The impact of fault current limiter in power system performance

Abstract

Continues growth of electrical energy demand is resulting in a corresponding increase in the short circuit in power system. Several solutions have been implemented, including the use of Fault Current Limiter (FCL), in order to reduce circuit breakers rated capacity and to limit the electromagnetics stress in associated equipment. This project presents a comprehensive study of the impact of fault current limiter in power system performance. The FCL use for this study is solid-state type because it has advantages in term of flexibility and control over superconducting type. In order to evaluate the impact of fault current limiter in power system performance, simulation model of power system performance with solid-state FCL are used. For simulation model development, MATLAB Simulation Tools: SIMULINK software is used. A distribution system fed from single source is used to assess the impact of FCL to power system performance. The FCL is evaluated in term of its performance in limiting fault current from about 50 kA to a lower value of 1.7 kA. Results show that the solid-state FCL is effective for reducing short circuit currents up to 98% and also can be used to protect busbars from voltage sag when the system is subjected to various types of faults.