Proof-of-Concept of a Fuse-Semiconductor Hybrid Circuit Breaker With a Fast Fuse Exchanger

Abstract

With the trend toward a decarbonized society where DC power networks play an important role, the importance of DC circuit breakers is increasing. In this paper, the concept of a fuse-semiconductor hybrid circuit breaker with a high-speed fuse exchanger using a high-acceleration linear motor has been presented. The authors demonstrated the feasibility of the presented concept by successfully achieving current limitation, current interruption, fuse exchange, and re-closing for fault currents with a magnitude of approximately 6.0 kA. The interruption was completed in 3.4 ms and re-closed the power system in 66.9 ms. The short interruption time can minimize damage to load equipment owing to overcurrent and power failure. The proposed operating principle has the potential to present new tradeoffs in interrupting ratings, cost, and size because a fuse, semiconductor, and varistor compensate for each other's shortcomings. Moreover, the single-usage disadvantage of the fuses was solved by the fast fuse exchanger. In addition, tradeoffs in design parameters, methods for selecting devices' ratings, and challenges to scale up are discussed in detail.