HVDC Circuit Breaker Research Articles

Development of a high current HVDC circuit breaker with fast fault clearing capability

Significant improvements have been made in a previously developed 500 kV, 2000 a HVDC circuit breaker. These improvements have increased the current interrupting capabilities to 4000 A DC and more and have decreased the fault clearing time to the order of AC breakers of similar voltage ratings. The result is a HVDC circuit breaker that is built using well-proven AC power system components. It is modular in design so as to be suitable for a wide range of system voltages and energy levels.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Simulations on Interruption of Circuit Breaker in HVDC System with Two Parallel Transmission Lines

This paper describes the Electro Magnetic Transients Program (EMTP) simulation results for a study on specifications and duty of an HVDC circuit breaker in an HVDC system. The HVDC breaker employs an inverse current injection method and a capacitor precharged from the line voltage. The HVDC system is monopolar, but has two parallel transmission lines and is the simplest multiterminal system. The simulations demonstrated that the HVDC breaker can interrupt successfully under various breaking conditions.

Simulations on Interruption of Circuit Breaker in HVDC System with Two Parallel Transmission Lines

This paper describes the Erectro Magnetic Transients Program (EMTP) simulation results for a study on specifications and duty of an HVDC circuit breaker in an HVDC system. The HVDC breaker employs an inverse current injection method and a capacitor precharged from the line voltage. The HVDC system is mono-polar, but has two parallel transmission lines and is the simplest multi-terminal system. The simulations demonstrated that the HVDC breaker can interrupt successufully under various breaking conditions.

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HVDC Circuit Breaker Development and Field Tests

With the growth of direct current transmission, the need and scope of application for a high voltage direct current circuit breaker have increased. This paper reports on the development of two different dc breaker prototypes and full scale field tests of these breakers on the ±400-kV, 1360-km long Pacific DC Intertie.

HVDC Circuit Breaker Development and Field Tests

HVDC Circuit Breaker Development and Field Tests

Development and Interrupting Tests on 250KV 8KA HVDC Circuit Breaker

This paper describes the circuit and component selections, development and equivalent circuit test results on an HVDC circuit breaker for an HVDC transmission line. A puffer type SF6 gas interrupter for AC circuit breakers is utilized for interrupting DC current with injection of high-frequency inverse current from a commutating capacitor precharged to HVDC line voltage. Also, the effectiveness of application of the HVDC breaker to an HVDC system with two parallel transmission lines is demonstrated through the EMTP simulation.

Development and Interrupting Tests on 250KV 8KA HVDC Circuit Breaker

This paper describes the circuit and component selections, development and equivalent circuit test results on an HVDC circuit breaker for an HVDC transmission line. A puffer type SF <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">6</inf> gas interrupter for AC circuit breakers is utilized for interrupting DC current with injection of high-frequency inverse current from a commutating capacitor precharged to HVDC line voltage. Also, the effectiveness of application of the HVDC breaker to an HVDC system with two parallel transmission lines is demonstrated through the EMTP simulation.

Development of HVDC Circuit Breaker Based on Hybrid Interruption Scheme

A hybrid interrupting unit (IU) has been examined which consists of a puffer type SF6 gas interrupting unit (GIU) and a vacuum interrupting unit (VIU) connected in series as the interrupting unit of HVDC circuit breaker (HVDC CB). Using the hybrid IU, a test of interrupting a dc current of 8 kA under a peak recovery voltage of 420 kV was conducted by means of a forced current injection method which superposes high frequency counter pulse current to dc current to produce a current zero point. Interrupting mechanism has been analyzed which applies to the transient recovery voltage period of the hybrid IU. A 250 kV -1,200 A gas insulated prototype HVDC CB has been manufactured and tested successfully.

Development of HVDC Circuit Breaker Based on Hybrid Interruption Scheme

A hybrid interrupting unit (IU) has been examined which consists of a puffer type SF6 gas interrupting unit (GIU) and a vacuum interrupting unit (VIU) connected in series as the interrupting unit of HVDC circuit breaker (HVDC CB). Using the hybrid IU, a test of interrupting a dc current of 8 kA under a peak recovery voltage of 420 kV was conducted by means of a forced current injection method which superposes high frequency counter pulse current to dc current to produce a current zero point. Interrupting mechanism has been analyzed which applies to the transient recovery voltage period of the hybrid IU. A 250 kV -1,200 A gas insulated prototype HVDC CB has been manufactured and tested successfully.

Development of HVDC Circuit Breaker and its Interrupting Test

The authors have developed a DC circuit breaker (DCCB) which interrupts a DC current by injecting a high-frequency reverse current from a commutating capacitor to be superposed to DC current and forcibly creating a current zero point. A breaking part consists of a vacuum interrupters or a SF6 gas, interrupters of the most advanced design connected in series or in combination to attain a high interrupting capabilities. The commutating current is introduced into the interrupter through a pulse transformer so that DCCB can be conveniently used in the system. A 25OkV-3500A DCCB system with these features was designed, manufactured and tested with successful results.

Development of HVDC Circuit Breaker and Its Interrupting Test

Development of HVDC Circuit Breaker and Its Interrupting Test

A high speed HVDC circuit breaker with crossed-field interrupters

A novel HVDC circuit breaker is described which utilizes crossed-field interrupters in a sequential switching mode. The breaker and its components were tested in an inductive energy storage facility at levels of 1000 A, 100 kV and performed satisfactorily.

A new synthetic test installation for testing vacuum interrupters

A synthetic test installation using voltage injection and medium voltage off-communication schemes has been constructed to conduct dynamic performance testing on vacuum interrupters. The test circuit in its present setup is capable of simulating variable forward currents up to 10kA, conduction time of interrupters in vacuum-arc made up to approximately 15ms, di/dt up to 100A/µs and recovery voltages in the forward direction up to 120kV. The deionization margin can be varied practically from 0 to a few milliseconds and the dv/dt range extends up to approximately 15 kV/µs. The simulated stress corresponds to the duty the vacuum interrupters would experience during their operation as (1) an off-switch in inductive energy storage circuits and (2) an hvdc circuit breaker. It is planned to extend the scope of testing by increasing the current capability from 10kA to 20 kA at a later date. If necessary, arrangements will also be made in the future to be able to optionally change the output polarity of the high voltage supply, HVS which is at present a modified 6 stage Marx-Bank. This will enable us to test vacuum interrupters also with inverse recovery voltages. The major design considerations and the operating characteristics of the test installation are discussed.

Field test of HVDC circuit breaker: Load break and fault clearing on the Pacific intertie

A fast-acting HVDC Circuit Breaker was tested on the Pacific HVDC Intertie System. The Intertie was operated as a three-terminal system with the breaker located on one branch. Intentional faults were applied close to the breaker and 250 miles away and successfully cleared. In load-break tests the breaker disconnected one branch of the system without problems.

New Developments in Design and Testing of HVDC Circuit Breakers

HVDC load breakers using AC circuit breakers combined with parallel circuits are proposed. The choice of parallel circuitry depends upon the kind of AC circuit breaker used. When using non linear (temperature dependent) resistors great improvements can be achieved in counter voltage generating and energy absorbing capabilities, as compared to earlier circuits using commutating capacitors and silicon carbide resistors. Switching units and suitable bypasses are investigated in details. Test circuits for testing the commutating switches and for testing the complete HVDC load breaker are also treated.

The Gamitron - A High Power Crossed-Field Switch Tube for HVDC Interruption

A high power crossed-field discharge device has been developed for use as a high voltage direct current interrupter. This device operates at low pressure (0.05 Torr), conducting current at a fixed voltage (~500 V) only in the presence of a weak magnetic field (~100 G) which is substantially perpendicular to the electric field between the electrodes. When the magnetic field is removed, ionization ceases and current interruption results. Physical phenomena occurring in this device have been investigated, including the glow-to-arc transition, gas cleanup, and high voltage breakdown. Based on the results of these investigations, switch tubes have been developed and successfully tested at the 2 kA, 100 kV level, with recovery rates in excess of 2 kV/?s. The availability of such devices will make possible many applications including HVDC circuit breakers, ac current limiters, and practical inductive energy storage.

Theory and Application of the Commutation Principle for HVDC Circuit Breakers

The commutation principle for HVDC circuit breakers is described whereby the current in the circuit is brought to zero by a bucking current from a precharged capacitor. Circuit features are described to render this procedure easier for the interrupter and typical component requirements are discussed. The functions of current interruption and energy absorption should be separated; to this end, one type of surge suppressor is described. With breakers of this type, multi-terminal HVDC systems could be operated much like comparable AC systems, with only minimal dependence on terminal controls. A tapped line is given as an example.

HYDC Vacuum Circuit Breakers

The effectiveness of the commutation principle, using vacuum interrupters as a means for interrupting high direct current at high voltage, has been demonstrated convincingly by a large number of tests. Currents in excess of 15 kA at 20 kV have been interrupted by a single device in an inductive circuit. Tests are reported in which higher current were cleared by paralleling interrupters. Interrupters have been tested in series, indicating that the principle can be extended to high voltages. A high speed mechanism is described which was designed specifically for circuit breakers of this type. The necessary technology for producing HVDC circuit breakers appears to be at hand.