Smart Grid Fault Detection and Classification with Ranked Phase Current Spectrograms Feature Selection and Using Compact Neural Models


Altaie A. S., Salemdeeb M., YUMURTACI R.

IEEE Access, cilt.14, ss.47583-47596, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 14
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1109/access.2026.3677780
  • Dergi Adı: IEEE Access
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Compendex, INSPEC, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.47583-47596
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: artificial intelligence, fault classification, Fault detection, image features
  • Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Accurate fault detection and classification in power transmission systems are critical to maintaining grid reliability and minimizing outage durations. Traditional methods, often reliant on threshold-based algorithms or manual signal analysis, struggle with dynamic system conditions, high noise interference, and varying fault characteristics. This study proposes a robust framework for fault detection and classification in the IEEE-9 bus system by leveraging image-based feature extraction and machine learning. Phase currents are converted into spectrogram images to capture transient fault signatures in a 2D time-frequency domain. Four statistical metrics - Gini decrease, chi-square, information gain, and information gain ratio - are employed to rank and select high-impact features, reducing dimensionality while preserving discriminative patterns. These features are extracted using SqueezeNet, a lightweight convolutional neural network, and subsequently classified via neural networks and logistic regression. The method is rigorously evaluated under diverse scenarios, including variable fault inception angles (0-360°), high-resistance faults (up to 200 ω), and white Gaussian noise with signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) ranging from 10 dB to noise-free (infinite SNR). The results demonstrate 99.5-99.7% precision in distinguishing 10 fault types (LG, LL, LLG, LLLG) and normal operation, with a 99.6-99.8% F1-score at 10 dB SNR, outperforming existing artificial intelligence approaches. The system's immunity to noise and adaptability to unexpected fault locations underscore its practicality for real-world deployment. By integrating spectrogram visualization with explainable feature selection, this work fills the gap between signal processing and interpretable machine learning, offering a scalable solution for modern power systems.