A Hybrid DC Circuit Breaker with Fault-Current-Limiting Capability for VSC-HVDC Transmission System

Abstract

The direct current circuit breakers are considered a promising option to protect the transmission line against commonly appearing line-to-ground fault. However, the challenges of losses in the nonoperational stage, escalation of response against fault current, and large fault current handling capability remain the debatable issues for direct current circuit breakers. This paper introduces a novel topology of the hybrid circuit breaker with fault-current-limiting characteristics, which contains three branches: the main branch, fault-current-limiting branch, and energy absorption branch. The main branch includes a mechanical switch, breaker impedance, and bidirectional power electronics switches. In the fault-current-limiting branch, a fault-current-limiting circuit is introduced which contains n numbers of bidirectional switches and current-limiting inductors, which are connected in series to make the design modular in nature. During the normal working stage, the current flows through the main branch of the breaker. Once a fault in the system is confirmed, the fault current is transferred to the fault-current-limiting branch. At this stage, the intensity of the fault current is reduced significantly using the fault-current-limiting circuit, and finally, the residual current is shifted to the energy absorption branch. The working principle, design considerations, and parametric analysis concerning the design of hybrid circuit breakers are incorporated in this paper. The performance of the proposed breaker is evaluated using a three-terminal voltage-source converter-based high-voltage direct current transmission network; for this purpose, a PSCAD/EMTDC simulation tool is used. The performance of the proposed breaker is also compared with other topologies. The comparative analysis shows that the proposed breaker is a good alternative considering high fault current interruption requirements, response time against fault current, and power losses.

Solid-State DC Circuit Breakers and Their Comparison in Modular Multilevel Converter Based-HVDC Transmission System

“…Hybrid DCCBs are capable of interrupting the fault current within a few milliseconds, but this topology is larger in size, is complex, and has higher capital cost than SSCB, especially in a meshed HVDC grid [23]. In addition, they have limitations in handling large fault currents with increased voltage ratings [24]. In contrast, the solid-state circuit breaker (SSCB) is a fast, flexible, and accurate circuit breaker that is widely used as a key technology in HVDC transmission systems [25,26].…”

Research on a Novel DC Circuit Breaker Based on Artificial Current Zero-Crossing

“…The associate editor coordinating the review of this manuscript and approving it for publication was Ying Xu . at home and abroad [7], [8]. In the previous researches, DC circuit breakers can be categorized into three types: mechanical DCCBs (MCBs), solid-state DCCBs (SSCBs), and hybrid DCCBs (HCBs) [8]- [12]. Among them, the solidstate DCCBs use semiconductors with turn-off ability, such as Insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) and Integrated gate commutated thyristors (IGCTs), and attain very fast operational speed [13]- [15].…”

Research on Vacuum Arc Commutation Characteristics of a Natural-Commutate Hybrid DC Circuit Breaker

“…With the development of fully controlled power electronic devices (FPEDs), such as the gate turn-off thyristor (GTO), insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), integrated gate commutated thyristor (IGCT), and injection-enhanced gate transistor (IEGT), the hybrid direct current (DC) circuit breaker based on power electronic technology has become an important technical solution and research hotspot for DC breaking [1][2][3][4]. This type of DC circuit breaker combines the advantages of solid-state switches (SSs) and mechanical switches (MSs), and shows the characteristics of a strong current carrying capacity, low on-state loss, fast breaking speed, and no need for cooling devices [5,6].…”