Location Of Superconducting Fault Current Limiter Research Articles

Looping Radial Distribution Systems Using Superconducting Fault Current Limiters: Feasibility and Economic Analysis

In this paper, a new network structure is proposed to improve reliability and reduce losses using superconducting fault current limiters (SFCLs) for primary distribution systems. SFCLs are used to tie two (or more) radial primary feeders to form loops. SFCLs diminish the short-circuit current and the looped operation significantly reduces the active power loss while simultaneously increasing reliability. With this technique, there is no need to upgrade the upstream circuit breakers and settings of protection devices when operating in a loop. It is demonstrated that there is a tradeoff between benefits (reliability improvement and loss reduction) and acquisition cost of SFCLs. The technical feasibility and benefits are discussed. A comprehensive economic analysis based on optimization methods is conducted to determine the number and location of SFCLs in a typical system considering costs and benefits. Two case studies are selected: The reliability standard system known as “Bus 4 of RBTS” and the 84-bus distribution network from Taiwan Power Company. The results are compared with conventional distribution system reconfiguration. The comparison makes evident the superiority of the new method.

Study of optimal combination between SFCL location and PSS type to improve power system transient stability

Abstract In this paper, authors present a method to select the optimal combination between the type of the power system stabilizer (PSS) and the location of a Superconducting Fault Current Limiter (SFCL) in an Electrical Power Grid (EPG) to improve the transient stability in case of fault. The angular separation between generators rotors when different types of short-circuit appears in the EPG is used as the main criterion of the proposed method to select this optimal combination. To complete the study, the optimal resistive value of the SFCL is evaluated to improve the global stability of the EPG. Results show that an optimal combination between the type of PSS, the location of SFCL in the EPG and the resistive value of SFCL exists in order to obtain the smallest variation of the angular separation of generators rotors, i.e. the best stability of the power system in case of fault.

Determining the location of superconducting fault current limiter considering distribution reliability

As electric power demand of customers is constantly increasing, more bulk power systems are needed for installation in a network. The amount of distributed resources has increased considerably in distribution networks by meeting the demand for renewable energies, highly efficient facilities and a deregulated electricity market. These networks have become more and more complex as mesh network for improving system reliability and flexibility of network operation. This increasing complexity has resulted in an increase in fault currents that exceed a circuit breaker capacity. In order to solve this problem, replacing breaker, changing operation mode of system and rectifying transformer parameters can be taken into account. However, the superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) is economically one of the most promising power apparatus. This study proposes a methodology for determining the location of SFCL by considering the reduction of fault current by device type and the improvement of reliability by customer type according to the location of SFCL in a distribution network connected with distributed generation (DG). With case studies on the method of determining location for SFCL applied to a radial network and a mesh network, respectively, the authors prove that the proposed method is feasible.

Feasibility Analysis of the Positioning of Superconducting Fault Current Limiters for the Smart Grid Application Using Simulink and SimPowerSystem

One of the most important topics regarding the application of superconducting fault current limiters (SFCL) for upcoming smart grid is related to its possible effect on the reduction of abnormal fault current and the suitable location in the micro grids. Due to the grid connection of the micro grids with the current power grids, excessive fault current is a serious problem to be solved for successful implementation of micro grids. However, a shortage of research concerning the location of SFCL in micro grid is felt. In this work, a resistive type SFCL model was implemented by integrating Simulink and SimPowerSystem blocks in Matlab. The designed SFCL model could be easily utilized for determining an impedance level of SFCL according to the fault-current-limitation requirements of various kinds of the smart grid system. In addition, typical smart grid model including generation, transmission and distribution network with dispersed energy resource was modeled to determine the location and the performance of the SFCL. As for a dispersed energy resource, 10 MVA wind farm was considered for the simulation. Three phase faults have been simulated at different locations in smart grid and the effect of the SFCL and its location on the wind farm fault current was evaluated. Consequently, the optimum arrangement of the SFCL location in Smart Grid with renewable resources has been proposed and its remarkable performance has been suggested.