Current-limiting Circuit Breaker Research Articles

A bi-directional current-limiting hybrid DC circuit breaker with fast-breaking capability

A bi-directional current-limiting hybrid DC circuit breaker with fast-breaking capability

Parameter Optimization Design of the Commutation Circuit of a Hybrid DC-Current-Limiting Circuit Breaker

Aimed at the optimization design of the parameters of the commutation circuit of a hybrid DC-current-limiting circuit breaker (HDCCLCB), a parameter selection model considering the short-time withstand of the thyristor and the volume of the commutation circuit is proposed by simplifying the object, and the commutation circuit parameters were preliminarily obtained. In order to verify the correctness of the method of selecting the commutation circuit parameters, the circuit simulation model of the HDCCLCB was built. The experimental platform was built, and the breaking experiment was completed under the fault condition with the current rising rate of 20 A/μs. The correctness of the simulation model and parameter design method was verified by comparing the circuit model simulation results with the experimental results. In order to further optimize the parameters of the commutation circuit, a mathematical model for optimization design was established. Taking the maximum critical breakdown voltage under unit capacitance energy as the objective function, the arcing time before commutating and the current-limiting inductance and capacitance are enumerated to obtain the optimized commutation circuit parameters. By comparing this result with the result of the preliminary design, the objective function is improved by 20.7%, laying a solid foundation for further research and the development of current-limiting circuit breakers for medium-voltage DC systems.

Analysis and Design of the High Current Rising Rate Hybrid DC Current Limiting Circuit Breaker

To solve the problem of the high rising rate and large peak value of the expected current of the short-circuit current in marine DC power system faults, a hybrid DC current limiting circuit breaker scheme based on a high-speed electromagnetic repulsion mechanism is proposed. A parameter selection model is constructed by comprehensively considering the short-time withstand of the thyristor, the volume of the commutation circuit, and capacitor energy, and the optimal value of the commutation circuit parameters at a certain voltage level is obtained. The finite element mathematical model of the high-speed electromagnetic repulsion mechanism is established by coupling the electromagnetic force field, which enables the deformation process of the mechanism under the condition of high acceleration to be considered. The von Mises yield criterion is adopted as the mechanical boundary condition in the design of a high-speed electromagnetic repulsion mechanism, which solves the problem of the long inherent time of opening. The experiment platform is built, and the experiment under the fault condition with a current rising rate of 20 A/μs is completed. The arcing time, commutation time, zero-voltage recovery time, and contact movement characteristics are obtained, which meet the design requirements, verify the effectiveness of the analysis, and lay a solid foundation for further research and development of the current limiting circuit breakers for medium voltage DC systems.

Multiport Current-Limiting Hybrid DC Circuit Breaker for MTdc Grids

The coordination configuration of current-limiting inductors (CLIs) and hybrid dc circuit breakers (HCBs) is currently the most commonly used fault handling method to ensure fault ride-through of multi-terminal dc (MTdc) grids after the dc-side fault occurs. However, the high cost of HCB limits its large-scale application. In addition, the installation of the large CLIs will adversely affect the HCB performance, such as extending the fault current interruption time and increasing the energy dissipation pressure of the arrester. To solve these problems, a multiport current-limiting hybrid dc circuit breaker (MCL-HCB) is proposed in this paper. Compared with the typical HCBs, the MCL-HCB can achieve full selective protection of all connected dc lines with significantly reduced investment costs. Besides, it can suppress the rising speed of the fault current by embedded CLIs, while eliminating their negative impacts on the fault current interruption. The feasibility and superiority of the proposed MCL-HCB are verified by simulations in the PSCAD/EMTDC software and experiments in the scaled-down experimental setup. Besides, the performance comparison between the MCL-HCB and existing solutions is elaborated.

Multi-port DC circuit breaker based on dual capacitor current limiting and energy sink

The coupling relationship between the removal of the fault current and the dissipation of the residual energy of the fault line during the fault isolation process of the multi-port capacitive current-limiting DC circuit breaker prolongs the breaking time of the fault to a certain extent. In order to solve the above problems, this paper proposes a multi-port DC circuit breaker based on dual-capacitor current limiting and energy sinking on the premise of decoupling the fault current attenuation and removal process and the fault line residual energy discharge process. Further reduce the fault breaking time and equipment withstand voltage requirements of the DC circuit breaker. Firstly, the topology and working principle of the proposed circuit breaker are analyzed, and then the parameters in the topology are designed. Then a simulation model is built in the PSCAD/EMTDC simulation platform to verify the fault breaking performance and breaking time. The effect of decoupling the fault current clearing process and the fault line residual energy discharge process on the effectiveness of shortening the fault breaking time is verified.

Optimization of the Black-Box Arc Models for DC Current Limiting Circuit Breakers Using Levenberg-Marquardt Algorithm

Optimization of the Black-Box Arc Models for DC Current Limiting Circuit Breakers Using Levenberg-Marquardt Algorithm

A current‐limiting DC circuit breaker with power flow control capability

Power flow controller (PFC), fault current limiter (FCL) and DC circuit breaker (DCCB) are important equipment in the DC grid. There are a large number of power electronic components in these equipment, resulting in high cost. In order to reduce the use of additional components, a current-limiting DC circuit breaker with power flow control capability is proposed here, which integrates the PFC, FCL, and DCCB into one equipment. Further, the main breaker in the proposed circuit breaker is shared by all lines connected to a DC bus to reduce cost. The topology and operating principle of the circuit breaker are introduced. Theoretical analysis and parameter design are carried out. Besides, the proposed circuit breaker is verified in PSCAD/EMTDC. Finally, the performance and cost are compared with existing schemes. The simulation results show that the proposed circuit breaker can effectively realize power flow control, current limiting and fault isolation at a lower cost.

Prototype Current-Limiting Hybrid DC Circuit Breaker Incorporating a Fuse and a Semiconductor Device

Owing to the increased demand for DC interruption, a prototype current-limiting hybrid DC circuit breaker incorporating a fuse and a semiconductor device was developed, based on a completely novel design concept. Recently, hybrid DC breakers have been attracting attention because of their low conduction loss and high-speed current interruption capability. The superiority of this hybrid DC circuit breaker lies in the simultaneous use of the high-speed current-limiting performance of the fuse and the highly reliable current-interruption performance of the semiconductor device. Furthermore, the hybrid DC circuit breaker performs the current interruption without any mechanical contact, thus preventing any delay in operation induced by the mechanical contact. The feasibility of the proposed concept was demonstrated by the successful application of the circuit breaker in a 1 kA fault current interruption procedure. Hence, the current-limiting hybrid DC circuit breaker is suitable for low voltage and medium voltage DC system protection. As the fuses and semiconductor modules progress, the hybrid DC circuit breaker may also adapt to HVDC systems.

Characteristics of a Current-Limiting DC Circuit Breaker with a Superconducting Coil Applied to the Commutation Circuit

We research team has proposed a current-limiting superconducting DC circuit breaker that combines a High-temperature superconducting wire (HTS) with a DC circuit breaker, and secured its operation performance in our previous study via simulation. In this paper, we designed and produced an actual current-limiting superconducting DC circuit breaker, as well as analyzed its current limiting and breaking performance. In addition, the operation characteristics at different lengths of the HTS with increasing voltage were analyzed. The operation reliability of the proposed DC circuit breaker was demonstrated by a simulation system that was built similar to the actual system.

Parallel resonance type fault current limiting circuit breaker

The main goal of this study is introducing a novel fault current limiter based on parallel resonance structure (PRFCL) for high voltage application. During normal mode, the PRFCL reactor is short-circuited via a rectifier bridge DC output voltage and LC resonance tank shows negligible impedance in the line. During a fault, the rectifier bridge switches are turned off, so that the parallel resonance LC tank connects to the line with high impedance. This impedance of the resonance structure can limit the fault current, successfully. It is shown that the suggested PRFCL can act as a breaker and opens the line during the fault period. In order to show the suggested PRFCL abilities, MATLAB software is used to simulate the normal and fault cases. In addition, a scale-down prototype is implemented to confirm the simulation results. The comparative study shows that PRFCL has acceptable performance in normal and current limiting operation modes.

A current-limiting and energy-transferring DC circuit breaker topology for DC distribution network

With the development of power electronic technologies and distributed power generation, DC distribution networks attract increasing attention due to their various advantages compared with traditional AC distribution networks. However, DC fault protection is one of the major issues in DC distribution networks. To improve their reliability and protect the semiconductor devices under DC faults, a current-limiting and energy-transferring DC circuit breaker topology is proposed in this paper. By applying passive components and thyristors, the proposed topology is capable of quickly limiting the fault current and transferring the faulty energy. The working principle, mathematical model and parameter designing method of the proposed topology are presented in this paper. The simulation results verify that the proposed DC circuit breaker could effectively limit the fault current and quickly interrupt the fault current. Cost and conduction power loss evaluation proves the practicality of the proposed topology in medium-voltage DC distribution networks.

초전도체를 이용한 전류 제한 장치의 종류에 따른 DC 차단기의 고장 특성 분석

This study proposes two types of current-limiting DC circuit breakers coupled with a superconductor. The first superconductive DC circuit breaker limits the size of the fault current by quenching the superconductor when a fault occurs. Then the limited fault current is blocked by the DC circuit breaker. The second transformer-type superconductive DC circuit breaker limits the fault current and performs blocking operation through the impedance characteristics of the transformer and the quench characteristics of the superconductor. This study analyzes the blocking characteristics of the two types of current-limiting DC circuit breakers. The blocking performance, current limiting rate, and power sharing ratio of the breakers were analyzed using the same simulation conditions for each type of breaker.BR The simulation results showed that the transformer-type superconductivity DC circuit breaker has the highest fault current limiting rate. Furthermore, the superconductive DC circuit breaker completed the fault current blocking operation the fastest. Finally, it was verified that the applied power burden to the superconductor is lowest at the transformer-type superconductive DC circuit breaker.

A New Type of Hybrid DC Current Limiting Circuit Breaker suitable for HVDC

Multi-terminal DC transmission technology based on voltage source converter is one of the important technical means to solve the problem of grid connection and consumption of renewable energy. In this regard, encountering the fault current during fault period remains an important issue. Thereby, devices and circuits to suppress the fault current have become a hot topic in recent years. In this paper, a new type of current-limiting circuit breaker structure is proposed. Under normal conditions, the load current flows through the low-loss main branch. After the fault occurs, the power electronics based switches are disconnected, and the fault current is shifted to the auxiliary branch of current limiting device. The current limiting device suppresses the rise of the fault current. Finally, the power electronics based switches in the auxiliary branch open, and eventually the residual current is absorbed by the MOA. Moreover, the proposed topology of current-limiting circuit breaker is verified using PSCAD/EMTDC based simulation experiments. In comparison with ABB circuit breaker, the proposed topology has small on-state losses and good damping characteristics under normal conditions, and in the fault state too, Besides, the proposed topology owns the benefit of high reactance, therefore, allow the suppression of fault current effectively and have advantage to cut-off large amount of fault current.

Current Limiting and Interrupting Characteristics of DC Hybrid Current Limiting Circuit Breaker According to Switching Sequence

Because of development of the photovoltaic and wind power generation, distributed generations have been increased. The increase in the distributed generations results in higher fault current which exceeds the capacity of the existing protective device when a fault occurs. Also distributed power sources using DC such as energy storage system and internet data center have been developed. However, DC is more difficult and dangerous to interrupt than AC because there is no zero crossing point in case of the occurrence of the short circuit current. Therefore, the study of protective devices against DC is needed. In this paper, DC hybrid current limiting circuit breaker (CLCB) is suggested. The trigger type superconducting fault current limiter was used for current limiting and the divergence current oscillation method was used for interruption. The short circuit test was simulated to analyze the current limiting and the interrupting characteristics of the DC hybrid CLCB through the PACAD/EMTDC modeling.

RETRACTED: Short-term dielectric recovery property of breaking for artificial zero current-limiting vacuum circuit breaker

In order to research influences of di/dt on breaking capacity of vacuum switch in the process of direct-current interruption at the time of clearance between open contacts, arc time, and current ze...

A Novel Solid-State Fault Current-Limiting Circuit Breaker for Medium-Voltage Network Applications

In this paper, a novel solid-state fault current-limiting circuit breaker (SSFCLCB) based on a series resonance LC tank is proposed. Since the series configuration of the resonance structure (a capacitor and a reactor) of the SSFCLCB is invisible during normal operation mode, it shows negligible impedance in the line. In fault conditions, the SSFCLCB topology changes to a rectifier bridge and feeds the resonance structure with rectified ac voltage. With the rectified voltage, the series capacitor is charged and, as a result, the faulty line is opened and the fault current is seized. Hence, the suggested SSFCLCB cannot only limit the fault current but can also open the faulty line and acts as a circuit breaker. For confirmation of these aspects, simulations are performed using MATLAB software. Also, a prototype structure is designed and built for results confirmation. This experimental setup is established to prove that SSFCLCB has excellent performance in its startup, normal operation, and current-limiting/breaking conditions. The results show that the SSFCLCB has the ability to improve distribution network reliability and it can decrease the network fault current level successfully.

Modeling of Current-Limiting Circuit Breakers for the Calculation of Short-Circuit Current

A current-limiting circuit breaker (CLCB) can quickly interrupt circuit faults and limit the short-circuit current. Modeling of a CLCB is important for the calculation of short-circuit current and arc flash energy. Based on the analysis of the arc voltage waveforms of CLCBs, a new arc model is derived. The Schwarz arc model and arc length are used to represent the complicated voltages of CLCBs, and arc length is determined from a differential equation. The test results of a commercial CLCB sequentially deployed in a couple of three-phase power systems are studied, and the parameters of the model are obtained. The three-phase faults in the power systems are simulated. The short-circuit currents and voltages of the CLCB are calculated and compared to the test results. The simulation results are in good agreement with the test data, and the proposed model can predict the high-current arcs in CLCBs. These techniques facilitate the calculation of short-circuit currents.

Development and Test of a Small Resistive Fault Current Limiting Device Based on a SmBaCuO Ceramic

Since the development of Low Critical Temperature Superconducting (low-Tc) materials, various studies have been published regarding this experimental concept. Recently, researchers have focused on the design and application of high-Tc superconductor (high-Tc) materials to develop fault current limiting circuit breakers. The operation of this circuit requires large prospective/limited current ratios, especially in hazardous areas. In spite of this, several studies describing the Superconducting Fault Current Limiter (SFCL) containing members of the bismuth, mercury or yttrium family cuprate have already been described. However, none of these studies included samarium cuprates. Consequently, we have conducted a study of a small superconducting current limiter device based on SmBa2Cu3O7-d samples. The preliminary results indicated that samarium cuprates could be applied to build superconducting fault current limiter devices. In tests using a polycrystalline sample, the superconducting properties were retained without modifications to its stoichiometry. These results suggest the possibility of future investigations into SFCL devices based on these superconducting ceramics. Keywords: High-Tc, Sm-123, Device, Fault current limiter.

Practical methods for electrical and mechanical measurement of high speed elongated arc parameters

In this paper, we have presented measurement methods used to evaluate short circuit current interruption capability of a fast opening circuit breaker with opening velocities up to 36m/s. Such circuit breakers are the most critical components of future hybrid fault current limiting circuit breakers and therefore thorough understanding of fast elongating arcs is essential. The presented methods include measurement of cinematic parameters (displacement, speed and acceleration) and electrical parameters (arc voltage and current) as well as high speed optical measurement of arc appearance. Generated codes for sampling and wavelet de-noising of signals as well as developed image processing method for processing of digital arc images captured by high speed camera have been explained. Based on processed information gained by the measurements, arc starting time, arc ending time and arc temperature contours have also been calculated. Use of advanced simulation tools based on finite element method (FEM) equipped with moving mesh has been discussed to facilitate measurements and also to improve their accuracy. Practical measurements and simulation results prove each other and show good agreement with digital arc image processing output.

On the selectivity of current-limiting circuit breakers

Problems concerning provision of selectivity of current-limiting circuit breakers of automatic switches of low voltage and ideas for development of existing methods are described. A technique for checking selective operation of an apparatus based on characteristics of the Joel integral is proposed.