Developing a new fault location topology for DC microgrid systems

Abstract

A new fault location topology implemented in DC microgrid systems is presented in this paper. Due to existing high level fault current in DC microgrids, the detection, isolation, and location of faults are in great degrees of importance. The main structure of proposing fault location unit is an H-bridge controlled by control electronic platform. Based on the selective switching frequency of the semiconductor switches and the amplitude of input DC voltage, the proposed scheme can be used in structurally different microgrids. Low cost design, portability, simple structure, high performance and the acceptable accuracy of the output voltage are the main advantages of the proposed method. The error estimation of the presenting topology in terms of fault position and fault resistance is compared with lastly reported methods. The correctness of the proposed fault location topology is verified through computer simulation.