Active superconducting DC fault current limiter based on flux compensation

With the extensive application of DC power systems, suppression of DC fault current is an important subject that guarantees system security. This paper presents an active superconducting DC fault current limiter (DC-SFCL) based on flux compensation. The DC-SFCL is composed of two superconducting windings wound on a single iron core, the primary winding is in series with DC power system, and the second winding is connected with AC power system through a PWM converter. In normal operating state, the flux in the iron core is compensated to zero, and the SFCL has no influence on DC power system. In the case of DC system accident, through regulating the active power exchange between the SFCL’s second winding and the AC power system, the current on the DC side can be limited to different level complying with the system demand. Moreover, the PWM converter that interface the DC system and AC system can be controlled as a reactive power source to supply voltage support for the AC side, which has little influence on the performance of SFCL. Using MATLAB SIMULINK, the mathematic model of the DC-SFCL is created, simulation results validate the dynamics of system, and the performance of DC-SFCL is confirmed.