  This paper proposes a novel fault detector for digital relaying based on
independent component analysis (leA). The index for effective detection is
derived from independent components of fault current. The proposed fault
detector reduces the computational burden for real time applications and is
therefore more accurate and robust as compared to other approaches. Further, a
comparative assessment is carried out to establish the effectiveness of the
proposed method as compared to the existing methods. This approach can be
applied for fault classification and localization of a distance relay
reflecting its consistency in all system changing conditions and thus validates
its efficacy in the real time applications. The method is tested under a
variety of fault and other disturbance conditions of typical power system.
