Fault current limiter based on high temperature superconductors

Abstract

High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) made the Superconducting Fault Current Limiter (SFCL) a reality in power electric grids. Resistive SFCL, which is the subject of this article, is based on a unique property of superconductors to quench from a non-dissipative to a high dissipative state above a given current. SFCL is an attractive response to the poorly solved problem of fault currents in power electric grids and makes it possible to enhance the security and quality of electricity, something that matters more than ever. Liquid nitrogen cryogenics – which is possible thanks to HTS- makes the cryogenics user friendly. In-field SFCL operations confirm this. Second generation (2 G) HTS materials or Coated Conductors suit well to SFCL. Due to its high interest, SFCL has been the subject of a great deal of research and development. In terms of Technology Readiness Level (TRL) it reaches 8 with several in grid test experiences.Here a short history of SFCL is presented with a highlight about Curl 10, Ampacity and SuperOx devices. The two major locations in the grid are reported: grid coupling and feeder protection. The quench phenomena is described in a bit more detail before the basic design (length and cross section) is presented. The design is primarily thermal, considering two extreme operations: fault with very high prospective current (clear short-circuit) and fault with prospective current close to the minimum runaway current along the length. This operation is called the hot spot one. It is due to the intrinsic variation of the critical current along the length and to the low Normal Zone Propagation Velocity (NZPV). The cost of the superconducting conductor is given, showing no bottleneck for an economic development. All the more it is still possible to lower the cost with some developments. This article ends with two real advances presently underway: Current Flow Diverter (CFD) and Sapphire substrate superconducting 2 G tape. CFD aims to increase the NZPV, to still further secure the operation and to reduce the conductor cross section. The use of sapphire substrates allows to reduce significantly the length of the design.