Decentralized Plug-and-Play Protection Scheme for Low Voltage DC Grids

Since the voltages and currents in dc grids do not have a natural zero-crossing, the protection of these grids is more challenging than the protection of conventional ac grids. Literature presents several unit and non-unit protection schemes that rely on communication, or knowledge about the system’s topology and parameters in order to achieve selective protection in these grids. However, communication complicates fast fault detection and interruption, and a system’s parameters are subject to uncertainty and change. This paper demonstrates that, in low voltage dc grids, faults propagate fast through the grid and interrupted inductive currents commutate to non-faulted sections of the grid, which both can cause circuit breakers in non-faulted sections to trip. A decentralized plug-and-play protection scheme is proposed that ensures selectivity via an augmented solid-state circuit breaker topology and by utilizing the proposed time-current characteristic. It is experimentally shown that the proposed scheme provides secure and selective fault interruption for radial and meshed low voltage dc grids under various conditions.

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Design and Testing of a Low Voltage Solid-State Circuit Breaker for a DC Distribution System

Energies ◽

10.3390/en13020338 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 338

Author(s):

Leslie Tracy ◽

Praveen Kumar Sekhar

Keyword(s):

Solid State ◽

Power Distribution ◽

Distribution System ◽

Distribution Systems ◽

Low Voltage ◽

Circuit Breaker ◽

Solid State Circuit ◽

Dc Distribution ◽

High Side ◽

Solid State Circuit Breaker

In this study, a low voltage solid-state circuit breaker (SSCB) was implemented for a DC distribution system using commercially available components. The design process of the high-side static switch was enabled through a voltage bias. Detailed functional testing of the current sensor, high-side switch, thermal ratings, analog to digital conversion (ADC) techniques, and response times of the SSCB was evaluated. The designed SSCB was capable of low-end lighting protection applications and tested at 50 V. A 15 A continuous current rating was obtained, and the minimum response time of the SSCB was nearly 290 times faster than that of conventional AC protection methods. The SSCB was implemented to fill the gap where traditional AC protection schemes have failed. DC distribution systems are capable of extreme faults that can destroy sensitive power electronic equipment. However, continued research and development of the SSCB is helping to revolutionize the power industry and change the current power distribution methods to better utilize clean renewable energy systems.

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Bidirectional Short-Circuit Current Blocker for DC Microgrid Based on Solid-State Circuit Breaker

Electronics ◽

10.3390/electronics9020306 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 306 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Lujun Wang ◽

Boyu Feng ◽

Yu Wang ◽

Tiezhou Wu ◽

Huipin Lin

Keyword(s):

Solid State ◽

Low Voltage ◽

Short Circuit ◽

Circuit Breaker ◽

Short Circuit Current ◽

Rotational Inertia ◽

Dc Microgrid ◽

Protection Strategy ◽

Solid State Circuit ◽

Solid State Circuit Breaker

In order to solve the imminent problem in that the traditional protection strategy cannot meet time requirements, together with the fact that the rotational inertia of a DC microgrid is small and short-circuit fault develops rapidly, a bidirectional short-circuit current blocker (BSCCB) based on solid-state circuit breaker for a DC microgrid is proposed. Firstly, the bidirectional current blocking circuit structure is proposed based on the analysis of key components. Then, a top-level differential protection strategy is developed based on the aforementioned proposal. Finally, the performance of the blocking circuit is simulated and verified by experiments. The results show that the proposed method can block short-circuit current within 4 ms, and the response speed of the protection strategy is very fast compared with previous approaches. BSCCB also has reclosing, bidirectional blocking and energy releasing functions. The current blocker proposed in this paper can be reused multiple times and has a promising future in low-voltage DC microgrid application.

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Design criteria of solid‐state circuit breaker for low‐voltage microgrids

IET Power Electronics ◽

10.1049/pel2.12089 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Pavel Purgat ◽

Samad Shah ◽

Nils van der Blij ◽

Zian Qin ◽

Pavol Bauer

Keyword(s):

Solid State ◽

Low Voltage ◽

Circuit Breaker ◽

Design Criteria ◽

Solid State Circuit ◽

Solid State Circuit Breaker

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Design of a Solid-State Circuit Breaker for a DC Grid-Based Vessel Power System

Electronics ◽

10.3390/electronics8090953 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (9) ◽

pp. 953 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lukas Tapia ◽

Igor Baraia-Etxaburu ◽

Juan José Valera ◽

Alain Sanchez-Ruiz ◽

Gonzalo Abad

Keyword(s):

Solid State ◽

Power System ◽

Electric Propulsion ◽

Circuit Breaker ◽

Design Guidelines ◽

Zero Crossing ◽

Solid State Circuit ◽

Dc Breaker ◽

Solid State Circuit Breaker ◽

Grid Based

Electric propulsion and integrated hybrid power systems can improve the energy efficiency and fuel consumption of different kinds of vessels. If the vessel power system is based on DC grid distribution, some benefits such as higher generator efficiency and lower volume and cost can be achieved. However, some challenges remain in terms of protection devices for this kind of DC grid-based power system. The absence of natural zero crossing in the DC current together with the fast and programmable breaking times required make it challenging. There are several papers related to DC breaker topologies and their role in DC grids; however, it is not easy to find comprehensive information about the design process of the DC breaker itself. In this paper, the basis for the design of a DC solid-state circuit breaker (SSCB) for low voltage vessel DC grids is presented. The proposed SSCB full-scale prototype detects and opens the fault in less than 3 µs. This paper includes theoretical analyses, design guidelines, modeling and simulation, and experimental results.

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An Improved Method of Solid State Circuit Breaker in Low Voltage DC Microgrid

10.1109/isie45552.2021.9576293 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lingyu Sun ◽

Song Tang ◽

Pengcheng Wang ◽

Junfei Han ◽

Yuqiang Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solid State ◽

Low Voltage ◽

Circuit Breaker ◽

Improved Method ◽

Dc Microgrid ◽

Solid State Circuit ◽

Solid State Circuit Breaker

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Evaluation of SiC-MOSFET by Repetitive UIS Tests for Solid State Circuit Breaker

Materials Science Forum ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/msf.1004.1010 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1004 ◽

pp. 1010-1015

Author(s):

Mitsuhiko Sagara ◽

Keiji Wada ◽

Shin-Ichi Nishizawa

Keyword(s):

Solid State ◽

Gate Voltage ◽

Circuit Breaker ◽

Power Device ◽

Circuit Breakers ◽

Solid State Circuit ◽

Dc Circuit Breaker ◽

Solid State Circuit Breaker ◽

Dc Circuit Breakers

This paper investigates a degradation of SiC power device for DC circuit breaker through repetitive unclamped inductive switching (UIS) tests. Being much lower compared with Si devices, it has been considered an application for DC circuit breakers using SiC semiconductor. In order to use for the DCbreaker, it is essential to evaluate the destructive endurance for UIS test.This paper evaluates a deterioration phenomenon by paying attention to the decrease of the gate voltage of the SiC-MOSFETs under the degradation at repetitive UIS test.

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