Feeder identification is indispensable for distribution networks to locate faults at a specific feeder, especially when measuring de-vices are insufficient for precise locations. For the high imped-ance fault (HIF), the feeder identification is much more compli-cated and related approaches are still in the early stage. This paper thoroughly and theoretically reveals the features of dif-ferent feeders when a HIF happens at the resonant grounded neutral (RGN) network, which is the most challenging condition for feeder identification. Firstly, the diversity of nonlinearity existing in HIFs is explained from the aspect of energy. Then, the differences of nonlinearities of zero-sequence currents between healthy and faulty feeders are deduced theoretically. Variations of the detuning index and damping ratio that exist in industries are both considered. Afterward, these theoretical conclusions are verified by the HIF cases experimented in a real 10kV system. Finally, based on the theories, we discuss about why the existing approaches are not reliable enough, and suggest some improve-ments.
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