Analysis model development and specification proposal of hybrid Superconducting Fault Current Limiter (SFCL)

Concentrated power demand can cause a fault current problem in a real power system. The Superconducting Fault Current Limiter (SFCL) application is one of the solutions for this problem. At present, many projects for the development of SFCLs are being done actively throughout the world. In Korea, LS Industrial Systems Co., Ltd. (LSIS) and the Korea Electric Power Research Institute (KEPRI) are jointly developing a 22.9 kV hybrid SFCL. It will be installed onto the Icheon 154 kV substation for an actual distribution power system operation in 2010. It is very important to carry out some feasibility studies for the application of SFCLs to the real power system. For the accuracy of the results of these studies, it is necessary to develop an analysis model which considers the real operating mechanism of the SFCLs. In this paper, we developed an SFCL analysis model using the PSCAD/EMTDC program, which is commonly used in the transient analysis of power systems. The developed model realizes the operating mechanisms of the SFCL, including the superconductor quenching property, for fault current and temperature, based on the experimental data from the 22.9 kV SFCL being developed by LSIS and KEPRI in Korea. This paper then conducts a technical analysis using the model and proposes specifications for the Current Limiting Resistor/Reactor (CLR) used for applying the SFCL to a real distribution power system in Korea.