Concept and Viability of High Temperature Superconductor Fault Current Limiter for Power Systems Protection

Abstract

In today’s technological era, electrical energy is one of the most vital forms of energy and is needed directly or indirectly in almost every field. As load gradually increases on a particular power system network, a higher operating current state leading to increased fault current level is attained. It is not possible to change the rating of the equipment and devices in the system or circuits to accommodate the increasing fault currents. Integration of High Temperature Superconductor Fault Current Limiter (HTSFCL) in power system network will provide instantaneous (sub cycle) current limitation abilities, which mitigates the effects and the buildup of fault currents in the power system network .The devices in electronic and electrical circuits are sensitive to disturbance and any disturbance or fault may damage the device permanently so that it must be replaced. The cost of equipment like circuit breakers and transformers in power grid are very expensive. Moreover, replacing damaged equipment is a time and labour consuming process, which also affects the reliability of power systems. It is not possible to completely eliminate the faults but it is possible to limit the current during fault in order to save the equipment and devices in the circuits or systems. One of the solutions to this age longed problem is the application of a current limiting device in the system. This paper is centered on the concepts and viability of High Temperature fault current limiters for power systems protection. The demonstration of this High Temperature Superconductor Fault Current Limiter (HTSFCL) in power systems has been explained and simulated using MATLAB tool. The results of the simulation with and without the fault are shown