Design and Analysis of Fault Current Limiter Based on Air Core Variable Series Reactor

Abstract

With the ongoing growth of the interconnected electric power systems and the increase of the short circuit current level in the power network, electric power equipment that are capable of limiting the fault current are gaining interest. Hence, this article proposes a novel fault current limiter based on air core variable series reactor (FCL-ACVSR). The proposed design limits the fault current within a short time frame (e.g., less than half a cycle), while featuring structural simplicity. It consists of two movable, coaxial, concentric air core reactors to increase the inductance of the device during the fault. At normal operating condition, the voltage drop and the reactive power consumption is minimal and therefore, the device does not impose any operational burden on the network. The structure of the proposed FCL is introduced, the operating principle is analytically explained, and finite element (FE)-based electromagnetic performance analysis is presented. Finally, FE-based simulation results are supported with detailed theoretical discussion.