Underground Cable Fault Detector and Locator Using Arduino

Abstract

Abstract

In urban areas, electrical cables run underground instead of running over, because it does not get affected by any adverse effect of weather such as storm, snow, ice, heavy rainfall as well as pollution. While a fault occurs within the underground cable, it is difficult to detect the exact location of the fault for the repair process of the particular cable. This system can find the point of the exact location of a fault. This project uses the standard concept of Ohm's law, i.e., when a low dc voltage is applied at the end of feeder through series resistor (Cable lines), then the current would vary depending on the location of the fault of the cable. This prototype is assembled with a set of resistors representing cable length in kilometers and fault creation is made by a set of switches at every known kilometer (km) to cross check the accuracy of the same. This system uses an Arduino microcontroller, LCD and GSM. The relays are controlled by the relay driver IC which is used for switching the power sequentially to all the lines. The proposed technique is used not only for identification of fault but is also used to send detailed information about the fault to the authority using GSM. Also, it cuts the power supply on that particular location for the security of the people. It used to display the fault occurring at a particular distance and which displayed on 16×2 LCD, interfaced with the microcontroller.

Keywords: Arduino Uno, GSM modem, LCD, power cables, underground cables faults

Cite this Article

Sameer Jagtap, Dhembare Monika, Dake Pooja, Salunkhe Akshata. Underground Cable Fault Detector and Locator Using Arduino. Journal of Multimedia Technology & Recent Advancements. 2019; 6(1): 19–27p.