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A RESEARCH PROJECT


BY

NNAEMEKA ORIOHA
EE/2017/167
 
SUBMITTED TO


DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING FACULTY OF ENGINEERING CARITAS UNIVERSITY, AMORJI-NIKE, ENUGU.

 
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING (B.ENG)

 AUGUST 2017

 



APPROVAL PAGE

This project has been read and approved by the undersigned as with the requirement at the department of Electrical Electronic Engineering of Caritas University Amorji Nike Enugu for the award of  Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) in Electrical Electronic Engineering.


----------------------------  -----------------------
Engr. Ejimorfor  Date
(Project supervisor)

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Engr. Ejimofor  Date
(Head of Department)


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External Supervisor

 

DECLARATION

I declare that this project material is an original work done by me under the supervision of Engr. Ejimorfor, department of electrical electronic engineering  faculty of engineering caritas university, amorji-nike, enugu

 

 


DEDICATION


This project is dedicated to Almighty God and to my parents Engr. & Mrs. Chukwu A. Orioha and to my beloved brothers and sisters whose ever loving kindness and support has seen me through my years of studies.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT


I wish to express my immense gratitude to God Almighty for his mercy, guidance and protection towards me for seeing me through the rigors of this work. I am greatly indebted to my supervisor Engr. Ejimofor for his kind gesture and whose critics lead to the achievement of this work. I also will remain grateful to the tremendous contribution of my lecturers Engr. Ojobor (the Dean of Engineering Faculty), Engr. Ejimofor (Head of Electrical Electronic Engineering Department), Engr. Mbah, Engr. Ochi, and all the staff of Electrical Electronic Engineering both academic and non academic staff for their intellectual upbringing. My special appreciation goes to my loving parents Engr. & Mrs. Chukwu A. Orioha, my grandparent, my uncles and aunties, my brothers and sisters whose moral and financial support cannot be over emphasized. Also my sincere gratitude and special regards to my friends too many to mention whose encouragement also lead to the success of this work.

 

ABSTRACT

The underground cable system is a common practice followed in many urban areas. While a fault occurs for some reason, at that time the repairing process related to that particular cable is difficult due to not knowing the exact location of the cable fault. The proposed system is to find the exact location of the fault. The project uses the standard concept of Ohms law i.e., when a low DC voltage is applied at the feeder end through a series resistor (Cable lines), then current would vary depending upon the location of fault in the cable. In case there is a short circuit (Line to Ground), the voltage across series resistors changes accordingly, which is then fed to inbuilt ADC of PIC controller to develop precise digital data for display in kilometers. The project is assembled with a set of resistors representing cable length in KM’s and fault creation is made by a set of switches at every known KM to cross check the accuracy of the same. The fault occurring at a particular distance and the respective phase is displayed on a LCD interfaced to the PIC controller.

 

CHAPTER ONE
1.1                                                        INTRODUCTION
More than 3 million miles of electrical cables are strung overhead across the country. Add to that at least 180 million telephone and cable TV lines, and it’s no wonder hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and ice storms are wreaking havoc on the electrical systems each year, causing utility outages that last days, weeks and longer. Power outages over extended periods present major health and safety concerns and economic losses. Concerns about the reliability of overhead lines, increases in their maintenance and operating costs, and issues of public safety and quality-of-life are leading more and more utilities and municipalities to the realization that converting overhead distribution lines to underground is the best way to provide high-quality service to their customers. For utility companies, undergrounding provides potential benefits through reduced operations and maintenance (O&M) costs, reduced tree trimming costs, less storm damage and reduced loss of day-to-day electricity sales when customers lose power after storms. Creative funding options are often available to make the goal of undergrounding a reality. The underground cable system is very important for distribution especially in metropolitan cities, airports and defense service.
One of the major limitations of underground cables is the fault detection. Since the cables are laid under the surface (directly or inside pressurized ducts), the visual methods of inspection don’t work effectively. This is not the case in Overhead Lines. In order to identify the faults in the cable, a device was design which does the work, which is the course of this work.

1.2                                                   AIM OF THE PROJECT
The objective of this project is to determine the distance of underground cable fault from base station in kilometers USING a PIC microcontroller.

1.3                                             OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
At the end of the project, the student involved will be able to:

  • Understand underground cable fault detection from base station
  • Understand how PIC controller is used
  • Exact fault location of cable
  • Used standard concept of Ohms law
  • Display the fault from kilometers aparts via LCD
1.4                          CAUSES OF FAULTS IN UNDERGROUND CABLES

Most of the faults occur when moisture enters the insulation. The paper insulation provided inside the cable is hygroscopic in nature. Other causes include mechanical injury during transportation, laying process or due to various stresses encountered by the cable during its working life. The lead sheath is also damaged frequently, usually due to the actions of atmospheric agents, soil and water or sometimes due to the mechanical damage and crystallization of lead through vibration.

1.5  TYPES OF FAULT IN UNDERGROUND CABLES

The most common types of fault that occur in underground cables are,

  • Open circuit fault.
  • Short circuit fault.
  • Earth fault.

Open circuit fault

When there is a break in the conductor of a cable, it is called open-circuit fault. The open-circuit fault can check by a megger. For this purpose, the three conductors of the 3 core cable at far end are shorted and earthed. Then resistance between each conductors and earth is measured by a megger. The megger will indicate zero resistance in the circuit of the conductor that is not broken. However if a conductor is broken the megger will indicate an infinite resistance.

Short-circuit fault

When two conductors of a multi core cable come in electrical contact with each other due to insulation failure, it is so called as short-circuit fault. Megger can also be used to check this fault. For this the two terminals of a megger are connected to any two conductors. If the megger gives a zero reading it indicates short-circuit fault between these conductors.
The same is repeated for other conductors taking two at a time.

Earth fault

When the conductor of a cable comes in contact with earth, it is called earth fault or ground fault. To identify this fault, one terminal of the megger is connected to the conductor and the other terminal connected to the earth. If the megger indicates zero reading, it means the conductor is earthed. The same procedure is repeated for other conductors of the cable.

1.6                    ADVANTAGES OF UNDERGROUND CABLE SYSTEM

This includes aesthetics, higher public acceptance, and perceived benefits of protection against electromagnetic field radiation (which is still present in underground lines), fewer interruptions, and lower maintenance costs. Failure rates of overhead lines and underground cables vary widely, but typically underground cable outage rates are about half of their equivalent overhead line types. Potentially far fewer momentary interruptions occur from lightning, animals and tree branches falling on wires which de-energize a circuit and then re- energize it a moment later.
Primary benefits most often cited can be divided into four areas:
Potentially-Reduced Maintenance and Operating Costs:

  • Lower storm restoration cost
  • Lower tree-trimming cost

Improved Reliability:

  • Increased reliability during severe weather (wind- related storm damage will be greatly reduced for an underground system, and areas not subjected to flooding and storm surges experience minimal damage and interruption of electric service.
  • Less damage during severe weather
  • Far fewer momentary interruptions
  • Improved utility relations regarding tree trimming Improved Public Safety:
  • Fewer motor vehicle accidents
  • Reduced live-wire contact injuries
  • Fewer Fires Improved Property Values:
  • Improved aesthetics (removal of unsightly poles and wires, enhanced tree canopies).
  • Fewer structures impacting sidewalks

1.7                    DISADVANTAGES OF UNDERGROUND CABLE SYSTEM

The main disadvantage is that the underground cables have higher initial cost and insulation problems at high voltages. Another main drawback is that, if a fault does occur, it is difficult to locate and repair the fault because the fault is invisible.

 

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