Design, parameters, and application areas of a superconducting fault current limiter (FCL) are analyzed on the basis of the requirements of power systems. The comparison of resistive and inductive designs is carried out. An example of the effective application of FCLs in distribution substations is considered and the gain from the FCL installation is discussed. It is shown that an FCL not only limits a fault current but also increases the dynamic stability of the synchronous operation of electric machines. The calculation procedure of the parameters of an inductive FCL for a specific application case is described.Index Terms-Fault current limiter (FCL), high-temperature superconductor (HTS), power system.

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We reveal obstacles related to the application of HTS cylinders in current limiting devices based on the superconducting–normal state transition. It is shown that, at the critical current density achieved presently in bulk materials, and especially in BSCCO-2212, the required thickness of the cylinder wall in a full-scale inductive device is several centimetres. A simple mathematical model of the operation of an inductive fault current limiter (FCL) is used to show that such cylinders cannot be cooled in an admissible time after a fault clearing and, hence, the inductive FCLs and current-limiting transformers employing BSCCO cylinders do not return to the normal operation in the time required. For the recovery even with a non-current pause in the circuit, cylinders are needed with a critical current density an order of magnitude higher than the existing one.

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