Abstract

Low and medium speed magnetic levitation traffic with short power supply distance and complex grounding network structure, prone to power supply rail grounding faults. However, the existing fault location methods do not accurately locate the fault point, which in turn makes it difficult for the protection device to act to cut off the fault. To address the above problems, this paper builds a dynamic simulation model of the low and medium speed magnetic levitation power supply rails to study the distribution characteristics of the fault traveling waves after a ground fault occurs in the power supply rails, and analyses the generation mechanism of the traveling wave spectrum through formula calculation. The first step is to determine whether an earth fault has occurred by analysing the difference in current between the positive and negative busbars. Secondly, the direction of the current difference between stations is compared to locate the faulty section. Finally, the fault distance is calculated from the frequency difference of the fault voltage at the double-ended station. Through simulation, the method is validated to be unaffected by fault location, fault transition resistance, noise interference, and is applicable to short circuit faults caused by lightning strikes, and the ranging error always remains within 20m. The method has strong robustness, can effectively solve the problem of protection misoperation and accurately locate the fault point. It is suitable for low and medium speed magnetic levitation transportation power supply rail ground fault.