Direct Current Circuit Breaker in EAST

This paper introduces the configuration and the operation principles of a high power direct current circuit breaker （DCCB）. The commutating current principle of the breaker is described in details with its theory and simulation analysis. The test results presented show that the DCCB meets the requirements for quenching protection. It will be used as the main breaker for quench protection in EAST.

Modular Reciprocating HVDC Circuit Breaker with Current-limiting and Bi-directional Series-parallel Branch Switching Capability

The high-voltage direct current(HVDC)circuit breaker is becoming popular with the rapid development of the flexible HVDC grid for efficient DC fault ride-through purposes.This paper proposes a novel module for reciprocating HVDC circuit breaker topology,whose branch connections are able to switch between series and parallel modes to limit the rising rate and interrupt the DC fault currents.Diode-bridge submodules(DBSMs)are used to compose the main branch for current interruption.Besides fault clearance,the proposed topology has the advantageous function of DC fault current limiting by employing DBSMs with bi-directional conduction capability.The topology can easily switch among branch connection modes through the assembled trans-valves,and their resistance and reactance are very small in the normal state when branches are in parallel and the values become promptly large in the transient state when the branches are series connected.With the modular design,it is easy to change the number of branches or sub-modules and the types of sub-modules to adapt to more specific needs.A 6-terminal modular multi-level converter(MMC)based HVDC grid is established in PSCAD/EMTDC,and various simulation scenarios are carried out to validate the proposed topology.

Joint Limiting Control Strategy Based on Virtual Impedance Shaping for Suppressing DC Fault Current and Arm Current in MMC-HVDC Systems

This paper proposes a joint limiting control strategy for suppressing DC fault current and arm current in modular multilevel converter-based high-voltage direct current(MMC-HVDC) systems, which includes two target-oriented current limiting controls. To limit the DC fault current in the early fault stage, an equivalent modular multilevel converter(MMC) impedance is obtained, and its high-frequency part is reshaped by introducing virtual impedance, which is realized by adjusting the inserted submodules adaptively. Following the analysis of MMC control characteristics, the arm current limiting strategy is investigated, with results showing that the inner-loop control has significant effects on arm current and that a simple low-pass filter can reduce the arm current in the fault period. Finally, by combining the virtual impedance shaping and innerloop control, the fault currents of DC lines and MMC arms can be suppressed simultaneously, which can not only alleviate the interrupting pressure of the DC circuit breaker, but also prevent the MMC from being blocked by the arm overcurrent. Theoretical analysis conclusions and the proposed strategy are verified offline by a digital time-domain simulation on Power Systems Computer Aided Design/Electromagnetic Transients including DC platform, and experiment on a real-time digital simulator platform.