Patent ID: 8917097

Claim:
A method for detecting and locating electrical faults by reflectometry in a metal structure, the metal structure having electrical current traveling therethrough, the method comprising: connecting an electrical propagation line in the form of an insulated electrical conductor to the metal structure at a first end of the conductor and to a signal generator at an opposite second end of the conductor, with the electrical propagation line being held at a substantially constant distance from the metal structure along a length between the first and second ends; injecting a probe signal, by the signal generator, into the electrical propagation line held at a substantially constant distance from the metal structure; detecting a reflected signal in return from the injected signal; and comparing the reflected signal with a reference signature of an undisrupted reflected signal to determine if any electrical faults are in the metal structure while filtering out portions of the reflected signal that result from impedance fluctuations caused from current present in the metal structure.