Abstract
In this paper, a new concept of short-circuit current (SCC) reduction for power distribution systems is presented and analyzed. Conventional fault current limiters (FCLs) are connected in series with a circuit breaker (CB) that is required to limit the short-circuit current. Instead, the proposed scheme consisted of the parallel connection of a current-controlled power converter to the same bus intended to reduce the amplitude of the short-circuit current. This power converter was controlled to absorb a percentage of the short-circuit current from the bus to reduce the amplitude of the short-circuit current. The proposed active short-circuit current reduction scheme was implemented with a cascaded H-bridge power converter and tested by simulation in a 13.2 kV industrial power distribution system for three-phase faults, showing the effectiveness of the short-circuit current attenuation in reducing the maximum current requirement in all circuit breakers connected to the same bus. The paper also presents the design characteristics of the power converter and its associated control scheme.
Highlights
The growth of electrical power systems has produced an increase in the short-circuit current (SCC), which is a relevant parameter in the design and selection of electrical equipment for power distribution systems, because of the high mechanical and thermal stresses produced during a fault
Even if the fault occurs in another branch, the parallel fault current attenuator (PFCA) operates in the same way, way, ensuring ensuring that that the the maximum maximum current current requirement requirement in in each each circuit breaker (CB)
The current absorbed by the PFCA was subtracted from the current that circulated through the CB during a fault
Summary
The growth of electrical power systems has produced an increase in the short-circuit current (SCC), which is a relevant parameter in the design and selection of electrical equipment for power distribution systems, because of the high mechanical and thermal stresses produced during a fault. This condition, which is increasingly common in power systems, would require modifications in the network operation such as bus splitting [3,4,5], the replacement of power distribution equipment [1,2], and, in the worst case, a major topological modification in the grid such as increasing voltage level or constructing a new substation [3,4,5] All these solutions force costly upgrades, or decrease the SCC, simultaneously reducing the robustness and reliability of the network. As high-power equipment, they effectively reduce the fault current; under normal operating conditions, an increase in losses and voltage regulation problems occur These significant drawbacks have encouraged researchers to find more effective solutions, especially in superconductive and solid-state FCLs, with different types of series compensation [18,19,20].
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