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Design and Experimental Tests of a Superconducting Hybrid DC Circuit Breaker.

Authors :
Xiaoze Pei
Cwikowski, Oliver
Smith, Alexander C.
Barnes, Mike
Source :
IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity; Apr2018, Vol. 28 Issue 3, p1-5, 5p
Publication Year :
2018

Abstract

Direct current (DC) circuit breakers are a key enabling technology for fault management in multiterminal highvoltage DC (HVDC) systems. DC fault isolation is challenging due to the high rate of rise of the fault current and the lack of natural current zero-crossings found in ac systems. In this paper, we present a novel superconducting hybrid dc circuit breaker that utilizes the intrinsic characteristics of the superconductor material. The automatic quench of the superconductor coil as a result of a high fault current transfers the current from the mechanical switch to the semiconductor switch. The isolating mechanical switch is able therefore to open at low current and recover its dielectric capability rapidly. A low voltage DC circuit breaker prototype has been built using a multistrand magnesium diboride (MgB<subscript>2</subscript> ) coil, a vacuum interrupter, and an insulated-gate bipolar transistor module. This prototype successfully demonstrated interruption of 500 A DC within 4.4 ms. This paper presents the design of the superconducting hybrid breaker prototype and a detailed analysis of the experimental results. This superconducting hybrid dc circuit breaker has significant potential for scaling up the high-voltage and high-current applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
10518223
Volume :
28
Issue :
3
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
128726459
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1109/TASC.2018.2793226