Fault (power engineering)

In an electric power system, a fault or fault current is any abnormal electric current. For example, a short circuit is a fault in which current bypasses the normal load. An open-circuit fault occurs if a circuit is interrupted by some failure. In three-phase systems, a fault may involve one or more phases and ground, or may occur only between phases. In a "ground fault" or "earth fault", current flows into the earth. The prospective short circuit current of a predictable fault can be calculated for most situations. In power systems, protective devices can detect fault conditions and operate circuit breakers and other devices to limit the loss of service due to a failure.

In a polyphase system, a fault may affect all phases equally which is a "symmetrical fault". If only some phases are affected, the resulting "asymmetrical fault" becomes more complicated to analyse. The analysis of these types of faults is often simplified by using methods such as symmetrical components.

The design of systems to detect and interrupt power system faults is the main objective of power-system protection.

A transient fault is a fault that is no longer present if power is disconnected for a short time and then restored; or an insulation fault which only temporarily affects a device's dielectric properties which are restored after a short time. Many faults in overhead power lines are transient in nature. When a fault occurs, equipment used for power system protection operate to isolate the area of the fault. A transient fault will then clear and the power-line can be returned to service. Typical examples of transient faults include:

Transmission and distribution systems use an automatic re-close function which is commonly used on overhead lines to attempt to restore power in the event of a transient fault. This functionality is not as common on underground systems as faults there are typically of a persistent nature. Transient faults may still cause damage both at the site of the original fault or elsewhere in the network as fault current is generated.

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