The Modeling of the LC Divergence Oscillation Circuit of a Superconducting DC Circuit Breaker Using PSCAD/EMTDC

Abstract

We proposed a superconducting DC circuit breaker that can reliably cut off the fault currents in preparation for the DC system. It consists of a superconducting element and a mechanical DC circuit breaker. The mechanical DC circuit breaker is connected in parallel with a mechanical high-speed switch, an LC divergence oscillation circuit, and a surge arrester. This provides stable cutoff operation due to the fault-current-limiting operation of the superconducting element and the artificial current zero point of the mechanical DC circuit breaker. In this paper, the operating principle of the LC divergence oscillation circuit that creates an artificial current zero point was reviewed based on the theory. We used experimental data to model the time constant of the initial fault current, the arc model generated by the mechanical high-speed switch, and the experimental equipment. As a result, the LC divergence oscillation circuit was confirmed in the simulation, and simulation modeling was reviewed based on the theoretical principle of generation.

Keywords

• DC circuit breaker
• LC divergence oscillation circuit
• superconducting element
• PSCAD/EMTDC program