New two chamber transfer switch for 6500 A commutation current

Abstract

HVDC transfer switches are used in different locations in electrode lines of HVDC transmission systems for their reconfigurations. They have to carry and commutate currents to the overload currents of HVDC transmission systems, which increased to 6,400A in the past years. Common designs of transfer switches use combinations of several switching units connected in series and parallel. This paper describes the design and development of a new DC commutation switch with two switching units only, but it is able to carry currents up to 10,000A and has an actual tested commutation capability of 6,500 A. Keywords: HVDC, Switch, Passive resonance, 6,500 A commutation current, 10,000A nominal current