Interconnected standalone DC microgrid fault protection based on Self-Adaptive DC fault current limiter with hybrid solid state circuit breaker

<abstract><p>DC system has the potential of vast and rapid fault current generation due to multiple (line and converters) discharge capacitors and small impedance of DC lines. DC fault current spreads through the system exponentially compared to AC. Such an unexpected huge current causes a voltage drop, impacts the normal operation of system components and exposes the system to a great challenge for fault detection and interruption. For prevention of system destruction during the fault, multiple approaches such as application of Mechanical Circuit Breakers (MCBs), fuses, Solid State Circuit Breaker (SSCB), and Hybrid Solid-State Circuit Breaker (HSSCB) have been proposed and applied. In DC fault applications, fast fault detection and interruption without any interference to the other components are quite important. Therefore, semiconductor breakers have been implemented to meet the DC fault protection requirements with a high-speed operation where traditional MBs have failed. Due to the high conduction loss and low efficiency of semiconductor switches, for fast and efficient DC fault interruption, different Fault Current Limiter (FCL) types are suggested. Although a high impedance FCL can prevent the voltage fluctuations due to the current decline, it can cause operation speed issues, coordination troubles, overheat, and malfunction of protective components in a fault situation.</p> <p>This paper focused on a combination of two-way HSSCB with a self-adapt DC short current limiter, ultra-fast switch, and power electronic switch to overcome the above challenges. It can efficiently and fast fault current limiting response with low conducting loss and appropriate cooperation among protective components in a low voltage DC system. The MATLAB/Simulink is used to analyze the effectiveness and consistency of the proposed FCL-HSSCB in 400 <italic>V</italic> interconnected standalone DC microgrids.</p></abstract>

Download Full-text

Operation Characteristics of Emitter Turn-Off Thyristor (ETO) for Solid-State Circuit Breaker and Fault Current Limiter

Twenty-First Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, 2006. APEC '06. ◽

10.1109/apec.2006.1620535 ◽

2006 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

B. Chen ◽

A.Q. Huang ◽

M. Baran ◽

C. Han ◽

W. Song

Keyword(s):

Solid State ◽

Circuit Breaker ◽

Fault Current ◽

Fault Current Limiter ◽

Solid State Circuit ◽

Current Limiter ◽

Solid State Circuit Breaker ◽

Operation Characteristics

Download Full-text

Self-Powered 380 V DC SiC Solid-State Circuit Breaker and Fault Current Limiter

IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics ◽

10.1109/tpel.2019.2893104 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (10) ◽

pp. 9600-9608 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

David Marroqui ◽

Jose Manuel Blanes ◽

Ausias Garrigos ◽

Roberto Gutierrez

Keyword(s):

Solid State ◽

Circuit Breaker ◽

Fault Current ◽

Fault Current Limiter ◽

Solid State Circuit ◽

Current Limiter ◽

Self Powered ◽

Solid State Circuit Breaker

Download Full-text

Analysis of the DC Fault Current Limiting Characteristics of a DC Superconducting Fault Current Limiter Using a Transformer

Energies ◽

10.3390/en13164210 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (16) ◽

pp. 4210

Author(s):

Kang-Cheol Cho ◽

Min-Ki Park ◽

Sung-Hun Lim

Keyword(s):

Circuit Breaker ◽

Fault Current ◽

Fault Current Limiter ◽

Long Distance ◽

Superconducting Fault Current Limiter ◽

Dc System ◽

Dc Fault ◽

Current Limiting ◽

New Type ◽

Current Limiter

Recently, a lot of interesting research has been conducted to solve the fault current problem of the DC system. In long-distance transmission, DC transmission is more economical than AC transmission. The connection of power grids with a DC system can also better control the power flow and provide high stability. However, the control of the fault current in a DC system is more difficult to handle than in an AC system because the DC system does not make a zero point, unlike the AC system. In addition, there is a disadvantage, in that an arc occurs when a circuit breaker operates. In this paper, a new type of DC superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) is proposed. This new type of SFCL is composed of two superconducting elements, a current limiting resistor/reactor (CLR), and a transformer. With the proposed SFCL, the DC fault current limiting experiments were performed and the DC fault current limiting characteristics of this SFCL due to the component of the CLR were analyzed.

Download Full-text

Appropriate Protection Scheme for DC Grid Based on the Half Bridge Modular Multilevel Converter System

Energies ◽

10.3390/en12101837 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (10) ◽

pp. 1837 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ho-Yun Lee ◽

Mansoor Asif ◽

Kyu-Hoon Park ◽

Hyun-Min Mun ◽

Bang-Wook Lee

Keyword(s):

Energy Dissipation ◽

Circuit Breaker ◽

Fault Current ◽

Modular Multilevel Converter ◽

Fault Current Limiter ◽

Operating Characteristics ◽

Multilevel Converter ◽

Protection Scheme ◽

Dc Fault ◽

Current Limiter

The half bridge (HB) modular multilevel converter (MMC) technology is considered a breakthrough to mitigate the shortcomings of the conventional voltage source converter (VSC) in high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) grid application. However, interruption of the DC fault is still a challenge due to fast di/dt and extremely high levels of DC fault current. The fault interruption using a DC circuit breaker (DCCB) causes enormous energy dissipation and voltage stress across the DCCB. Therefore, the use of a fault current limiter is essential, and the superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) is the most promising choice. Past literature has focused on the operating characteristics of DCCB or limiting characteristics of the SFCL. However, there is little understanding about the fault interruption and system recovery characteristics considering both DCCB and SFCL. In this paper, we have presented a comparative study on fault interruption and system recovery characteristics considering three types of fault limiting devices in combination with circuit breaker. The transient analyses of AC and DC system have been performed, to suggest the most preferable protection scheme. It has been concluded that, amongst the three fault limiting devices, the Hybrid SFCL in combination with circuit breaker, delivers the most desirable performance in terms of interruption time, recovery time, energy dissipation and voltage transients.

Download Full-text