Comparison of Various Mother Wavelets for Fault Classification in Electrical Systems

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative study on mother wavelets using a fault type classification algorithm in a power system. The study aims to evaluate the performance of the protection algorithm by implementing different mother wavelets for signal analysis and determines a suitable mother wavelet for power system protection applications. The factors that influence the fault signal, such as the fault location, fault type, and inception angle, have been considered during testing. The algorithm operates by applying the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) to the three-phase current and zero-sequence signal obtained from the experimental setup. The DWT extracts high-frequency components from the signals during both the normal and fault states. The coefficients at scales 1–3 have been decomposed using different mother wavelets, such as Daubechies (db), symlets (sym), biorthogonal (bior), and Coiflets (coif). The results reveal different coefficient values for the different mother wavelets even though the behaviors are similar. The coefficient for any mother wavelet has the same behavior but does not have the same value. Therefore, this finding has shown that the mother wavelet has a significant impact on the accuracy of the fault classification algorithm.