Study on the formation of arc plasma on the resistive wall liquid metal current limiter

Due to its significant attributes,the liquid metal current limiter(LMCL)is considered a new strategy for limiting short-circuit current in the power grid.A resistive wall liquid metal current limiter(RWLMCL)is designed to advance the starting current-limiting time.Experiments are performed to investigate the dynamic behaviors of liquid metal,and the influence of different currents on the liquid metal self-shrinkage effect is compared and analyzed.Furthermore,the liquid metal self-shrinkage effect is mathematically modeled,and the reason for the formation of arc plasma is obtained by simulation.The laws of arc plasma formation and the current transfer in the cavity are revealed,and the motion mechanisms are explained by physical principles.The simulations are in accordance with the test data.It is demonstrated that the sudden change of the current density at both ends of the wall causes the liquid metal to shrink and depress under the electromagnetic force,and the current starts to transfer from the liquid metal path to the wall resistance path.The RWLMCL can effectively advance the starting current-limiting time.

A novel fault current limiter topology design based on liquid metal current limiter

The liquid metal current limiter(LMCL)is regarded as a viable solution for reducing the fault current in a power grid.But demonstrating the liquid metal arc plasma self-pinching process of the resistive wall,and reducing the erosion of the LMCL are challenging,not only theoretically,but also practically.In this work,a novel LMCL is designed with a resistive wall that can be connected to the current-limiting circuit inside the cavity.Specifically,a novel fault current limiter(FCL)topology is put forward where the novel LMCL is combined with a fast switch and current-limiting reactor.Further,the liquid metal self-pinch effect is modeled mathematically in three dimensions,and the gas-liquid two-phase dynamic diagrams under different short-circuit currents are obtained by simulation.The simulation results indicate that with the increase of current,the time for the liquid metal-free surface to begin depressing is reduced,and the position of the depression also changes.Different kinds of bubbles formed by the depressions gradually extend,squeeze,and break.With the increase of current,the liquid metal takes less time to break,but breaks still occur at the edge of the channel,forming arc plasma.Finally,relevant experiments are conducted for the novel FCL topology.The arcing process and current transfer process are analyzed in particular.Comparisons of the peak arc voltage,arcing time,current limiting efficiency,and electrode erosion are presented.The results demonstrate that the arc voltage of the novel FCL topology is reduced by more than 4.5times and the arcing time is reduced by more than 12%.The erosions of the liquid metal and electrodes are reduced.Moreover,the current limiting efficiency of the novel FCL topology is improved by 1%–5%.This work lays a foundation for the topology and optimal design of the LMCL.

A Fault Current Limiting Hybrid DC Circuit Breaker

Due to the low impedance characteristic of the high voltage direct current(HVDC)grid,the fault current rises extremely fast after a DC-side fault occurs,and this phenomenon seriously endangers the safety of the HVDC grid.In order to suppress the rising speed of the fault current and reduce the current interruption requirements of the main breaker(MB),a fault current limiting hybrid DC circuit breaker(FCL-HCB)has been proposed in this paper,and it has the capability of bidirectional fault current limiting and fault current interruption.After the occurrence of the overcurrent in the HVDC grid,the current limiting circuit(CLC)of FCL-HCB is put into operation immediately,and whether the protected line is cut off or resumed to normal operation is decided according to the fault detection result.Compared with the traditional hybrid DC circuit breaker(HCB),the required number of semiconductor switches and the peak value of fault current after fault occurs are greatly reduced by adopting the proposed device.Extensive simulations also verify the effectiveness of the proposed FCL-HCB.

Investigation on the Arc Ignition Characteristics and Energy Absorption of Liquid Metal Current Limiter Based on Self-Pinch Effect

The GaInSn liquid metal current limiter based on the fluid pinch effect has broad application prospects due to its particular properties. However, the limited rated current and abil- ity of power dissipation are the critical problems for its wide application. Firstly, the temperature distribution of the liquid metal current limiter （LMCL） was obtained by experiments with a rated current of 1 kA and the arc ignition phenomenon was observed with 1.5 kA, which indicates that the rated current is mainly limited by the arc rather than the high temperature compared to the traditional switchgears. Furthermore, an improved method is proposed by adding the paralleled pure resistance, impedance or another LMCL element to protect the setup from the fault energy concentration in the setup. The problem of a slower arc voltage increasing rate can be solved by adding a paralleled impedance with suitable parameters. Finally, the current limiting properties based on the improved method were investigated and the alternating oscillating current was found between two paralleled LMCL elements owing to their deviation of arc ignition in reality.

An Active Inrush Current Limiter Based on SCR Phase Shift Control for EV Charging Systems

This article gives an overview of the main passive solutions and active techniques, based on AC switches to limit inrush currents in medium power AC-DC converters （up to 3.7 kW） for electric vehicle charging systems. In particular, a strategy, based on SCR （silicon controlled rectifier） phase, shift control in a mixed rectifier bridge with diodes and thyristors, is proposed. The challenge is to help designers optimize the triggering delay of SCRs to both limit the peak value of inrush current spikes and optimize the charge duration of the DC-link capacitor. A mathematical model （Mathcad engineering tool） has been defined to point out, the interest of a variable triggering delay to control SCRs to meet the expectations described previously. Experimental measurements using an industrial evaluation board of the AC-DC converter demonstrate the robustness of the method.

Hybrid Operation of Fault Current Limiter and Thyristor Controlled Braking Resistor

The effectiveness of a combination of fault current limiter and thyristor controlled braking resistor on power system stability enhancement and damping turbine shaft torsional oscillations has been studied. If both devices operate at the same bus, the stabilization control scheme can be carried out continuously and with flexibility. As a result, the fault currents are limited, and the generator disturbances and the turbine shaft torsional oscillations are converged quickly. In this paper, the effectiveness of the combination of both devices has been demonstrated by considering 3LG （three-lines-to-ground） fault in a two-machine infinite bus system. Also, temperature rise effect of both devices with various resistance values and weights has been demonstrated. Simulation results indicate a significant power system stability enhancement and damping turbine shaft torsional oscillations as well as with allowable temperature rise.

Placement optimization of Multi-Type fault current limiters based on genetic algorithm

The fault current limiter(FCL)is an effective measure for improving system stability and suppressing short-circuit fault current.Because of space and economic costs,the optimum placement of FCLs is vital in industrial applications.In this study,two objectives with the same dimensional measurement unit,namely,the total capital investment cost of FCLs and circuit breaker loss related to short-circuit currents,are considered.The circuit breaker loss model is developed based on the attenuation rule of the circuit breaker service life.The circuit breaker loss is used to quantify the current-limiting effect to avoid the problem of weight selection in a multi-objective problem.The IEEE 10-generator 39-bus system in New England is used to evaluate the performance of the proposed genetic algorithm(GA)method.Comparative and sensitivity analyses are performed.The results of the optimized plan are validated through simulations,indicating the significant potential of the GA for such optimization.

Current Limiting Characteristic Analysis of Magnetic-controlled Switcher Type Fault Current Limiter

A novel magnetic-controlled switcher type fault current limiter (FCL) based on the topology of the saturated iron core high temperature superconducting FCL is proposed. The magnetic field distribution of the FCL iron core is analyzed by FEA software ANSYS. The current limiting characteristic is investigated by both 3-D field-circuit coupled simulation and Matlab. The experiments on the 220 V/50 A test model show that the FCL can limit the fault current swiftly and effectively,and the FCL has the advantages of simple and reliable structure, flexible control strategy. The simulation and experimental results prove that the theoretical expectation and current limiting performance is satisfactory for practical use.

Fault Current Limiters and Impacts on the System Protection Behavior

A deregulated power market is making short-circuit currents likely to exceed the thermal or mechanical permissible limits of switchgear. Consequently fault current limiters （FCL） become more necessary in power systems. The use of FCLs has an impact on the protection schemes and functions in power systems. Thus, before FCLs can be applied in the network, the impacts on existing protection system must be understood. Depending on the current limiting technique used, today＇s protection concepts may have to be adapted or revised to ensure proper network protection selectivity. A relationship between fault current limiters and protection schemes should be established by taking into account both protection and network specific issues, such as the impact of different FCL technologies, existing and new protection concepts, selectivity and innovative network. This paper is presenting a frame work for accomplishing this task.

Directional Overcurrent Relays Coordination Restoration by Reducing Minimum Fault Current Limiter Impedance

FCL （fault current limiter） is used to solve relays miscoordination problem arises from DG （distributed generation） installation. In most published researches, different optimization methods are developed to obtain optimal relay settings to achieve coordination in case of not installing DG, then depending on the achieved optimal obtained relay settings, FCL impedance is deduced to ensure relays coordination restoration in case of installing DG. Based on original optimal relay settings, obtained FCL impedance is not the minimum one required to achieve relay coordination. The contribution of this paper is the generation of multi sets of original relay settings that increase the possibility of finding FCL impedance of minimum value which is lower than the calculated value based on original optimal relay settings. The proposed method achieves better economic target by reducing FCL impedance. The proposed approach is implemented and tested on IEEE-39 bus test system.

The Continuation Power Flow Considering Both Generator Excitation Current Limits and Armature Current Limits

在传统连续潮流算法中,发电机无功限制采用定上、下限值来处理,随着有功负荷增加,无功限值通常不变,得到的电压稳定裕度偏大。根据同步发电机的无功出力特性,提出同时计及发电机励磁电流约束和电枢电流约束的连续潮流模型和方法。当相应参数越限时,将发电机节点转换为励磁恒定模型或者电枢电流恒定模型进行计算。所提PV、PEq、PIa节点类型双向转换逻辑可在潮流迭代内进行发电机限制模式的转换,模拟实际系统无功能力的变化。分岔点类型识别模块可以识别崩溃点类型及关键约束。通过新英格兰39节点算例的仿真,证明所提算法是有效的。

Research on a Fast-Closing Switch Based Fault Current Limiter with Series Compensation

A new type of fault current limiter (FCL) with series compensation based fast-closing switch is proposed. It is composed of a capacitor bank and a reactor in series. The main control component is a fast-closing switch connected in parallel with the capacitors, which is driven by the electromagnetic repulsion force. When fault occurs, the switch closes and bypasses the capacitors, and the fault is limited by the reactor then. Simulated analysis and experiments show that it is feasible to develop the FCL with low cost and high reliability. The effectiveness of transient stability for power system is evaluated by digital simulation.

Enhancement of Transient Stability of the Nigeria 330 kV Transmission Network Using Fault Current Limiter

The dynamic responses of generators when subjected to disturbances in an interconnected power system have become a major challenge to power utility companies due to increasing stress on the power network. Since the occurrence of a disturbance or fault cannot be completely avoided, hence, when it occurs, control measures need to be put in place to limit the fault current, which invariably limit the level of the disturbances. This paper explores the use of Superconductor Fault Current Limiter (SFCL) to improve the transient stability of the Nigeria 330 kV Transmission Network. During a large disturbance, the rotor angle of the generator is enhanced by connecting a Fault Current Limiter (FCL) which reduces the fault current and hence, increases transient stability of the power network. In this study, the most affected generator was taken into consideration in locating the SFCL. The result obtained reveals that the Swing Curve of the generator without FCL increases monotonically which indicates instability, while the Swing Curve of the System with FCL reaches steady state.

Mitigation of Distributed Generation Impact on Protective Devices in a Distribution Network by Superconducting Fault Current Limiter

Protection of radial distribution networks is widely based on coordinated inverse time overcurrent relays (OCRs) ensuring both effectiveness and selectivity. However, the integration of distributed generation (DG) into an existing distribution network not only inevitably increases fault current levels to levels that may exceed the OCR ratings, but it may also disturb the original overcurrent relay coordination adversely effecting protection selectivity. To analyze the potentially adverse impact of DG on distribution system protective devices with respect to circuit breaker ratings and OCR coordination fault current studies are carried out for common reference test system under the influence of additional DG. The possible advantages of Superconducting Fault Current Limiter (SFCL) as a means to limit the adverse effect of DG on distribution system protection and their effectiveness will be demonstrated. Furthermore, minimum SFCL impedances required to avoid miss-operation of the primary and back-up OCRs are determined. The theoretical analysis will be validated using the IEEE 13-bus distribution test system is used. Both theoretical and simulation results indicate that the proposed application of SFCL is a viable option to effectively mitigate the DG impact on protective devices, thus enhancing the reliability of distribution network interfaced with DG.

Research on Parameter Collaborative Configuration of DC Circuit Breaker and DC Fault Current Limiter

Fault current suppression is the key technology to ensure the safe operation of the DC power distribution system. In order to realize the parameter collabora-tive configuration of the DC circuit breaker and the DC current limiter and improve the fault current suppression capability, the fault current suppression mechanism of the DC power distribution system is revealed based on the circuit model. Then, based on the mathematical model of the DC breaker, the characteristic parameters of DC breaking are extracted, and then the influence of different characteristic parameters on the breaking characteristics of fault current is studied. Finally, the mathematical model of the collaborative process between DC circuit breaker and DC current limiter is established. The charac-teristic parameters of fault current collaborative suppression are extracted. The coupling effects of different characteristic parameters on the fault current col-laborative suppression are studied. The principle of collaborative configuration of DC circuit breaker and DC current limiter is proposed, and the collaborative suppression ability of DC circuit breaker and DC current limiter to fault current is fully exploited to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the DC power distribution system.

Appropriate Placement of Fault Current Limiting Reactors in Different HV Substation Arrangements

Short circuit currents of power systems are growing with an increasing rate, due to the fast development of generation and transmission systems. Current Limiting Reactor is one of the effective short circuit current limiting devices. This technique is known to be more practical than other available approaches. In this paper, proper application of CLR to HV substations is proposed, based on a comprehensive short circuit analysis of 4 well-known substation bus bar arrangements. Eventually, appropriate place and number of CLRs is recommended for each bus bar arrangement.

Transient Characteristics and Accommodative Current Limiting Strategy for Bidirectional Interlinking Converters in Hybrid AC/DC Microgrids

Bidirectional interlinking converter(BIC)is the core equipment in a hybrid AC/DC microgrid connected between AC and DC sub-grids.However,the variety of control modes and flexible bidirectional power flow complicate the influence of AC faults on BIC itself and on DC sub-grid,which potentially threaten both converter safety and system reliability.This study first investigates AC fault influence on the BIC and DC bus voltage under different BIC control modes and different pre-fault operation states,by developing a mathematical model and equivalent sequence network.Second,based on the analysis results,a general accommodative current limiting strategy is proposed for BIC without limitations to specific mode or operation condition.Current amplitude is predicted and constrained according to the critical requirements to protect the BIC and relieving the AC fault influence on the DC bus voltage.Compared with conventional methods,potential current limit failure and distortions under asymmetric faults can also be avoided.Finally,experiments verify feasibility of the proposed method.

Control-based Fault Current Limiter for Minimizing Impact of Distributed Generation Units on Protection Systems

Distributed generation units(DGUs)bring some problems to the existing protection system,such as those associated with protection blinding and sympathetic tripping.It is known that fault current limiters(FCLs)help minimize the negative impact of DGUs on the protection system.In this paper,a control-based FCL is proposed,i.e.,the FCL is integrated into the DGU control law.To this end,a predictive control strategy with fault current limitation is suggested.In this way,a DGU is controlled,not only for power exchange with the power grid but also to limit its fault current contribution.The proposal is posed as a constrained optimization problem allowing taking into account the current limit explicitly in the design process as a closed-loop solution.A linear approximation is proposed to cope with the inherent nonlinear constraints.The proposal does not require incorporating extra equipment or mechanisms in the control loop,making the design process simple.To evaluate the proposed control-based FCL,both protection blinding and sympathetic tripping scenarios are considered.The control confines the DGU currents within the constraints quickly,avoiding large transient peaks.Therefore,the impact on the protection system is reduced without the necessity that the DGU goes out of service.

Interruption Characteristics of High-speed Switches in 500 kV Fault Current Limiter with High Coupled Split Reactance

A 500 kV high-voltage AC fault current limiter(FCL)based on a high coupled split reactor(HCSR)is pro-posed by the National key R&D project team.Low impedance under normal conditions and high impedance under short-circuit conditions are accomplished by the cooperation of HCSR and high-speed switches.High-speed switches play an important role in current limiting processes,thus interruption characteristics of the high-speed switch in the 500 kV FCL are studied in this paper.The simulation model of the FCL and the external equivalent power grid are established.The short-circuit current and recovery voltage characteristics of the high-speed switch in FCL are simulated.The results show that maximum DC component of the short-circuit current of the high-speed switch reaches 91%,the maximum peak value is 118 kA,and the longest arcing time is 14.8 ms.There is a discontinuity in the curve of the short-circuit current peak and arcing time as a function of the short-circuit occurrence time;the peak recovery voltage of a single break of the high-speed switch has a maximum value of 87.5 kV under a three-phase ungrounded short-circuit condition,and the rate of rise of recovery voltage is o.22 kV/s.The recovery voltage peak shows a period change with the short-circuit occurrence time,and the period is 10 ms.The effects of the shunt capacitor value and short-circuit ground resistance on the recovery voltage of high-speed switching are also studied.The research can be used for reference by R&D personnel and testersof500kVFCLs.Index Terms-Fault current limiter(FCL),high coupled split reactor(HCSR),high-speed switch,interruption characteristics,short circuit current.