A Novel High-Power Hybrid DC Breaker Based on Compound Power Electronic Switch With Integrated Commutation Ability

Abstract

Medium voltage dc power system has the characteristics of low line impedance, resulting in high peak and fast rise rate of the fault current. For example, the current in an onboard 10 kV dc grid can rise to more than 40 kA in 3 ms after the failure. Therefore, it is necessary to configure dc circuit breaker with high current breaking capacity. In this letter, a novel high-power hybrid dc breaker based on integrated commutation compound power electronic switch is proposed. By giving full play to the complementary advantages of insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and integrated gate-commutated thyristor (IGCT), and skillfully integrating the commutation function into the power electronic switch, the proposed dc breaker has the characteristics of low cost, compact, high performance, and can also play a role in current limiting. The working principle of the proposed scheme is described in detail, and a 10-kV prototype with 40 kA current breaking ability is built to verify its feasibility.