Apparatus and method to detect and locate a fault in a shielded conductor
AssigneeGE Aviation Systems LLC
InventorsPeter James Handy, Russell Mark Compton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus and method to detect and locate electrical faults in an insulated supply conductor sheathed in a conductive screen is disclosed. The apparatus is positioned along the supply conductor between a power supply and an electrical load. The conductive screen is coupled to an electrical ground via a first resistive element. A voltage on the conductive screen is sensed and compared to a threshold to determine whether a fault condition exists. The apparatus is configured to inject a voltage pulse to the conductive screen and detect a reflected pulse therefrom. The location of the fault condition is determined based on an elapsed time between the injection of the voltage pulse and the detection of the reflected pulse.
Claims19
An apparatus to locate a fault condition in a supply conductor and a first conductive screen surrounding the supply conductor, the supply conductor coupled at a first end to an electrical load and coupled at a second end to power supply, the power supply configured to provide a supply voltage to the electrical load via the supply conductor, the apparatus comprising:
- a first resistive element coupled between the first conductive screen and an electrical ground;
- a second resistive element connected between the supply conductor and the first conductive screen at the first end;
- a first reflectometry module electrically coupled to the first conductive screen via a first reflection line, the first reflectometry module including a signal generator configured to selectively inject a first incident signal to the first conductive screen, and a first pulse detector configured to detect a first reflected signal from the first incident signal on the first reflection line;
- a voltage sensor configured to detect a measured voltage on the first conductive screen;
- and
- a control module communicatively coupled to the first reflectometry module and voltage sensor, the control module configured to:
- trigger an injection of the first incident signal from the signal generator to the first conductive screen;
- receive an indication of the first reflected signal from the first pulse detector;
- and
- determine a location of the fault condition based on the first reflected signal.
A method of locating a fault condition in an insulated supply conductor circumferentially surrounded by a first conductive screen, the insulated supply conductor coupled at a first end to an electrical load and coupled at an opposing second end to a power supply, the power supply configured to provide a supply voltage to the electrical load via the insulated supply conductor, the method comprising:
- coupling a first resistive element between the first conductive screen and an electrical ground;
- coupling a second resistive element between the insulated supply conductor and the first conductive screen at the first end;
- electrically coupling a first reflectometry module to the first conductive screen via a first reflection line, the first reflectometry module including a signal generator configured to selectively inject a first incident signal to the first conductive screen, and a first pulse detector configured to detect a first reflected signal from the first incident signal on the first reflection line;
- detecting a measured voltage on the first conductive screen with a voltage sensor;
- communicatively coupling a control module to the first reflectometry module and the voltage sensor, the control module being configured to control an implementation of the steps of:
- triggering an injection of the first incident signal from the signal generator to a supply end of the first conductive screen;
- detecting a first reflected signal from the first incident signal on the first reflected line using the first pulse detector;
- and
- determining a location of the fault condition based on the first reflected signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.