Voltage Sag Compensation of Point of Common Coupling (PCC) Using Fault Current Limiter

Abstract

In this paper, voltage sag compensation of point of common coupling (PCC) using a new structure of fault current limiter (FCL) is proposed. The proposed structure prevents voltage sag and phase-angle jump of the substation PCC after fault occurrence. This structure has a simple control method. Using the semiconductor switch (insulated-gate bipolar transistor or gate turnoff thyristor at dc current rout leads to fast operation of the proposed FCL and, consequently, dc reactor value is reduced. On the other hand, the proposed structure reduces the total harmonic distortion on load voltage and it has low ac losses in normal operation. As a result, other feeders, which are connected to the substation PCC, will have good power quality. Analytical analysis and simulation results using PSCAD/EMTDC software and experimental results are presented to validate the effectiveness of this structure.