At present, it is difficult to detect and locate the fault of submarine cable in submarine observation network, which brings many difficulties for underwater maintenance. In this paper, a fault location method for submarine observation network based on multi-terminal fault traveling wave time difference is proposed for the first time. Firstly, the fault line is determined by the branch unit (BU), and the shortest transmission path of the initial traveling wave head is calculated by Floyd algorithm. Then, the initial path matrix of traveling wave is established, and the time difference matrix of arrival of reference traveling wave head before fault is established by using traveling wave velocity. After the fault, the time difference matrix of arrival of traveling wave head is established. Finally, the exact location of fault point is determined by comparing the difference of arrival time difference matrix of traveling wave head before and after fault. PSCAD simulation analysis shows that the method proposed in this paper is simple and accurate, which can provide a guarantee for the safe and reliable operation of the power system of the submarine observation network.

submarine observation network, submarine cable, traveling wave, fault location, time difference matrix