Abstract
Fused contactors and thermal magnetic circuit breakers are commonly applied protective devices in power distribution systems to protect the circuits when short-circuit faults occur. A power distribution system may contain various makes and models of protective devices, as a result, customizable simulation models for protective devices are demanded to effectively conduct system-level reliable analyses. To build the models, thermal energy-based data analysis methodologies are first applied to the protective devices’ physical properties, based on the manufacturer’s time/current data sheet. The models are further enhanced by integrating probability tools to simulate uncertainties in real-world application facts, for example, fortuity, variance, and failure rate. The customizable models are expected to aid the system-level reliability analysis, especially for the microgrid power systems.
Highlights
Protective devices prevent power devices in modern power generation, transmission, and distribution systems from thermal damage caused by overcurrent situations
The energy that heats up the fuse and/or the Thermal magnetic circuit breakers (TMCB) is known as the integral energy, which can be calculated using the following equation: E = t1 i2(t)dt t0 where t0, t1 are the time stamps when the current exceeds the rated current and when the integral energy calculation stops, respectively
EC is known as the catalog energy of melting the fuse and the thermal tripping of the TMCB, which could be calculated by the following equation
Summary
Protective devices prevent power devices in modern power generation, transmission, and distribution systems from thermal damage caused by overcurrent situations. Thermal magnetic circuit breakers (TMCB) and fused-contactors are the most commonly seen protective devices in medium–low-voltage level power distribution systems. Reference [11] used the finite element analysis method to simulate the heating process of the fuses, and reference [12] used the I2t relationship to model, the time/current curve (TCC) provided by the manufacturer. As can be found from the manufacturer’s data, for example, references [13,18], two TCCs (sometimes known as minimum and maximum or total clearing time) are usually provided This implies that, for a same make and model fuse, or TMCB, under a same current level, the reacting time may vary from time-to-time. We are interested in building simulation models for the protective devices in power distribution systems This thermal energy-based analysis methodology is built on the basis of the TCC from the fuse/TMCB manufacturers.
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