Low-Voltage Solid-State DC Breaker for Fault Protection Applications in Isolated DC Microgrid Cluster

Abstract

Due to the interconnected scheme of multiple components, such as distributed generators, storage systems, and loads through converters to a common bus in DC microgrids, the possibility of fault occurrence is increasing significantly. Meanwhile, due to the huge and rapid increase of short-circuit currents, the development of a small- and large-scale DC system requires a reliable and fast protection system to ensure fault clearance and maintain safety for the rest of the system. Thus, fault protection has been focused on as one of the most critical issues in a direct current network. The application of traditional circuit-breakers for DC fault protection has the drawback of slow operation, which requires a high rating power equipment. Recently, the high speed and excellent performance capabilities of semiconductor breakers have attracted a lot of attention and been considered as an optimal solution for fast DC fault interruption. In this study, a bidirectional Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) semiconductor breaker, suitable for the fault protection of low-voltage DC networks, is proposed. The operating characteristics of this breaker are based on changes in the circuit current and terminal voltage of IGBTs. It detects the abrupt change of the terminal voltage as an abnormal condition and isolates the faulted branch in a short time to prevent the operation disturbance in the healthy part of the network. Therefore, for the entire protection of a typical 400V DC-microgrid cluster, breakers need to be integrated and examined in each branch and the interconnected lines. The proposed protection method in this study is examined in a Simulink®/MATLAB environment to analyze and assess its operation.