COMPLEX SUPERCONDUCTING FAULT CURRENT LIMITER

• US 20080043382A1
• Filed: 12/27/2006
• Published: 02/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: LS Industrial Systems Company Limited
• Original Assignee: LS Industrial Systems Company Limited
• Inventors: LEE, Bang-Wook, PARK, Kwon-Bae
• Application Number:
  US11/616,458
• Publication Number:
  US 20080043382A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/19
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 3/025 Disconnection after limiting, e.g. when limiting is not sufficient or for facilitating disconnection
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 7/001 for superconducting apparatus, e.g. coils, lines, machines
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 9/023 Current limitation using superconducting elements
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 40/60 Superconducting electric elements or equipment; Power systems integrating superconducting elements or equipment

Abstract

The present invention relates to a complex superconducting fault current limiter which adds a current limiting reactor to a superconductor to protect the power line from a fault current, and more particularly, to a complex superconducting fault current limiter using a minimum number of superconducting fault current limiters, while avoiding series and parallel connections of a plurality of superconductors and coils, in order to economically manufacture the fault current limiter in a small size. A superconductor, a high speed switch, and a circuit breaker are connected in series to each other, and a first reactor with a low impedance and a second reactor with a high impedance are connected in parallel to the power line so as to provide a branch circuit for the current to the series circuit. A semiconductor switch is connected in parallel to the second reactor with a high impedance in accordance with the opening high speed switch. A circuit is breaker trip drive controller is configured so as to be connected to the superconductor and the branch circuit, and when a fault current occurs, the fault current is branched into the branch circuit, so that the second reactor limits the fault current. When a fault current occurs, the circuit breaker trip drive controller provides a trip drive signal to the circuit breaker for tripping in accordance with the voltage of the superconductor or the current of the branch circuit.

Claims

1. A complex superconducting fault current limiter comprising:

a superconductor which is connected in series to a power line;

a first switch which is connected in series to the superconductor, is closed to allow the current to flow on the power line when a normal current flows on the power line, and opened, when a large current flows on the power line, to break the power line, the first switch being opened by a magnetic force;

a first reactor which has a first impedance that is smaller than an impedance of the superconductor when a larger current flows on the power line, is connected in parallel to the superconductor, and serves as a branch path for the current flowing through the superconductor and the first switch when a larger current flows on the power line, the first reactor being magnetized by the current flowing through the branch path thus to switch the first switch to be opened;

a second reactor which is connected in series to the branch path formed by the first reactor, and has a second impedance that is larger than the first impedance of the first reactor so as to limit the large current;

a semiconductor switch which is connected in parallel to the second reactor and capable of turning on by a trigger signal; and

a trigger controller which stops sending a trigger signal to the semiconductor switch in response to the opening of the first switch.

2. The complex superconducting fault current limiter of claim 1, further comprising;

a circuit breaker which breaks the power line when a large current flows on the power line, the circuit breaker being connected to the power line behind the superconductor, the first switch and the branch path;

a current transformer which is connected to the branch path so as to detect the current flowing through the branch path, and outputs a first voltage signal corresponding to the detected current; and

a circuit breaker trip drive controller which comprises a first input that is connected to the superconductor and to which a second voltage signal corresponding to the voltage of the superconductor is input, and a second input to which a first voltage signal from the current transformer is input, and provides a trip drive signal to the circuit breaker when either the first voltage signal or the second voltage signal is input.

3. The complex superconducting fault current limiter of claim 1, wherein the trigger controller comprises an optical switch which has a light emitting part that emits an optical signal, and a light receiving part that provides the trigger signal to the semiconductor switch if the light receiving part receives the optical signal from the light emitting part when the first switch is closed, and which stops providing the trigger signal to the semiconductor switch when the first switch is opened thereby cutting the optical signal.

4. The complex superconducting fault current limiter of claim 1, wherein the trigger controller comprises a micro switch that is disposed on the way of opening position moving of the first switch so as to be interlocked to the position of the first switch, provides the trigger signal to the semiconductor switch when the first switch is closed, and when the first switch is opened, stops sending the trigger signal to the semiconductor switch.

5. The complex superconducting fault current limiter of claim 2, wherein the semiconductor switch is formed of any one of a Thyristor, a TRIAC, an IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor), a GTO Thyristor (Gate Turn-off Thyristor), an SSR (Solid State Relay), an FET (Field Effect Transistor), and a Transistor.

6. The complex superconducting fault current limiter of claim 2, wherein the circuit breaker trip drive controller is formed of an OR circuit which provides a trip drive signal to the circuit breaker, when either the first voltage signal or second voltage signal is input.

7. The complex superconducting fault current limiter of claim 2, wherein the circuit breaker trip drive controller comprises:

a first comparator which compares the first voltage signal with a predetermined first reference voltage, and outputs a corresponding signal if the first voltage signal is larger than the first reference voltage;

a second comparator which compares the second voltage signal with a predetermined second reference voltage, and outputs a corresponding signal if the second voltage signal is larger than the second reference voltage; and

an OR circuit which is connected to the outputs of the first and second comparators, and outputs a trip drive signal to the circuit breaker if the signal is input to the OR circuit from at least one of the first and second comparators.

8. The complex superconducting fault current limiter of claim 1, wherein the first switch is a normal close contact switch.

9. The complex superconducting fault current limiter of claim 1, wherein the first switch comprises a stationary contact which is connected in series to the power line between the superconductor and the circuit breaker, and the movable contact which can switch between a position in contact with the stationary contact to allow the current to flow on the power line and a position separated from the stationary contact by a magnetic force from the first reactor to break the power line.

10. A complex superconducting fault current limiter comprising:

a superconductor which is connected in series to the power line;

a first switch which is connected in series to the superconductor, is closed to allow the current to flow on the power line when a normal current flows on the power line, and opened, when a large current flows on the power line, to break the power line, the first switch being opened by a magnetic force;

a first reactor which has a first impedance that is smaller than an impedance of the superconductor when a larger current flows on the power line, is connected in parallel to the superconductor, and serves as a branch path for the current flowing through the superconductor and the first switch when a larger current flows on the power line, the first reactor being magnetized by the current flowing through the branch path thus to switch the first switch to be opened;

a second reactor which is connected in series to the branch path formed by the first reactor, and has a second impedance that is larger than the first impedance of the first reactor so as to limit the large current;

a semiconductor switch which is connected in parallel to the second reactor and capable of turning on by a trigger signal;

a trigger controller which stops sending a trigger signal to the semiconductor switch in response to the opening of the first switch;

a circuit breaker which breaks the power line when a large current flows on the power line, the circuit breaker being connected to the power line behind the superconductor, the first switch and the branch path;

a current transformer which is connected to the branch path so as to detect the current flowing through the branch path, and outputs a first voltage signal corresponding to the detected current; and

a circuit breaker trip drive controller which comprises a first input that is connected to the superconductor and to which a second voltage signal corresponding to the voltage of the superconductor is input, and a second input to which a first voltage signal from the current transformer is input, and provides a trip drive signal to the circuit breaker when either the first voltage signal or the second voltage signal is input.