THD reduction of PCC voltage by using bridge-type fault current limiter

Abstract

SUMMARY There are various types of fault current limiters (FCLs), which are made of different superconducting materials and have different designs. The bridge-type FCL is mainly composed of a diode bridge rectifier and a DC reactor. This FCL can control the fault current by controlling the DC reactor current. To enhance this capability, a resistor parallel with a semiconductor switch has been used in series with DC reactor. In this article, hysteresis technique has been proposed and integrated in this structure, which not only limit the fault current but also reduce total harmonic distortion (THD) at the point of common coupling (PCC). Therefore, the performance of all loads connected to PCC will not be affected during fault. The theory and properties of the proposed bridge-type FCL for limiting the fault current and producing sinusoidal voltage at PCC during fault has been presented, and its model has been simulated by power systems CAD/electromagnetic transients including DC. It is shown that the proposed FCL can effectively reduce the THD at PCC and limit the fault current. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.