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Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number	NIA_UKPN0046
Title	Underground fault predictive model and earthing assessments
Status	Completed
Energy Categories	Other Power and Storage Technologies(Electricity transmission and distribution) 100%;
Research Types	Applied Research and Development 100%
Science and Technology Fields	ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) 75%; ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences) 25%;
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation	Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator	Project Contact No email address given UK Power Networks
Award Type	Network Innovation Allowance
Funding Source	Ofgem
Start Date	01 February 2019
End Date	01 August 2021
Duration	ENA months
Total Grant Value	£692,887
Industrial Sectors	Power
Region	London
Programme	Network Innovation Allowance
Investigators	Principal Investigator	Project Contact , UK Power Networks (100.000%)
	Industrial Collaborator	Project Contact , UK Power Networks (0.000%)
Web Site	https://smarter.energynetworks.org/projects/NIA_UKPN0046
Objectives	This project will involve a study of the effect of soil characteristics in combination with rainfall, on a number of LV and HV underground cable faults. The learning from this study will be used to develop an operational faults forecast model for LV and HV underground cables if a well-defined relationship is observed. The project will also involve the development of a soil resistivity assessment tool, for secondary substation earthing studies, using information on soil characteristics.Update, January 2021:The soil resistivity assessment tool was completed as planned in the first half of the project and has been implemented in UK Power Networks Geospatial Analytics tool (GSA).The fault prediction model based on geology in combination with weather, was not implemented because analyses completed by British Geological Surveys (BGS) did not identify a strong enough correlation between geology, rainfall and underground cable faults. As a substitute we plan to implement a statistical fault forecast model, based on weather alone.A time extension to the project is being made, for six months, up till August 2021. The time extension will enable the Met Office to complete essential analyses to tweak a statistical faults forecast model based on weather alone, which will include underground cable fault predictions. The time extension will also enable us to implement the statistical fault forecast model in GSA. Overall this will allow the project to offer valuable conclusions and a functional faults forecast model at the end of the trial. The operational fault forecast model and the soil resistivity assessment tool would both be embedded in UK Power Networks GIS tool, the Geospatial Analytics Web Application (GSA). The soil resistivity assessment tool, in GSA, will replace an unsupported out-of-date web version currently hosted by British Geological Surveys.The project will be delivered as two use cases:Use case 1 Impact of geology on cable faults: Analyse soil data sets, historical rainfall and faults to determine correlations and to build a faults forecast algorithm Integrate static and dynamic data sources in the GSA tool including: o Static data sources: soil type, soil moisture, compound topographic index, and other major key components related to faults identified in the project. These will be supplied as either ESRI .shp or MapInfo .TAB, although other formats may be available on request.o Dynamic data sources: daily and future weather forecasts. These will be provided via a web map service. Apply a faults forecast algorithm to the GSA tool, to display a heat map for faults forecasts, based on a combination of weather, soil type, soil conditions and geographic location.Use case 2 Data visualisation of engineering assessment results for substations: Integrate static data sources in the GSA tool including: Soil type, soil moisture, compound topographic index, and other major key components related to faults identified in the project. These will be supplied as either ESRI .shp or MapInfo .TAB, although other formats may be available on request. Earthing data Fault level data Protection settings dataThis project will involve working with two project partners: British Geological Surveys To provide soil data and analyses; Met Office To provide rainfall data (from their Met Office Global and Regional Ensemble Prediction System - MOGREPS) during the project.And one supplier: Tata Consultancy Services To provide design, testing, development and deployment activities to implement a fault prediction model and soil resistivity assessment tool, for secondary substation earthing studies, in GSA. The objectives of this project include:1. To determine the relationship between soil type, rainfall and underground cable faults2. To build a faults forecast model for underground cables (if a meaningful relationship exists between soil type, rainfall and underground cable faults)3. To build a soil resistivity assessment tool for desktop earthing assessments at substations
Abstract	UK Power Networks experiences faults on Low Voltage (LV) and High Voltage (HV; Note 6.6 or 11kV) underground cables each year, with over 80% of these faults attributed to age and wear or unknown causes. A previous study on an NIA project, Prediction of weather-related faults, showed that there was a measurable relationship between the amount of rainfall and the number of LV and HV faults. However, the previous study also showed that further work was required to develop an operational faults forecast model for LV and HV underground cables. A review of soil characteristics in combination with rainfall is likely to provide additional detail to be able to develop an operational faults forecast model. The data on soil characteristics can also be used to develop a soil resistivity assessment tool, for secondary substation earthing studies.
Publications	(none)
Final Report	(none)
Added to Database	14/12/22