An Early Warning Method of Distribution System Fault Risk Based on Data Mining

Accurate warning information of potential fault risk in the distribution network is essential to the economic operation as well as the rational allocation of maintenance resources. In this paper, we propose a fault risk warning method for a distribution system based on an improved RelieF-Softmax algorithm. Firstly, four categories including 24 fault features of the distribution system are determined through data investigation and preprocessing. Considering the frequency of distribution system faults, and then their consequences, the risk classification method of the distribution system is presented. Secondly, the K-maxmin clustering algorithm is introduced to improve the random sampling process, and then an improved RelieF feature extraction method is proposed to determine the optimal feature subset with the strongest correlation and minimum redundancy. Finally, the loss function of Softmax is improved to cope with the influence of sample imbalance on the prediction accuracy. The optimal feature subset and Softmax classifier are applied to forewarn the fault risk in the distribution system. The 191-feeder power distribution system in south China is employed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.