Solid state circuit breakers for shipboard distribution systems

Abstract

The increasing need for better performance, protection, and reliability in shipboard power distribution systems, and the increasing availability of power semiconductors is generating the potential for solid state circuit breakers to replace traditional electromechanical circuit breakers. This paper reviews various solid state circuit breaker topologies that are suitable for low and medium voltage shipboard system protection. Depending on the application solid state circuit breakers can have different main circuit topologies, fault detection methods, commutation methods of power semiconductor devices, and steady state operation after tripping. This paper provides recommendations on the solid state circuit breaker topologies that provides the best performance-cost tradeoff based on the application.