Solid-state fault isolation devices: application to future power electronics-based distribution systems

Abstract

This study addresses the timely issues of modelling, and defining selection criteria for, a solid-state fault isolation device (FID) intended for use in power electronics-based distribution systems (PEDS). This work subsequently derives the FID parameters by mapping the characteristics of a conventional medium-voltage distribution system onto that of the PEDS envisioned under a new multiuniversity Engineering Research Centre. When conventional circuit breakers are used in distribution systems, they have a relatively long clearing time, causing the voltage to collapse for a significant time. A semiconductor circuit breaker, however, is expected to be able to switch fast enough to keep a voltage disturbance within acceptable limits. The main focus of this study is to address the operational issues of the interaction between the power electronic converters and the solid-state FID. The utilisation of rate of current decrease (di/dt) control during turn-off in conjunction with passive clamping devices to manage the overvoltage that results from very fast circuit breaker operation is introduced. In contrast to a simple conventional RC-snubber circuit, the proposed overvoltage management avoids high leakage current, which is the undesirable drawback of RC-snubber circuits. The presented prototype is experimentally verified with low and medium-voltage test circuits. List of abbreviations AFU active front-end unit DESD distributed energy-storage devices DRER distributed renewable energy resources IGBT insulated gate bipolar transistor FID fault isolation device LTI linear time-invariant MOV metal oxide varistor PEBB power electronics building block PEDS power electronics-based distribution system PWM pulse-width modulation RTDS real-time digital simulator SST solid-state transformer TRV transient recovery voltage VCB vacuum circuit breaker VSI voltage-source inverter VVS variable voltage source

Solid-state switches for fault current limiter control

“…The main disadvantage of the switchgear application for inductive FCL secondary circuit control is their relatively long tripping time [10].…”

“…At nowadays a lot of realizations of so called solid-state circuit breakers are known [1,2,3,5,6,7,10].…”

“…The trends of the development of FCL are described Very often I-st or II-nd generation superconductors are used for fault current limiters design and manufacturing. Of course the fault current limiters based on conventional material are their alternative [2,4,10,12].…”

A Novel Bridge-Type Hybrid Saturated-Core Fault Current Limiter Based on Permanent Magnets

“…Superconducting FCLs are costly and need high maintenance requirements, and solid state FCLs are limited by rated power of semiconductor devices. Saturated-core FCLs (SFCLs) are widely analyzed and developed owing to its advantages, such as passive reaction to a fault, low cost and high reliability [4][5].…”

Development of medium voltage solid-state fault isolation devices for ultra-fast protection of distribution systems

“…Three generations of FIDs have been developed or are under development at FREEDM Systems Center. Generation I is based on series silicon IGBTs [7,8]. Generation II FID uses one single Silicon Carbide (SiC) ETO which can withstand as high as 15 kV [9,10].…”