Hindawi Publishing Corporation

Advances in Power Electronics

Volume 2012, Article ID 805958, 14 pages
doi:10.1155/2012/805958

Research Article
Interrupting Short-Circuit Direct Current Using an AC Circuit
Breaker in Series with a Reactor

Saurabh Kulkarni and Surya Santoso

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA

Correspondence should be addressed to Saurabh Kulkarni, [email protected]

Received 31 July 2012; Accepted 16 August 2012

Academic Editor: Qingmin Li

Copyright © 2012 S. Kulkarni and S. Santoso. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.

This paper describes and demonstrates the principle and efficacy of a novel direct current fault interruption scheme using a reactor
in series with a controlled rectifier and a conventional AC circuit breaker. The presence of the series reactor limits the capacitive
discharge current from the DC filter capacitor at the output terminals of the phase-controlled rectifier. In addition, the series
reactor along with the filter capacitor forms an underdamped series RLC circuit which forces the fault current to oscillate about
zero. This synthetic alternating current can then be interrupted using a conventional AC circuit breaker. The selection criteria for
the series reactor and overcurrent protection are presented as well. Using the proposed scheme for an example case, a DC fault
current magnitude is reduced from 56 kA to 14 kA, while the interruption time is reduced from 44 ms to 25 ms.

1. Introduction make use of power electronic switches for interrupting

the current without arcing [4–6]. Disadvantages of SSCBs
Medium voltage DC or MVDC system architectures are include the absence of galvanic isolation and generally
being considered in distribution systems of electric ships as lack of the same withstand against transient overvoltages.
well as electric vehicles [1, 2]. Such systems are generally fed Power semiconductor switches have high conduction losses
by phase-controlled rectifiers or simply controlled rectifiers. due to on-state resistance and forward voltage drop dis-
They are constructed using thyristors as the switch element couraging their use. Even though this type of circuit breaker
in the bridge. The firing pulses of the thyristors can be con-
allows for very high interruption speeds, existing protection
trolled to change the DC voltage at the output terminals of
methods implemented on protection relays typically do not
the rectifier. However, a fault at the terminals of a controlled
utilize this attractive feature [7]. Solid-state breakers are
rectifier results in a large magnitude fault current. Without
commercially available only for low power applications.
current zero crossings, clearing such faults is challenging.
Hybrid circuit breakers make use of a combination of both
Furthermore, for faults with low fault resistance (or even
electromechanical parts and power electronic switches for
bolted faults) the transient DC fault current has a high
magnitude impulse component with a very short rise time. current interruption at high speeds [8]. They combine the
This can have detrimental effects on the equipment. Existing advantages of both technologies [4]. Just like SSCBs, hybrid
and proposed techniques for interrupting DC fault current breakers are still in the research and development stage. In [9]
utilize electromechanical interrupters, solid-state switches, relays associated with converters are used to detect and clear
and combinations of both technologies [2, 3]. In order to faults in a DC distribution system. The method proposed in
utilize electromechanical circuit breakers (EMCBs) in DC [10] uses AC circuit breakers on the AC side of the rectifier
systems, it is proposed to generate artificial current zeros in to coordinate with the DC switches to isolate the faulted
the arc by superimposing a counter flow of current, typically section in a multiterminal DC system. An introduction to
from an oscillating circuit evoked only during circuit break- DC fault interruption is given in Section 2, while an overview
ing. On the other hand, solid-state circuit breakers (SSCBs) of interruption techniques is provided in Section 3.
2 Advances in Power Electronics

Table 1: Means of interrupting DC faults.

Table 2: DC fault behavior of power converters.
Commercial
Method technology Technical challenges Fault current Fault current
available Technology breaking limitation
Large and prolonged capability capability
fault currents due to Diode rectifiers No No
On AC side by means of several AC cycle Forced commutated “active”
conventional AC circuit Yes interruption times. rectifiers using IGBTs, IGCTs, No No
breakers Overrating necessary for etc. with free wheeling diodes
generator frequencies At first AC side
above 60 Hz Thyristor-controlled rectifiers No
current zero
On DC side by means of Commercial solutions Isolated DC-DC converters Within one HF
limited to less than Yes
electromechanical DC Yes with HF transformer half cycle
circuit breakers 4.5 kV DC
Additional losses.
On DC side by means of possible; however, it entails overrating all the equipment a
No Development of
power electronic switches longer fault clearing time. Short-circuit faults on the DC side
technology necessary
can be interrupted by either using electromechanical break-
ers or power electronic switches. Power electronic switches
The objective of this paper is to propose and successfully in the converters themselves can also be used to bring down
demonstrate the application of a new DC fault clearing and interrupt the DC fault current. Table 2 lists the current
mechanism which is simple, fast, and efficient. Furthermore, state-of-the-art regarding power conversion technologies
the mechanism should limit the fault current magnitude and their associated characteristics under MVDC bus fault
and physically isolate the faulted section from the rest of conditions.
the system to prevent damage to equipment. To achieve this Except for isolated DC-DC converters, the magnitude of
goal, the paper proposes an innovative DC fault interruption DC fault currents associated with all the common power
scheme for a controlled rectifier by inserting a series reactor
conversion technologies listed in Table 1 is governed by the
and using a conventional AC circuit breaker for fault clearing.
combined effect of the AC and DC side impedances. In
The addition of the reactor causes the rising fault current to
addition, DC link capacitances may contribute additional,
oscillate and thus creates zero crossings which are inherently
significantly large, transient fault current injections as they
absent from DC systems. A conventional AC circuit breaker
can then be employed to interrupt the fault current during discharge during a DC fault event.
the first zero crossing [11]. This approach is developed in The general classification of DC fault interruption meth-
Section 4 using an example of a fault at the terminals of a ods based on various criteria is shown in Figure 1. The
controlled rectifier. This fault also results in a high magnitude various principles used for classification are explained in
current impulse (56 kA in an example case) caused by the detail in Section 3.
filter capacitor discharging into the fault resistance. Section 5
describes the detailed switch and average value circuit models 3. Existing Methods of DC Fault Interruption
used for validating the proposed approach. Section 6 ana-
lyzes the use of firing angle control to bring the fault current Current interruption in a power system depends upon the
down to zero. The current is brought to zero in about 44 ms source, load, and the energy storage elements in the network.
from the start of the fault. In Section 7, it is proposed to add When a fault occurs in the network, the energy supplied
an inductor in series with the rectifier output terminals to by the source will be dumped into the resistors and the
reduce the peak magnitude of the transient fault current and inductors along the path of the fault current, while the
induce oscillations in the fault current. Section 8 describes capacitors will give out some energy proportional to the
how a conventional AC circuit breaker can be used for fault voltage reduction in the network. Equation (1) is obtained
interruption at the first zero crossing 25 ms after the fault from basic circuit analysis.
occurs. Additionally, using a series inductor of 1 mH the Vs
peak fault current is reduced to 14 kA. The fault current Ifault = . (1)
Z
interruption time is shown to be greatly reduced to about
9 ms by using simple current detection scheme for the reactor Based on the formula, two methods for fault current
assisted circuit breaker. A detailed discussion on the selection control are evident. The first method controls the source
criteria for the series inductor is given in Section 9. Finally, voltage Vs and the other controls the line impedance to the
the conclusion is presented in Section 10. fault, Z. Based on these two principles, current interruption
is broadly classified into “source potential reduction” and
“switch assisted interruption”, shown in Figure 1. These
2. Principles of DC Fault Interruption methods are described below.
Broadly speaking, there are three available “methods” of
interrupting DC fault currents as given in Table 1. Interrupt- 3.1. Source Potential Reduction. In this method, the source
ing DC faults on the AC side of a rectifier fed system is voltage is designed to be externally controllable. On sensing
Advances in Power Electronics 3

DS current interruption

Source potential Switch assisted

reduction interruption

Backup batteries Direct current Current oscillation Fuses

suppression

Conventional Current
Nonlinear devices commutation
mechanical breakers

Without current Current Arc quenching in air, Self oscillation Forced oscillation
commutation commutation (passive) (active)
oil, vacuum, and SF6

Superconducting Charged LC + Arc

current limiter Solid-state breakers Uncharged LC + Arc

Conventional DC
PTC resistor Pyrotechnique and Hybrid breakers
HVDC breakers

Figure 1: Classification of DC fault interruption methods.

an increase in the network current, the source voltage can be Ordinary circuit Circuit breaker with
gradually brought to zero, thereby reducing the fault current. breaker Is Ib bidirectional capability
However, reducing the source voltage can cause a system-
wide power outage, during a remote fault. The customers
DC + Sensitive Backup
who have sensitive loads might seek to install backup supplies source − loads storage
at their ends. Figure 2 shows the schematic for this method. Fault
Source control method can be used in small DC networks
which use controlled static AC-DC converters. Figure 2: Source voltage control for current interruption.
The second method of fault current interruption involves
creating a physical open gap in the conductor carrying
the current. The second method is examined in the fol- here briefly. A device using this principle has one element
lowing sections. Existing and newly proposed techniques for conducting the continuous current and the other for
utilize electromechanical interrupters, solid-state switches, conducting and stopping the fault current. The element
and combinations of both to interrupt direct currents. Apart which is used for conducting continuous current has high
from these methods some of the new methods that are still in continuous current rating, low conduction losses, and a
research are also examined. low current interruption capability. The other element has
opposite properties. Since the conduction and interruption
3.2. Switch Assisted Interruption. In this method, the source operations occur in separate devices designed for the respec-
voltage is held constant and the impedance to the fault tive purposes, this method produces a high performance
(usually the line impedance) is left unmodified at normal breaker with the lowest size consideration.
currents levels. When a fault occurs, large impedance is intro- Therefore, this current suppression method is known as
duced in series with the transmission line which suppresses switch assisted interruption utilizing DC breakers as shown
the current and brings it to zero. Modern circuit breakers in Figure 2. There are three common interruption methods
either use an arc or a nonlinear device for producing the used in DC breakers. These are direct current suppression,
required impedance in the network. These methods utilize current oscillation, and lastly fuse. These methods are
the principle of current commutation which is explained described below.
4 Advances in Power Electronics

3.2.1. Direct Current Suppression. These DC breakers, due their conduction losses are high due to its on-state
to the absence of current zero, are designed to produce a resistance and forward voltage drop. This energy
voltage drop equal to the source voltage and withstand the loss poses an overload limit for the breaker. Even
energy dissipation caused by the inductor and the voltage though this type of circuit breaker operates at very
source until the energy from the inductor reduces to zero. high speeds, this attractive feature becomes limited
Direct current suppression breakers can be further classified without the availability of high-speed relays. IGBT,
as follows. GTO, SIT, and IGCT [8] are the most commonly
used switches in solid-state circuit breakers. Solid-
(a) Conventional Mechanical Breakers. These circuit breakers state breakers remain in the research stage for high
use conventional arc quenching media like air, oil, vacuum, power applications. However, commercial solid-state
and SF6. These breakers can also use auxiliaries like puffers, breakers are available for low power applications.
forced blast, and arc chutes for enhancing arc interruption.
(c) Breakers making use of Nonlinear Devices without Current
(b) Breakers Making Use of Nonlinear Devices with Current Commutation. There are two types of breakers in this
Commutation. There are two types of breakers in this category.
category. (i) Positive Temperature Coefficient Breakers: These
breakers make use of positive temperature coefficient
(i) Pyrobreakers: Pyrobreakers consist of a solid cop- (PTC) resistors as the current limiting element. The
per bar, explosive charge, and a fuse [12]. The PTC resistors are made of metal filled polymer matrix
solid copper strip in the breaker carries the con- for carrying the current. Under normal conditions,
tinuous current. The copper bar along with the the heat produced is equal to the heat dissipated such
explosive charge forms the pyrotechnic disconnecter. that the filler materials in the matrix cling together.
On receiving a trip command from a relay, the When the current increases, the matrix expands and
pyrotechnic disconnecter shears the copper bar with the filler particles move apart due to heat production
the help of the explosive charge and commutates the and produce almost a step increase in the resistance
current to the fuse. The fuse interrupts the current value [19, 20]. These PTC materials conduct the
later. This breaker has special applications in rectifier entire steady state current under normal conditions.
protection on AC and DC sides.
(ii) Superconducting Current Limiter: Only resistive
(ii) Solid-State Breakers: Solid-State Breakers (SSB) are superconducting current limiters (SCCL) are used
high-speed breakers making use of power thyristors, for DC interruption [21]. All superconductors have
GTOs, IGBTs, and MOSFETs for current interrup- a time dependent critical current value. When the
tion. They make use of power electronic switches current through the superconductor is lower than
alone for interrupting the current with minimum the critical current the resistance of the supercon-
arcing [13, 14]. SSBs produce a PN junction barrier ductor is zero. The cooling of the superconductors
region during current interruption for impeding the is designed to keep the critical current above the
current without any arc. Since the above process does
load current, under normal conditions. When a
not involve any wear and tear the life of the breaker is
high short-circuit current above the critical value
theoretically infinite. Since power electronic devices
flows through the conductor, the superconductor
are prone to breakdown at high voltage transients,
SSBs are fitted with a series isolation switch for loses its zero resistance state and gets heated up.
galvanic isolation. Snubber capacitors and surge This process acts like a positive feedback loop and
arresters are fitted in parallel with the breakers for in a few milliseconds causes a step increase in the
absorbing the voltage and current surges during turn superconductors’ impedance. This process is used in
on and turn off periods. SSBs are mostly used as these breakers for current interruption.
current limiting breakers in those networks where the
devices have low short time current ratings [15–18]. 3.2.2. Current Oscillation Based DC Breakers. Usually AC
breakers are designed to interrupt currents at inherent
Since the semiconductor switches do not have the
ability to dissipate the energy stored in the power current zeros when the arc extinguishes temporarily. These
system, it is connected in parallel with surge arresters, breakers can be used for DC current breaking by fitting
snubbers, and capacitors for absorbing the system an oscillator in parallel with the AC breaker. The oscillator
energy after current interruption. Any heat produced circuit consists of a capacitor in series with an inductor. It can
due to energy loss should be cooled effectively for its be classified based on the charge stored across the capacitor
successful operation. But this type of circuit breaker as follows.
does not provide the physical galvanic isolation
between either sides of a breaker. It may breakdown (a) Passive Circuit Oscillator. In this type of circuit breaker,
if a transient voltage across the contacts is rela- an LC circuit is connected across the circuit breaker contacts
tively high. Another disadvantage that discourages before the opening of circuit breaker contacts. When the
the use of power semiconductor switches is that contacts of a circuit breaker start to move apart, a small
Advances in Power Electronics 5

voltage appears across the arc. This voltage excites the

LC circuit into oscillation. The oscillation increases in Mechanical
breaker
magnitude with time. Finally at some point in time the (S)
current through the oscillator will be equal to the fault
current. When this happens, the fault current commutates
from the breaker to the LC circuit. The transmission line L
Power
inductance charges the capacitor to a high voltage. electronic
switch

(b) Using Active Circuit Oscillator. The circuit for active

current commutation breaker looks almost similar to the Varistor
passive circuit, except that the capacitor is always kept fully
charged. When the circuit breaker receives a trip command,
the contacts are retracted and a counter current is injected Figure 3: General schematic of hybrid circuit breaker.
through the arcing contacts with the help of the capacitor.
The hybrid circuit breaker falls under this category.
Sections 2 and 3 dealt with the challenges and approaches
(i) Hybrid Circuit Breaker: Hybrid circuit breakers make for DC fault interruption. It was pointed out that, unlike AC
use of a combination of both electromechanical current, there is no natural current zero for DC currents,
parts and power electronic switches for current which makes fault interruption challenging. Various cur-
interruption at high speeds [18, 22]. They enjoy the rently available and proposed DC fault mitigation techniques
advantages of both the solid-state and electrome- were discussed. The following section describes an innovated
chanical breakers. Thus, this type of circuit breaker DC fault interruption scheme using a reactor assisted AC
makes up a major percentage of high-speed circuit circuit breaker.
breakers. The main components used in a hybridized
circuit breaker are main switch, solid-state switch,
and isolation switch. The power electronic switch
4. Principles of DC Fault Interruption Using
is connected in parallel with the mechanical switch, Reactor Assisted AC Breakers
while the isolation switch is connected in series with
A fault on an MVDC system results in a fault current with no
the solid-state switch, as illustrated in Figure 3, [22,
zero crossings, making clearing such faults challenging using
23]. During normal operating conditions the current
any traditional interruption techniques. Furthermore, for
flows through the mechanical breaker (S). When a
faults with low fault resistance, the transient DC fault current
fault is detected, breaker (S) opens and the current is
has a high magnitude impulse and a short rise time. In
commuted to the semiconductor device. As a result,
this section an innovative concept of using a reactor assisted
the mechanical part does not need to extinguish the
AC circuit breaker to interrupt DC faults is demonstrated
arc. The semiconductor device conducts until breaker
using an example case. The addition of the reactor causes the
(S) is able to fully block the voltage. The stored
rising fault current to oscillate and have zero crossings which
energy in the line inductance causes fast voltage
are inherently absent from DC systems. A conventional
increase until the varistor conducts. The varistor
AC circuit breaker is then employed to interrupt the fault
blocks voltage above the grid voltage and hence
current.
the line inductance is demagnetized. Since hybrid
Consider a simple MVDC system fed by a six-pulse
breakers are in the research and development stage,
phase-controlled rectifier shown in Figure 4(a). The detailed
they are not yet economical [18, 23].
representation of the rectifier is shown in Figure 4(b). The
input of the rectifier is connected to a 4.16 kV, 60 Hz three-
3.2.3. Fuses. They are similar to AC fuses. Once a fuse phase AC source, with a 10 kA short-circuit current capacity.
interrupts a fault current, the fuse link must be replaced. The filter inductor Ldc = 2.4431 μH maintains continuous
There are a few commercial DC circuit breakers currently rectifier current and the filter capacitor C = 8 mF keeps
available in the marketplace. They are used in HVDC, DC the output DC voltage ripple within 1%. The rectifier
railway traction, and large DC industrial drive systems. Areva supplies an equivalent DC load of 4 MW. During normal
has developed electromechanical circuit breakers based on load conditions, the firing angle of the rectifier (α) is set to
an artificial zero crossing approach as well [3]. During the 0◦ such that it supplies 5.62 kV to the DC load. At 0.3 s a
interruption process, a simple LC oscillator circuit in parallel fault with a resistance of 0.1 Ω is simulated at the terminals
with the contacts is excited by the arc voltage into resonance. of the rectifier using PSCAD/EMTDC. To get the worst case
The oscillating current crosses zero allowing the arc to fault current conditions any series inductance in the path of
be extinguished. Other commercially available DC circuit the fault has been neglected. The fault current and the DC
breakers (from General Electric, Secheron, Siemens [24–26]) voltage profile are shown in Figure 5.
are rated between 1 kV DC and 5 kV DC with interrupting It can be seen that the fault current rises almost
rating of 40 kA/31.5 ms to 125 kA/100 ms depending on the immediately as the result of the filter capacitor discharging
capacity of the arc chutes. into the fault resistance. After the initial impulse subsides,
6 Advances in Power Electronics

3-phase-controlled 60
AC side rectifier Ldc Current
breaker impulse at
40
General fault

kA
α control Fault load initiation
Equivalent C 20
3-phase Rf
AC source/
generator Block/ 0
LC 0.3 0.32 0.34 0.36 0.38 0.4
deblock
control filter
Time (s)
DC load current
(a) Controlled rectifier with fault at the terminals
(a)
dc1
Rdc Ldc 6
ea Lc ia 1
i1 3 i3 5 i5 idc
eb a C Rload 4 Fault occurs
Lc ib

kV
edc
b Vdc
ec Lc ic 2
c
4 0
i4 6 i6 2i 0.3 0.32 0.34 0.36 0.38 0.4
2
dc2 Time (s)
(b) Six-pulse rectifier model with AVM obtained for dashed
DC bus voltage
section
Figure 4: MVDC system fed by controlled rectifier. (b)

Figure 5: Fault voltage and current profile for circuit shown in

Figure 4(a).
the current contributed by the rectifier keeps rising till it
reaches a steady state value. This case highlights the major
challenges in tackling DC faults. Firstly, the high magnitude lower part of the bridge and carry negative current. On the
current impulse can be potentially harmful to the equipment DC side there is a second order DC filter composed of Ldc
and secondly, the fault current keeps rising without any zero and C with a series resistor Rdc and a DC resistive load,
crossings. To bring this fault current to zero the firing angle Rload . All the circuit parameter values are the same as those
(α) can be set to 90◦ or the firing pulses to the rectifier can used in Section 4. As the load is varied from light load to
be blocked. A detailed discussion on this method is given in short-circuit conditions the six-pulse rectifier exhibits three
Section 6. However, this action will not force the fault current different forms of switching pattern due to the action of AC
to zero immediately. Furthermore, the initial current impulse inductor Lc . For a cycle of sinusoidal AC input voltage the
cannot be prevented by using this method. To overcome the rectifier exhibits six switching intervals. These six switching
shortcomings of this technique it is proposed in this paper to intervals are identical in terms of the number of conducting
induce artificial zero crossings in the fault current and utilize switches in the upper and lower half of the bridge and each
a conventional AC circuit breaker to clear the fault. An LC interval lasts 60◦. Depending upon the number of diodes that
oscillator circuit is needed to induce zero crossings. Since, conduct simultaneously during a switching interval, the rec-
the filter capacitor is already present, it is proposed in this tifier would operate in mode 1, mode 2, or mode 3 [27–31].
paper to insert an inductor in series with it. This inductor The different modes are explained with the help of
will serve a dual purpose by also damping the initial fault Figure 6 which shows the changes in the firing and overlap
current impulse. Additionally, the inductor will not alter the angles for a slow drop in DC load resistance. In mode 1
performance of the system during normal steady state load operation, not more than three diodes conduct at any point
conditions. Using an AC circuit breaker for fault clearing will of time and the overlap angle μ always stays below 60◦ . This
also provide galvanic isolation to the faulted section, which is because it is not possible for the overlap angle to increase
only firing control will be unable to do. The following section smoothly without an increase in the firing angle α. This
provides a description of the rectifier modeling techniques gives rise to a separate operation mode, mode 2, as shown
and circuit models used in this paper. Subsequent sections in Figure 6. In mode 2, the firing angle increases for the
detail the proposed method utilizing these circuit models. increase in DC load current while the overlap angle stays
constant at 60◦ . This change happens automatically without
5. Analytical and Switch Models any change in the firing signals of the thyristors and is
of Controlled Rectifier called an autophase control. In mode 2, three diodes conduct
during a switching cycle. In mode 3, three and four diodes
The detailed model of a six-pulse rectifier system described conduct during a switching cycle and the overlap angle is
in the previous section is shown in Figure 4(b). The circuit is always between 60◦ and 120◦ .
composed of an AC source; AC inductance (Lc ); thyristors Various mathematical models of power electronic devices
1, 3, and 5 which form the upper part of the bridge and and circuits are used of simulation purposes. Detailed
carry positive current; thyristors 2, 4, and 6 which form the switch models available in simulation software are the most
Advances in Power Electronics 7

20

Mode 3
Mode 1

Rload (Ω)

Mode 2
10

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Time (s)

DC current (A)/
DC voltage (V)
6000
4000 idc
edc
2000
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Time (s)
Overlap angle (◦ )
Firing angle (◦ )

100 α
u
50

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
conducting switches

Time (s)
4
Number of

2
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Time (s)

Figure 6: Firing angle α, overlap Angle μ, DC voltage edc , and current idc for decreasing load resistance Rload .

Table 3: Quantities for mode 1 operation of rectifier. Table 4: Quantities for mode 2 operation of rectifier.

Conduction Conduction
2 to 3 switches 3 switches
pattern pattern
 
α (◦ ) 0 α (◦ )
π
− arccos √
2ωLc idc0
  3 3Em
2ωLc idc0
μ (radian) −α + arccos cos(α) − √ μ (radian) π/3
3Em √    
√     V dc (t) 3 3Em 3ωLc didc 3u
3 3Em 3ωLc didc 3u cos(α) − idc0 − Lc 2−
V dc (t) cos(α) − idc0 − Lc 2− π π dt 2π
π π dt 2π
√
√ didc (3 3 Em /π) cos(α) − idc0 (Rdc + 3ωLc /π) − edc
didc (3 3Em /π) cos(α) − idc0 (Rdc + 3ωLc /π) − edc dt Ldc + Lc (2 − 3u/2π)
dt Ldc + Lc (2 − 3u/2π)

accurate. The detailed switch model of the circuit shown in case of large signal studies. In this paper, we analyze the
in Figure 4(a) is developed in PSCAD/EMTDC. However, rectifier in mode 1 operation. The equations used to describe
the operation of a rectifier in mode 1, mode 2, and mode 3
such models are very tedious and simulations using them
are presented in Tables 3, 4, and 5, respectively.
take a long time to run. On the other hand, average
In the following sections the proposed fault interruption
value models (AVM) for power electronic converters are
scheme is explained using the AVM as well as the detailed
derived by averaging state variables in a circuit, like inductor switch model.
current and capacitor voltage over one switching interval
of the power converter operation [29, 30]. AVMs are more
accurate than steady state models; however, they require the
6. Fault Interruption Using Firing
knowledge of the rectifier mode of operation. Additionally, Angle Control
AVMs are applicable in limited range of parameter values, In Section 4 it was stated that firing angle control can be
like L and C. The operation of rectifiers in mode 1 has been used to bring the fault current to zero. A detailed analysis of
studied extensively since it is the normal mode of operation this method for the fault shown in Figure 4(a) is given here.
for six-pulse rectifiers feeding DC loads. An average value Note that a fault with a resistance of 0.1 Ω was simulated
model is developed in [27, 28] for mode 1. Novel average using PSCAD/EMTDC at the terminals of the rectifier at
value models for modes 2 and 3 are developed in [31]. Due 0.3 s. The fault current and the DC voltage profile are shown
to the assumptions taken in the AVM approach, these models in Figure 7. The fault is detected at 0.315 s and the firing
are applicable only for rectifiers with high filter inductance angle of the rectifier (α) is set to 90◦ . This delay of 0.15 s
8 Advances in Power Electronics

60
Current impulse at
40 fault initiation
Current decay to zero
(1st order RC circuit) after α is set to 90◦

kA
Second
current peak
20 (from
rectifier)
0
0.29 0.295 0.3 0.305 0.31 0.315 0.32 0.325 0.33 0.335 0.34 0.345 0.35
Time (s)
6 DC load current

4
kV

0
0.29 0.295 0.3 0.305 0.31 0.315 0.32 0.325 0.33 0.335 0.34 0.345 0.35
Time (s)

Fault occurs Fault detected Firing pulses

and α set to 90◦ blocked
DC bus voltage
Figure 7: Fault interruption using firing angle control.

has been added to represent typical detection and reaction Table 5: Quantities for mode 3 operation of rectifier.
times. The current decays after few milliseconds and then
Conduction
the firing pulses are blocked at 0.344 s, when the rectifier 3 to 4 switches
pattern
operates in the discontinuous conduction mode. Current
interruption from the time of fault inception using the above α (◦ ) Variable
   
method of firing angle control, without any circuit breaker, π 2ωLc π
μ (radian) arccos cos −α − idc0 − α −
is approximately 0.344 s–0.300 s = 44 ms. 6 Em 6
The rationale behind setting the firing angle control is    
9Em π 9ωLc 9ωLc 2π
explained as follows. The DC voltage from the rectifier Vdc V dc (t) sin α + − idc0 + α−δ+
π 3 π 2π 3
during continuous conduction is dependent upon the firing
angle, α (see (3)). At firing angle of 90◦ , the rectifier internal
didc (9Em /π) sin(α + π/3) − idc0 (Rdc + 9ωLc /π) − edc
voltage drops to zero. This technique can be used to force the
dt Ldc + Lc (3 − 9u/2π)
rectifier to operate in discontinuous conduction mode after
a high fault current event. Even though the rectifier internal
voltage is negative above α = 90◦ , the firing angle is set
to 90◦ to avoid any misfiring of thyristors which may cause Figure 8(a) with those from the switch model shown in
unwanted transients. Figure 7. The fault current peak estimate from the theoretical
The fault current seen in Figure 7 is contributed from model is accurate and the current decay is followed up to
two sources, namely, DC filter capacitor, and rectifier and is 0.301 s, after which the fault current contribution from the
explained in detail below. rectifier becomes appreciable. At the same time, the capacitor
voltage decays to fault voltage.
6.1. Fault Current from Filter Capacitor. The DC filter
capacitor is charged to Vc (0) = 5.62 kV during normal load
operations. During the fault it discharges through the fault 6.2. Fault Current Contribution from Rectifier. The second
resistance, R f = 0.1 Ω. Since this current path has a very peak of the fault current in Figure 7 is due to the rectifier
low series inductance, it is idealized to be zero. The resulting feeding current into the fault. To represent the rectifier in a
circuit is a series RC circuit and hence the fault current rises simplified form, the mode 1 DC average value model given in
immediately to a peak of Vc (0)/R f = 56 kA. This current Table 3 has been used. Em is the peak line to neutral voltage,
decays over time and can be represented using the RC circuit Lc is the AC inductance, and Ldc is the DC inductance. The
transients as follows: differential equation is represented in equivalent circuit form
in Figure 9, where, the voltage of the controlled DC source is
Vc (0) −t/τ given by
I f (t) = e , (2)
Rf
√
where, time constant τ = R f · C = 0.1 Ω × 8 mF = 0.8 ms. Vd =
3 3
cos(α)Em = 5.62 cos(α) kV. (3)
The theoretical results obtained using (2) are compared in π
Advances in Power Electronics 9

55 ld t = 0.3 s
rd
50
45
Vd + If Rf
40 −

35
30
Figure 9: Equivalent circuit for fault current contribution from
kA

25 rectifier.
20
15 3-phase-controlled
AC side rectifier Ldc
10 breaker L
5 Series General
α control inductor load
0 Equivalent C
0.295 0.296 0.297 0.298 0.299 0.3 0.301 0.302 0.303 0.304 0.305 3-phase
AC source/ Fault
Time (s)
generator Block/ LC
Actual load current deblock
control filter
Theoretical capacitor
current
Figure 10: Controlled Rectifier with Series Inductor.
(a) Contribution from filter capacitor
20
between the analytical model and switch model fault currents
18 becomes maximum at high fault currents (see Figure 8(b)).
16 Additionally, the rectifier is line commutated and has
uncontrolled turn off time. Hence changing the firing angle
14
to 90◦ affects the fault current only during the next switching
12 cycle. This delaying effect is evident from the results (see
Figure 8(b)) obtained from the analytical model which
kA

10
responds instantaneously as compared to the detailed switch
8
model in PSCAD/EMTDC.
6 The following section explains the proposed use of the
4
series inductor to mitigate the fault current impulse and
induce oscillations in the fault current.
2
0
0.295 0.3 0.305 0.31 0.315 0.32 0.325 0.33 0.335 0.34 7. Fault Current Interruption with
Time (s) Series Inductor
Actual load current A controlled rectifier with a reactor inserted in series with the
Theoretical rectifier LC filter is shown in Figure 10. The three-phase AC source
current
as well as the rectifier and filter components are the same
(b) Contribution from rectifier as those used in Figure 4(a). The series inductor has been
Figure 8: Comparison of theoretical and actual fault current contri- added to reduce the peak magnitude of the transient fault
butions. current shown in Figure 7 and also induce oscillations with
zero crossings in the fault current. A detailed discussion on
The equivalent DC series resistor is given by (4), while the the selection criteria for the series inductor value is given
equivalent DC inductor is given by (5), as follows: in Section 9. An inductance value of 1 mH is chosen in this
example to limit the magnitude of the transient fault current
3
rd = ωLc = 0.229 Ω, (4) to less than 15 kA.
π The current and voltage profile of the DC bus in
ld = Ldc + 2Lc = 0.0013 H. (5) Figure 10 under load and fault conditions is shown in
Figure 11. The DC bus supplies a 5.62 kV DC voltage to the
Since the capacitor circuit has a faster time constant than load until 0.3 s. At 0.3 s, a fault with resistance of 0.1 Ω occurs
the rectifier circuit, the peak from the capacitor precedes the across the DC bus. The fault current from the rectifier and
peak of the fault current from the rectifier. The fault current the capacitor increases initially. Since, the series inductor and
profiles obtained using the analytical model and that from the filter capacitor form an underdamped loop, the capacitor
the PSCAD/EMTDC switch model are shown in Figure 8(b). current is oscillatory after the initial rise. At the same time,
To keep the analytical model simple, only mode 1 the rectifier current keeps rising to the steady state value.
operation of the rectifier has been considered. The error Similar to the previous case, the fault is detected at 0.315 s
10 Advances in Power Electronics

15
Reduced
10 peak current Oscillations in load current

kA
5

0.29 0.295 0.3 0.305 0.31 0.315 0.32 0.325 0.33 0.335 0.34 0.345 0.35
Time (s)
DC load current
6

4
kV

0.29 0.295 0.3 0.305 0.31 0.315 0.32 0.325 0.33 0.335 0.34 0.345 0.35
Time (s)

Fault occurs Fault detected Firing pulses

and α set to 90◦
blocked
DC bus voltage

Figure 11: Effect of inserting series reactor on fault current and voltage.

and the firing angle of the rectifier is set to 90◦ . The fault initial conditions for the capacitor voltage, Vc (0) = 5.62 kV,
current from the rectifier starts decaying after a small delay. and the inductor current, I f (0) = 0 A, one has
During this decay, the fault current has several zero crossings;
for instance the first zero crossings occurs at 0.325 s as seen B1 = 0,
in Figure 11. The rectifier current, which keeps decreasing (7)
Vc (0)
slowly with time, can be interrupted by blocking the firing B2 = = 16.11.
pulses after the rectifier goes into discontinuous conduction Lωd
mode (DCM). The fault current profile has been analytically Substituting (7) in (6) yields
modeled using two circuit models, namely, the second order
series RLC circuit model and the third order rectifier and I f (t) = 16.11e−50t sin(350t). (8)
filter circuit model.
The peak time and peak current using (8) are calculated in
7.1. Second Order RLC Circuit Model. After the fault occurs, π
tpeak = = 0.00448 sec,
the filter capacitor, which is charged to nominal DC bus 2ωd
voltage, discharges into the fault through the series inductor.   (9)
The capacitor current contributes the major share of the fault I f ,peak = I f tt = t, peak = 12.78 kA.
current through the series inductor during the initial few
milliseconds, when the rectifier current is negligible (0.3 to 7.2. Third Order Equivalent Circuit Model. The accuracy
0.305 s) and also after the decay of rectifier current (after of the results obtained in the previous subsection can be
0.32 s). This can be seen in Figure 11. During those periods, improved by adding an equivalent rectifier circuit model
the filter capacitor C = 8 mF, series reactor L = 1 mH, and described in Section 6 in parallel with the second order RLC
fault resistance R f = 0.1 Ω form a second order series RLC circuit. This results in a third order equivalent circuit. The
circuit. The current in the circuit can be expressed using the results of the second order and third order equivalent circuit
second order differential equation with the solution given in models are compared with those from the detailed switch
model in Figure 12.

I f (t) = B1 e−αt cos(ωd t) + B2 e−αt sin(ωd t), (6) 7.3. Comparison of Models. Both the second and third order
models track the rising portion of the fault current up to
the first peak. The time constant of the rising portion can
where, damping coefficient √ α = R f /2L = 50 nepers/sec, therefore be derived with sufficient accuracy using the second
natural frequency ω0 = 1/ LC = 353.535 rad/sec or 56.27 Hz,
order differential equation solution given in (8). After the
and damping ratio η = α/ω0 = 0.141. Since η <1, the system first peak, the rectifier current forms an appreciable portion
is underdamped, with damped frequency, ωd = (ωo2 − α2 ) = of the inductor current; therefore the second order solution
350 rad/sec or 55.7 Hz. B1 and B2 can be derived from the does not track the fault current. Whereas, the third order
Advances in Power Electronics 11

20 Table 6: Comparison of circuit models.

Detailed switch 2nd order 3rd order rectifier

15 Model
(PSCAD) series RLC and filter equiv.
tpeak (s) 0.0044 0.0044 0.0044
10 Peak magnitude
14.10 12.78 13.68
(kA)
kA

5
3-phase-controlled
0 AC side rectifier Ldc load
breaker L breaker
Series General
α control inductor load
−5 Equivalent C
3-phase Fault
AC source/
−10 generator Block/ LC
0.295 0.3 0.305 0.31 0.315 0.32 deblock
control filter
Time (s)
Figure 13: Controlled rectifier with series inductor and AC breaker.
Actual load current
2nd order model
3rd order model
the circuit breaker is set to trip as soon as firing angle is set
Figure 12: Comparison of fault current profiles from various to 90◦ at 0.315 s. Since the fault current has the first zero
models. crossing at 0.325 s, the AC circuit breaker interrupts the fault
current at this instant. The circuit breaker remains open after
0.325 s, if the recovery voltage across it does not cause any
model which also includes the rectifier model follows the dielectric breakdown.
fault current, approximately, after the first peak. The fault current can be interrupted faster before the
The third order model overestimates the second peak occurrence of the second peak by sending the breaker trip
from the rectifier current because it is applicable only in signal and firing angle command before 0.315 s. The results
mode 1 operation. After 0.315 s the firing angle is changed to of the faster fault current interruption scheme are shown
90◦ and the rectifier now operates in mode 2 and then mode in Figure 15. The trip signal and firing angle command are
3. Since the rectifier is line commutated with uncontrolled sent when the DC fault current exceeds 5 kA which happens
turn off switches, the commanded firing angle takes about before the first peak. Since the first peak of the fault current
one switching cycle to affect the DC fault current. This is a result of the capacitor discharge, its magnitude is not
explains the delay in the start of current decay after 0.315 s. affected by the firing angle setting of the rectifier. However,
During the decay, the third order model describes the rate of the rectifier current is interrupted before reaching its peak.
fall in the fault current accurately until the rectifier operates The RLC oscillation causes a zero crossing after the first peak
in continuous conduction mode (CCM). The accuracy of the at 0.3094 s; the fault current is interrupted at this instant
mode 1 model is sufficient for quantifying the rate of rise using the AC breaker.
and estimating the peak fault current. A comparison of both
models is given in Table 6.
9. Criteria for Selection of Series Inductor
8. Fault Current Interruption In Section 7, a 1 mH inductor was added in series with the
Using AC Circuit Breakers output filter to limit the magnitude of the DC fault current
and induce current oscillations with zero crossings. This
In Section 7, it was seen that the impulse current from the section formalizes the rules for selecting an appropriate value
capacitor can be mitigated by adding a series inductor in the of the series inductor. The rules are explained below.
fault current path. However, by adding the inductor, the fault
current does not go to zero, after blocking the firing pulses (i) The primary criterion for selection of the value of
of the rectifier due to oscillations in the fault current. These the series inductor is that it must limit the fault
oscillations after 0.32 s are shown in Figure 11. This high current to the desired value. An estimate of the peak
oscillatory current can be damaging to the capacitor, the DC fault current magnitude can be obtained by using
bus, and transmission cables. Hence, this current has to be the circuit models developed in Section 7. The third
interrupted as soon as the rectifier current reduces below the order model is more accurate than the second order
load current. The oscillatory nature of this current can itself model because it takes the rectifier dynamics into
be exploited to interrupt the current using a conventional AC account. A plot of peak fault current magnitudes
circuit breaker. versus inductor values for various fault resistances
The rectifier schematic with the AC circuit breaker is is shown in Figure 16(a). Note that other circuit
shown in Figure 13. The fault current interruption for this parameters, like the rectifier input voltage, filter
circuit is shown in Figure 14. In this interruption technique capacitor, and inductor, are the same as those used
12 Advances in Power Electronics

15

10
Breaker trips at

kA
first current zero
5

0
0.29 0.295 0.3 0.305 0.31 0.315 0.32 0.325 0.33 0.335 0.34 0.345 0.35
time (s)
DC load current
6

4
kV

0.29 0.295 0.3 0.305 0.31 0.315 0.32 0.325 0.33 0.335 0.34 0.345 0.35
time (s)

Fault Fault detected

occurs and α set to 90◦
DC bus voltage

Figure 14: Fast fault current interruption using AC circuit breaker.

15
Fault detected when
the fault current. A plot of η versus inductor values
current exceeds 5 kA for various values of the fault resistance is shown in
10 and α set to 90◦
Breaker trips at Figure 16(b). Other circuit parameters are the same
kA

first current zero as those used throughout the paper.

5
Referring to the plots in Figures 16(a) and 16(b) for a
0
series inductor value of 1 mH chosen previously, the peak
0.29 0.295 0.3 0.305 0.31 0.315 0.32 0.325
magnitude of the fault current is around 14 kA, while the
Time (s)
value of η is 0.14. These values match those obtained using
DC load current the detailed switch model in Section 7. The value of η and
(a) the peak fault current magnitude can be used to set the firing
6
angle and the circuit breaker controls.
The value of the series inductor is chosen by utilizing
4 the plots in Figures 16(a) and 16(b). However, the plots are
themselves based on different values of the fault resistance,
kV

2
R f , which will be unknown before the fault actually occurs,
0 in most cases. Hence, before applying these criteria for the
selection of series inductor, one must define the fault current
0.29 0.295 0.3 0.305 0.31 0.315 0.32 0.325 threshold. Utilizing this fault current threshold magnitude
Fault Time (s) as well other component values, the corresponding value of
occurs
DC bus voltage the fault resistance, R f , can be computed. Once R f is known,
Figures 16(a) and 16(b) can be easily applied to find the
(b)
appropriate series inductor value.
Figure 15: Fault current interruption with fault detect at 5 kA.
10. Conclusion
throughout the paper. The plot will change with the This paper developed an innovative DC fault interruption
values of these parameters. technique using a series reactor and a conventional AC
circuit breaker. It is applicable to MVDC system architec-
(ii) For the second criteria, the filter capacitor, series tures in distribution systems of electric ships and electric
inductor, and fault resistor must form an under- vehicles. Before describing the proposed approach a review
damped loop (damping ratio η < 1). Only when of the state-of-the-art DC fault interruption techniques was
this criterion is satisfied will there be oscillations in provided and their shortcomings were pointed out. In the
Advances in Power Electronics 13

50 16

45 14
40 12
35
10
If,peak (kA)

30
8
25

kA
20 6 Breaker can open at
first current zero
15 4
10 2
5
0
0
−2
10−4 10−3 10−2 10−1 Induced current
oscillations
Series inductor (H) −4
0.3 0.31 0.32 0.33 0.34 0.35 0.36 0.37 0.38 0.39 0.4
R f = 0.001 Ω R f = 0.1 Ω
Rf = 1 Ω time(s)
R f = 0.01 Ω
Fault occurs Fault detected Firing pulses
and α set to 90◦ bocked
(a) I f ,peak versus series inductor (H) for various fault resistance R f
No series inductor and no circuit breaker
1 With series inductor and no circuit breaker
0.9 With series inductor and circuit breaker
0.8 Figure 17: Comparison of fault interruption using different
0.7
methods.
0.6
0.5
reduced to about 9 ms by using simple current detection
η

scheme for the reactor assisted circuit breaker.

0.4
One of the limitations of the proposed method includes
0.3 the trade-off between the reduction in fault current mag-
0.2 nitude and fault interruption time. A series inductor of
0.1 a larger value will be able to limit the fault current to a
0 lower magnitude; however, the fault interruption time will be
10−6 10−5 10−4 10−3 10−2 10−1 100 increased. Additionally, the proposed DC fault interruption
Series inductor (H) method is best suited for shunt faults with low fault
R f = 0.001 Ω R f = 0.1 Ω impedance values. High impedance faults will require very
R f = 0.01 Ω R f = 1.0 Ω large series inductor values to produce oscillations in the
fault current, which will increase the fault interruption time.
(b) η versus series inductor (H) for various fault resistance R f This will also result in significant losses in the inductor
during normal unfaulted operation.
Figure 16: Criteria for selection of series inductor.
In this way, the proposed fault interruption scheme is
simple with its use of an AC circuit breaker, fast because the
next step, the fault current characteristics of a controlled fault can be cleared sooner than using firing angle control
rectifier with LC filter were studied using analytical average alone and efficient because it lowers the risk of damage to
value models as well as detailed switch models developed in the rest of the system components by isolating the faulted
PSCAD/EMTDC. The fault current was found to be con- section.
tributed from two components, namely, the filter capacitor
and the rectifier. For a fault at the terminals of the rectifier, Acknowledgments
the capacitor discharge causes a damaging impulse current
to flow through the circuit. Controlling only the firing of the This work has been supported in part by the Office of Naval
thyristors the fault current was brought to zero in 44 ms as Research under the Electric Ship Research and Development
shown in Figure 17. The paper then proposed to use a series Consortium. The authors also thank Mr. Pandarinath Murali
inductor to limit the magnitude of the fault current impulse. for his assistance.
Furthermore, the series inductor causes oscillations in the
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