medium voltage measuring system, the media
interface at lateral end, the transmitting unit, the interface at
the base station, and the central base unit equipped with proper
software. The concept of detector setup can be briefly outlined
using the block diagram shown in Figure 5.

Media Media
Interface Data Interface Host
Voltage
device. Comm. device. PC at
measure
(Lateral Media (Sub- S/S
ments
end) (GSM) station)

Figure 5: Block Diagram of the OCD Concept.

(a) OCD arrangement on a Pole

B. Detection Approach:
The detectors are to be installed at predetermined locations
at the LV sides of distribution transformers at the lateral ends
of the medium voltage line to be monitored. The detectors are
equipped with GSM module that should send signal to the
central control room in case of a fault condition. The
schematic diagram of the working principle is illustrated in
Figure 6. All information received at the control room can be
stored in a special data bank for further analysis. This option
will leads to detection as well as localization of the open
conductor fault situations on the monitored line with a high
degree of reliability, accuracy and speed. The fault localization
method consists of two steps. The first step determines
whether each sensor is upstream or downstream of the fault
point. The second step consists of determining the faulty
section using the network topology and system data. This (b) Connection diagram
method can result in a reliable detection and localization of a
broken conductor situation on the monitored feeder. Figure 7: Schematic diagram of the detector placement. DT is the
distribution transformer where the OCD is installed.
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 5

D. Design and Development of the Sensor:

The main components of the developed OCD are: voltage Figure 9: PCB with electronic components in place on the three-
phase OCD.
sensing circuit, rectifier circuit, backup battery charging
circuit, microcontroller and GSM module. 277 V/12 V, AC-
DC converters are used in single as well as three-phase OCD E. Flow Charts of OCDs:
designs. The output of the AC-DC converters is fed to the Figure 10 gives the working principle as well as the
voltage regulator, GSM module, and microcontroller as shown connection arrangement of the developed OCD to the medium
in Figure 8. voltage distribution transformer in the block diagram format.
Figure 9 shows the developed three-phase OCD including
the auxiliary circuit arrangement. A typical PCB with all
electronic components in place on the PCB for the three-phase Distribution
OCD are shown in Figure 9. Transformer
Battery
switch circuit Analoge Front End
Batery + + (AFE) -2
V.D
.
+
Voltage measuring
unit (Vrms)
Batery
Chrg

Indicating unit (AFI)

GSM, RF, PLCD,

Analoge Front End

communication
Absolute Fault

Fiber-optic
(AFE) -1
Processor
GSM (Micro controller)
Module

Serial link
Battery Back-up

AC Micro
Voltage controller
sense board
Figure 10: Connection arrangement of the proposed OCD to
the distribution transformer.

In Figure 10, the Analog Front End (AFE)-1 Part

measures the line voltages (Vab, Vbc, and Vca), and converts
these voltages into DC voltages using a rectifier circuit. It
Figure 8: Block diagram of the three-phase OCD.
further decides if there is a fault present in the system by
comparing the measured values with the calculated threshold
values applicable to a normal system status. The calculated
line voltages values for a Dyn distribution transformer are as
shown in Table 4, here. If any of the above condition is
satisfied (i.e., if any conductor is broken) the fault flag is set.

Analog Front End (AFE)-2 Part reads the phase voltages

(Van, Vbn, and Vcn), and converts these analogue voltages
data into DC values and then tests the zero crossings of these
rectified voltages. The microcontroller is programmed to take
a digital image of the 60 Hz rectified AC voltage using a
sampling interval of 436Ps. Peak value of the sample is taken
during each half cycle after every zero crossing. The peak
values obtained are then scaled and sent to t h e main control
room via S M S message with a warning message for possible
fault on the medium voltage feeder where the OCD is
connected, if and when the fault condition is applicable. The
calculated phase voltages values for Dyn distribution
transformer are as shown in Table 5 for different conditions.

The OCD connection to distribution transformer as well as

the flow chart of the processor program is as shown in Figure
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 6

11 whereas Figure 12 shows the flow diagram of the firmware Figure 12: Flow diagram of the firmware of the microcontroller.
of the microcontroller used.

a
b A
B
c C TABLE 4: CALCULATED LINE VOLTAGES VALUES FOR A DYN
n
Distribution DISTRIBUTION TRANSFORMER UNDER DIFFERENT CASES.
Transformer
Condition on Vout(Line voltages)
Analoge Front End Analoge Front End Ser.
(AFE) -1 (AFE) -2 MV primary
No. Vab Vbc Vca
feeder
Absolute Fault Voltage measuring
Indicating unit (AFI) unit (Vrms) 1 Normal 220/0º 220/120º 220/240º

Read DC threshold No
for 3-phases 2 Cond.-A broken 0 190.7/90º 190.7/270º
Test Zero No Yes
Timed out
crossing
3 Cond.-B broken 190.7/30º 0 190.7/210º
If fault
No Yes
4 Cond.-C broken 190.7/330º 190.7/150º 0

Yes Digital Image of

60Hz obtained at
Set fault flag
sample rate 436Ps/
reading
TABLE 5: CALCULATED PHASE VOLTAGES VALUES FOR A DYN DISTRIBUTION
TRANSFORMER
Get Peak Voltage

Condition on Vout (Phase voltages)

Scale voltage using Ser.
LV as source and MV primary
convert to MV No. Van Vbc Vca
feeder

Fault No 1 Normal 127/30º 127/150º 127/270º

flag is
set
2 Cond.-A broken 63.5/90º 63.5/90º 127/270º
Yes
Send Fault SMS to 3 Cond-B broken 127/30º 63.5/210º 63.5/210º
Control Room

No Check command(s)
4 Cond-C broken 63.5/330º 127/150º 63.5/330º
request(s)

Figure 11: The OCD connection as well as flowchart of the

microcontroller program.
A set of commands is required for the operation of the
Start
developed three-phase OCD, as depicted in Figure 12. These
commands can be used to check the status of the OCD and
Initialization
feeder on which the OCD is installed, at any time, when a
predefined and authorized user sends the SMS message
Yes Test
Phase-1 Measure command to the OCD modem. The commands and the
fault voltage
Read ADC respective responses by OCD are summarized in Table 6.
No
Scale voltage using Only a predefined and authorized user can perform these actions.
Yes Test LV as source and
Phase-2
fault
convert to MV Figure 13 shows the sensor’s logged messages for a 3-
No
phase OCD under normal conditions.
No
Yes Test
Fault flag
Many prototype OCDs were prepared and installed in the
Phase-3
fault
Yes
Saudi Aramco MV distribution network. The first unit was
Set fault
flag
No Send Fault SMS to
Control Room
installed at site selected near Abqaiq on December 14, 2011,
on a pole mounted distribution transformer shown in Figure
Check phone book
memory
14. After installation, these OCDs were tested for various
functions and it detected the open conductor correctly every
time such a condition was simulated and for every phase this
Chk unread
Yes
+LINE
No
+STAT
No
+ACKG
No
+CMGD
No
+Node
No +num1
or
No condition was created. It also successfully performed all the
SMS +num2
other functions that it was designed for and provided the
No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes required information when requested to do so. The open
Voltage
data
Mem. &
Signal Strength
5 min. reset Clr. Mem.
Msgs.
Set Node
No.
Set phone
number(s) conductor fault information could be received within 4-6
seconds by the operator. It also indicated the faulted line
information in addition to the magnitude of the voltages for
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 7

each phase at the sensor location.

TABLE 6: COMMANDS AND THE RESPECTIVE RESPONSES BY OCD

Ser. Operator Message received from sensor

No. Message
With this command, one can check the
status of the feeder. The message that will
1 +LINE be received from the sensor will contain the
phase voltages at that instant on the
selected OCD location.
2 +CMGD Delete all messages in the memory of OCD.
The sensor is programmed such that it will
send an SMS message to predefined phone
number(s) and a reminder to the operator
after every 5 minutes if the fault condition
3 +ACKG
on the feeder is not cleared during this
time. When the operator sends the “+ackg“
command to the sensor, it will stop sending
such messages.
The designated sensor can be allocated
remotely, with a unique ID containing any
alphanumeric characters that define the
4 +NODE
node and position of the OCD, which can
be modified at any time by the predefined
operator
This unique feature was added to the
fabricated OCD so that the main operator
can remotely store two phone numbers in
the SIM memory. The OCD will always
send the message to the predefined
operators. The main operator can change
+NUM1
5 the stored phone number(s) at any time by
or
the following command.
+NUM2
Command:
+num1,abcd009665xxxxxxxx
+num2,abcd009665xxxxxxxx
Figure 13: Three-phase OCD response under normal/fault conditions The term abcd, shown above, is a 4-digit
unique password and only the main
operator knows it.

IV. CONCLUSIONS
Based on experimental and theoretical studies, it is
concluded that due to the extremely high resistivity of the
inland dry desert sand, the detection of downed conductor
conditions, using the upstream measurements, cannot rely on
the quantitative analysis of the fault currents since these have
too low magnitudes. The Saudi Aramco Chair in Electrical
Power, at King Saud University, therefore concentrated on
designing and developing a "load side open conductor
detector" based on "GSM/GPRS" communications. Such an
OCD was designed, developed and tested in the KSU High
Voltage Lab as well as in Saudi Aramco’s actual distribution
network. It has been patented.
Figure 14: OCD-2 installed at the MV distribution system at Saudi
Aramco

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 8

V. ACKNOWLEDGMENT [20] S.R. Samantaray, B.K. Panigrahi and P.K. Dash, High impedance
fault Detection in power distribution networks using time–frequency
The authors are thankful to the Saudi Aramco Chair in Electrical transform and probabilistic neural network,” IET Gener. Transm.
Power, College of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Distrib., 2008, 2, (2), pp. 261–270.
Arabia, for the technical and financial support for this study. [21] Sami H. Al-Ghannam, Yasin Khan “GSM/GPRS Based Method,
System and Computer Programs to Determine and Locate High
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System Using Carrier Communication," IEEE Trans. on PD, Vol. electrical engineering from King Fahad University of
15, No.2, pp.525-530, 2000. Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia, and the University
[5] Craig G. Wester, “High Impedance Fault Detection on Distribution of Portland, OR, USA. He is presently working as a
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Conductors," IEEE Trans. on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. He has been working with Saudi Aramco for almost 24 years. He has
PAS-101, No.6, pp.1643-1650, June 1982. authored and co-authored a number of technical papers in the areas of smart
[7] A.G. Phadke, J.S. Thorp, M.G. Adamiak, “A New technique for grid, power distribution automation, high impedance faults and renewables.
tracking voltage phasors, local system frequency and rate of change He was the research project champion for downed conductor detection as the
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Department, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.
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[8] I. Lee, "High Impedance Fault Detection Using 3rd Harmonic Y. Khan obtained a Ph.D. degree in electrical
Current," EPRI Final Report, EPRI EL-2430, 1982. engineering from Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan in
[9] B.D. Russel, "An Arcing Fault Detection Technique Using Low 2004. He also holds the M.S. and B.S degrees in
Frequency Current Components-Performance Evaluation Using electrical engineering (power) from N-W.F.P University
Recorded Field data," IEEE Trans. on PD, Vol. 3, No. 4, 1988 of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, Pakistan in
[10] A.F. Sultan, G.W. Swift, "Detecting Arcing Downed Wires using 1997 and 1993, respectively. Since 2005, he has been
Fault Current Flicker and Half Cycle Asymmetry," IEEE Trans. on working at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,
PD, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1994 as a professor. Dr. Khan has published many research
[11] IEEE PSRC Working Group D15, "High Impedance fault detection papers in the international journals/conferences. He received many
Technology" international awards at different forums in different countries like Japan,
[12] W. H. Kwon, "HIF Detection utilizing Incremental Variance of Korea, Australia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, etc.
Normalized Even Order Harmonic," IEEE-PES Summer Power
meeting, Paper No. 99 SM349-1 PWRD, 1999. N. H. Malik graduated with a B.S. in E.E from UET,
[13] B.M Aucoin, "Detection of Distribution High Impedance Faults Lahore in 1973, an MASc in electrical engineering from
the University of Windsor, Canada in 1977, and received
using Burst Noise Signals Near 60Hz," IEEE Trans. on PD, Vol. 2,
a Ph.D. from the University of Windsor, Canada, in
No. 2, pp. 347-348, 1987.
1979. He has coauthored over 200 research papers and
[14] B.M. Aucoin, "Distribution High Impedance Faults using high five books. He was Chair Professor of “Saudi Aramco
frequency current components," IEEE Trans. on PAS, Vol. 101, No. Chair in Electrical Power,” Electrical Engineering
6, pp. 1596-1606, 1982. Department, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.
[15] B.D. Russel, "Behavior of Low Frequency Spectra During Arcing
Faults and Switching Events," IEEE Trans. on PD, Vol. 3, No.4, A. A. Al-Arainy graduated with a B.S. in E.E from KSU,
1988 Saudi Arabia, in 1974, an MASc in electrical engineering
[16] A. A. Girgis, et. al., "Analysis of HIF generated signal using from the University of Toronto, Canada, in 1977, and
Kalman filtering technique," IEEE Trans. on PD, Vol. 9, pp. 1714- received a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, Canada,
1722, 1990. in 1982. He has authored over 100 research papers and
[17] Nagy I. Elkalashy, Hatem A. Darwish, Abdel-Maksoud I. Taalab four books. He was supervisor of the “Saudi Aramco
and Mohamed A. Izzularab, “Dwt-Based Detection of High Chair in Electrical Power,” Electrical Engineering
Impedance Fault Due to Leaning Trees In Compensated MV Department, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.
Networks,” CIRED 19th International Conference on Electricity
Distribution, Vienna, 21-24 May 2007, Paper 0174. Bader S. Al-Shahrani received B.S. and M.S. degrees in
[18] David Chan Tat Wai and Xia Yibh, “A Novel Technique for High electrical engineering from King Fahad University of
Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia, and the University of
Impedance Fault Detection,” IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery,
New South Wales, Sydney, Australia 2006 and 2014,
Vol. 13, No. 3, July 1998, pp.738-741.
respectively. He has been working with Saudi Aramco Power
[19] T. M. Lai, L. A. SniderE. Lo, and D. Sutanto, “High-Impedance System Engineering Department in several positions since
Fault Detection Using Discrete Wavelet Transform and Frequency 2006. His research interests are in the areas of smart grids, renewable
Range and RMS Conversion,” IEEE Transactions on Power integration and energy efficiency.
Delivery, Vol. 20, No. 1, January 2005, pp. 397-401.
Saudi Aramco: Public

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