Power arcing source location using first peak arrival of rf-signal

This paper reports an experimental investigation of locating arc sources using strategically placed antennas and the signal arrival times of first peak component of the wideband electromagnetic signals radiated from the sources toward the antennas. Theoretical approaches of such electromagnetic source location are first introduced and then a new approach of using the dominant frequency component of the first peak wave to clarify the source location distance is discussed. Experiments of arc generation and radiation signal measurement are conducted and, using the measured electromagnetic data, the arc source location method is applied and the results are compared against the actual location. It is found that the first peak arrival method works at a reasonable level of accuracy.