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Energy Reports 8 (2022) 363–369

www.elsevier.com/locate/egyr

The 5th International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Green Energy, CEEGE 2022,
8–11 June, Berlin, Germany

Design and application of short circuit test scheme for Hu Zhou

DPFC project
Qian Chena ,∗, Chengyu Lua , Jingen Songb , Hua Xub , Wulue Panb , Peng Qiua
a Electric Power Research Institute of State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Corporation, 310014, China
b State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Company, 310014, China

Received 15 July 2022; accepted 6 August 2022

Available online 18 August 2022

Abstract
The short circuit test of distributed power flow controller (DPFC) is still a blank in the world. In order to test the effectiveness
and adaptability of DPFC in case of line failure, it is necessary to carry out short circuit tests in DPFC projects. Based on the
Hu Zhou DPFC Project, this paper proposes the control and protect strategy of DPFC which is coordinated with the protect
strategy of AC line, designs single phase short circuit grounding test scheme of the AC line where DPFC is located. In the
application, the action logic of DPFC under single-phase grounding fault is verified, the single phase short circuit test of DPFC
were completed for the first time, and the transient voltage and current were obtained. It provides technical support for the
popularization and application of DPFC project.
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 5th International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Green Energy, CEEGE,
2022.

Keywords: Distributed power flow controller (DPFC); Artificial short circuit test; Block; Restart

1. Introduction
With the continuous expansion of new energy in the grid, the problem of power flow control and flexible new
energy consumption becomes prominent. This problem will restrict the power supply capacity, and also causes low
efficiency of power grid. At present, the main way to solve this problem is to strengthen the power grid. The unified
power flow controller is also used. But there are some problems such as long construction cycle, large investment,
large occupation and so on. Distributed Power Flow Controller (DPFC) is a new kind of flexible Power Flow
control device, which is distributed in substation. It has the functions of optimizing system operation, balancing
and optimizing power flow distribution, limiting overload of power flow section, suppressing power oscillation and
sub-synchronous resonance [1–5].
∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (Q. Chen).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2022.08.080
2352-4847/© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http:
//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 5th International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Green Energy,
CEEGE, 2022.
Q. Chen, C. Lu, J. Song et al. Energy Reports 8 (2022) 363–369

In order to solve the problem of uneven distribution of power flow in Hu Zhou power grid, Hu Zhou DPFC
project is constructed. The project can dynamically transfer 150 MW for Xiang Fu-Gan Quan section, maintain
stable operation of power grid after Chang Ran generating set shutdown, solve the overload problem caused by the
maintenance and faults of power transmission line, and ensure the optimal distribution of power flow [6,7].
The probability of instantaneous failure of AC overhead line is high. In order to ensure that DPFC can avoid
the influence of fault current on equipment and play the role of optimizing power flow after the instantaneous fault
disappears, the control strategy is designed according to the different fault location and type. In order to verify the
effectiveness and adaptability of DPFC in case of line failure, the single phase grounding short circuit test scheme
is designed in this paper in reference to the short circuit test scheme of voltage source converter-high voltage direct
current transmission (VSC-HVDC) and unified power flow controller (UPFC) [8–10]. In June 2021, the world’s
first artificial short-circuit test of 220 kV DPFC was successfully carried out in Huzhou, Zhejiang. The test results
show that DPFC does not affect the correct action of line protection, and quickly recovers to the pre-operation state
after the fault disappears, which plays a role in optimizing power flow distribution of power grid.

2. Design artificial short circuit test scheme

In order to solve the overload problem of Gan Quan-Xiang Fu 220 kV lines, Hu Zhou DPFC project is
constructed. 9-level DPFC subunits (a total of 54 sub-units, each with a capacity of 1.1 MVA) is installed on
Gan Xiang 2U21 line and Gan Fu 2U22 line, which is shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1. Hu Zhou DPFC project system structure diagram.

After on-site investigation, the short circuit test site is set in phase A of AC line from DPFC of Gan Xiang 2U21
line to Gan Quan Substation, which is about 6.304 km (13.1 km in length) away from Xiang Fu substation. Before
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Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of artificial short-circuit grounding test.

the test, it was confirmed that the DPFC of both lines are operating in reactance control mode, and the reactance
order is 3.53  (inductive). Then, the artificial short circuit grounding test is carried out by unmanned aerial vehicle
(UAV) which is safer than the test carried out by shooting. As is shown in Fig. 2, the UAV is connected with one
end of the metal line through the insulated flame retardant rope. By control the flight of the UAV, the metal line is
in contact with the metal tube of phase A of Gan Xiang 2U21 line to realize artificial short circuit grounding.

3. Coordination logic between DPFC and AC line protection

During start-up stage of DPFC, the CT which is series with VSC unit is used for energy fetching. During the
stable operation stage, the energy is fetched by the CT and capacitor. When the line current is lower than the
minimal value, it will cause insufficient energy fetching from CT and capacitor voltage drop. Finally it will lead to
energy fetching failure. In order to avoid this situation, this paper puts forward the corresponding control strategy
as follows:
DPFC is configured with fast overcurrent protection to protect the device. The condition of rapid overcurrent
protection in Hu Zhou DPFC project is that the peak phase current exceeds 3310 A. As the short-circuit test is
set on Gan Xiang 2U21 line, it is possible that the short-circuit current of Gan Fu 2U22 line at the moment of
short-circuit will trigger the fast overcurrent protection or not. Therefore, the results of the artificial short-circuit
test can be divided into two cases. The diagram of coordination logic between DPFC and AC line protection is
shown in Fig. 3.
Case1: the short-circuit current of Gan Fu 2U22 line triggers the fast overcurrent protection
(1) At the short circuit moment, the line current of Gan Xiang 2U21 line and Gan Fu 2U22 line trigger the
overcurrent protection of DPFC1 and DPFC2, resulting in the DPFC blocked the bypassed.
(2) The line switches at both ends of Gan Xiang 2U21 line trip.
(3) The line switches at both ends of Gan Xiang 2U21 line reclose after the short circuit occurs for around 1 s.
Due to the instantaneous short circuit, the line switches reclose successfully and the line current is recovered.
(4) After the short circuit occurs for around 1.5 s, DPFC1 and DPFC2 begin to restart. The BPS is switched off
and the subunits are energized by CT.
(5) After the short circuit occurs for around 4.5 s, the subunits of DPFC1 and DPFC2 are deblocked. Then the
status of DPFC1 and DPFC2 are recovered to the initial level.
Case2: the short-circuit current of Gan Fu 2U22 line does not trigger the fast overcurrent protection
(1) At the short circuit moment, the line current of Gan Xiang 2U21 line trigger the overcurrent protection of
DPFC1, resulting in the DPFC1 blocked the bypassed. The line current of Gan Fu 2U22 line is too low to trigger
the overcurrent protection of DPFC2. So DPFC2 is still in operation state, the control mode is unchanged, but the
control instruction value is limited to 0 due to the three-phase current imbalance.
(2) The line switches at both ends of Gan Xiang 2U21 line trip.
(3) The line switches at both ends of Gan Xiang 2U21 line reclose after the short circuit occurs for around 1 s.
Due to the instantaneous short circuit, the line switches reclose successfully and the line current is recovered.
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Fig. 3. The diagram of coordination logic between DPFC and AC line protection.

(4) After the line switches reclose for around 1 s, the control mode of DPFC2 changes from reactance control
mode to voltage control mode, and the control instruction value drops to 0.
(5) After the short circuit occurs for around 1.5 s, DPFC1 begins to restart. The BPS is switched off and the
subunits are energized by CT.
(6) After the short circuit occurs for around 4.5 s, the subunits of DPFC1 are deblocked. The control mode of
DPFC1 and DPFC2 changes to reactance control mode. Then the status of DPFC1 and DPFC2 are recovered to the
initial level.

4. Experimental results
The initial state is that DPFC1 and DPFC2 operates in reactance control mode and the control instruction value is
3.53 . At the short circuit moment, the line current of Gan Xiang 2U21 line which is close to Xiang Fu substation
is 10.7 kA, the line current of Gan Xiang 2U21 line which is close to Gan Quan substation is 16 kA and the line
current of Gan Fu 2U22 line is 2.83 kA. The line switch of Gan Xiang 2U21 line which is close to Gan Quan
substation is tripped earlier than the switch close to Xiang Fu substation. During this time, the line current of Gan
Xiang 2U21 line is 15.8 kA, and the line current of Gan Fu 2U22 line is 8.98 kA. After the short circuit occurs
for 6.51 s, DPFC1 and DPFC2 return to the initial status.
The DPFC waveforms of Gan Xiang 2U21 line and Gan Fu 2U22 line are shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The whole
short circuit process is shown as follows.
(1) Before the line switch tripped, DPFC1 and DPFC2 are blocked.
After the short circuit of Gan Xiang 2U21 line occurs, the short circuit current begins to rise. Then the fast
overcurrent protection of DPFC1 is triggered. DPFC1 is blocked and bypassed after the short circuit occurs for
2 ms. By contrast, the short circuit current of Gan Fu 2U22 line has not triggered the overcurrent protection.
However, the control construction value of DPFC2 is reduced to 0 due to that the zero sequence current exceeds
the limit.
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Fig. 4. The waveform of DPFC1 and DPFC2 (part 1).

Fig. 5. The waveform of DPFC1 and DPFC2 (part 2).

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After the short circuit occurs for 11 ms, the short circuit current of Gan Fu 2U22 line triggers the overcurrent
protection. DPFC2 is blocked and bypassed.
(2) The Gan Xiang 2U21 line switch which is close to Gan Quan substation is tripped, then the switch close to
Xiang Fu substation is tripped.
After the short circuit occurs for 40 ms, the Gan Xiang 2U21 line switch which is close to Gan Quan substation
is tripped, the phase A short circuit current of Gan Xiang 2U21 line and Gan Fu 2U22 line rises dramatically.
After the short circuit occurs for 47.6 ms, the BPS of DPFC1 is closed. After the short circuit occurs for 56.9 ms,
the BPS of DPFC2 is closed.
After the short circuit occurs for 70 ms, the Gan Xiang 2U21 line switch (phase A) which is close to Xiang Fu
substation is tripped. So the phase A current transfers from Gan Xiang 2U21 line to Gan Fu 2U22 line.
(3) The line switches on both sides of the Gan Xiang 2U21 line reclose.
After the short circuit occurs for 1.128 s, the line switches on both sides of the Gan Xiang 2U21 line reclose
and the line current recovers.
(4) DPFC1 and DPFC2 begin to restart.
After the short circuit occurs for 1.51 s, the BPS of DPFC1 and DPFC2 are switched off and the subunits are
energized by CT.
(5) DPFC1 and DPFC2 are deblocked
After the short circuit occurs for 4.69 s, the subunits of DPFC1 and DPFC2 are deblocked one by one. DPFC1
and DPFC2 operate in reactance control mode and the control instruction value is 0 .
(6) The status of DPFC1 and DPFC2 are recovered to the initial level.
After the short circuit occurs for 6.26 s, the control instruction value of both DPFC1 and DPFC2 rises at 1 pu/s
and recovers to 3.53  in 0.25 s.

5. Conclusion

In this paper, the short circuit test scheme of DPFC is proposed, the logic of the coordination between DPFC
and AC protection is introduced, and the short circuit test results of Hu Zhou DPFC project are analyzed. The test
results show that the DPFC does not affect the correct action of line protection. After the short circuit occurs for
6.51 s, the DPFC recovers to the initial state and plays an important role of optimizing power flow in the power
grid quickly.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Qian Chen: Investigation, Formal analysis, Validation, Writing – original draft. Chengyu Lu: Writing – review
& editing. Jingen Song: Data curation, Writing – review & editing. Hua Xu: Data curation, Writing – review &
editing. Wulue Pan: Writing – review & editing. Peng Qiu: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing – review &
editing, Project administration, Funding acquisition.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could
have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Data availability

No data was used for the research described in the article.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by research projects of state grid corporation of Zhe Jiang (SAP: B311DS22100 A)
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