• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.21-25
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• 2013

In power grid, in order to level out the generation with demand, up-gradation of the system is occasionally required. This will lead to more fault current levels. However, upgrading all the protection instruments of the system is both costly and extravagant. This issue could be dominated by using Smart Fault Current Controller (SFCC). While the impact of Fault current Limiters (FCL) in various locations has been studied in different situations for years, the performance of SFCC has not been investigated extensively. In this research, SFCC which has adopted the characteristics of a full bridge thyristor rectifier with a superconducting coil is applied to three main locations such as load feeder, Bus-tie position and main feeder location and its behavior is investigated through simulation in presence and absence of small Distributed Generation unit (DG). The results show a huge difference in limiting the fault current when using SFCC.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.34-41
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• 2016

This study investigates transformer losses caused by current harmonics. Electrical transformers are designed to work under sinusoidal voltage and current waves at a rated frequency. Recently, various nonlinear loads, such as power electronic converters, are connected to a power system; these converters generate current harmonics. Current harmonics increase power loss in transformers, which results in several problems, including temperature increase of the transformer and insulation damage. These problems will eventually shorten the operational life of the transformer. In this study, different types of losses caused by current harmonics in three-phase transformers are studied under linear and nonlinear load conditions. Linear loads are simulated and experimented on using pure resistance load, whereas nonlinear loads are simulated and experimented on using a three-phase twelve-pulse thyristor full-bridge rectifier. The different types of losses in three-phase transformers are evaluated analytically through the experimental result and simulation in PSiM.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.12-15
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• 2012

This paper presents simulation and small-scale experimental tests of a fault current controller. Smart fault controller as proposed and proven conceptually in our previous work is promising technology for the smart power grid where distributed and even stochastic generation sources are prevalent and grid operations are more dynamic. Existing protection schemes simply limiting the fault current to the pre-determined set values may not show best performance and even lead to coordination failures, potentially leading to catastrophic failure. Thus, this paper designs fault current controller with a full bridge thyristor rectifier, embedding a superconducting coil for which the controller is electrically invisible during normal operation because the loss due to the coil is near-zero. When a fault occurs and the resulting current through the superconducting coil exceeds a certain value set intelligently based on the current operating condition of the grid, the magnitude of the fault current is controlled to this desired value by adjusting the firing angles of thyristors such that the overall system integrity is successfully maintained. Detailed time-domain simulations are performed and lab-scale testing circuits are built to demonstrate the desired functionality and efficacy of the proposed fault current controller.