Integration of superconducting fault current limiter with solid-state DC circuit breaker

Xi, J., Pei, X., Song, W. , Niu, L., Liu, Y. and Zeng, X. (2023) Integration of superconducting fault current limiter with solid-state DC circuit breaker. International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems, 145, 108630. (doi: 10.1016/j.ijepes.2022.108630)

Abstract

The onboard direct current (DC) system in electric aircraft could face a severe fault current, which is tens of times the nominal current in a short-circuit fault. It is critical to limit the fault current and clear the fault within a few milliseconds to prevent any damage to the DC system. A protection method using a resistive superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) with a solid-state DC circuit breaker (SSCB) to manage the DC short-circuit fault is proposed and experimentally verified. A bifilar SFCL coil prototype with two types of connection to achieve low and high inductance is designed and tested, which reduces the fault current considerably from 2000 A to below 1000 A. The performance when integrating the low and high inductance SFCL with a solid-state DC circuit breaker are investigated. It is found that when integrating the SFCL with the SSCB, a high voltage is induced across the high inductance SFCL during current interruption tests. In terms of reliability and durability, the low inductance SFCL is preferred to integrate with the SSCB. The experimental results show that the low inductance SFCL can be an effective solution to protect the DC system from severe fault currents and then SSCB can rapidly and reliably interrupt the fault current at 1000 A.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Song, Dr Wenjuan
• Authors: Xi, J., Pei, X., Song, W., Niu, L., Liu, Y., and Zeng, X.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Autonomous Systems and Connectivity
• Journal Name: International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0142-0615
• ISSN (Online): 1879-3517
• Published Online: 21 September 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems 145:108630
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence