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A Novel Circuit Breaker Topology for DC Grid Applications

Article in International Journal of Control and Automation · October 2016

DOI: 10.14257/ijca.2016.9.10.37

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 International Journal of Control and Automation
Vol. 9, No. 10 (2016), pp.403-412
http//dx.doi.org/10.14257/ijca.2016.9.10.37

A Novel Circuit Breaker Topology for DC Grid Applications

Van-Vinh Nguyen, Ho-Ik Son, and Hak-Man Kim

Incheon National University
[email protected]

Abstract
The development of large scale direct current (DC) transmission system with high
efficiency and stability of DC grids has been studied widely. The dc circuit breaker
(DCCB) is introduced to ensure the stability of DC grids. Among different types of DCCB,

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hybrid DCCB has gained more attention. This paper proposes a novel hybrid DCCB

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topology based on inverse current injecting method. The proposed DCCB topology is able
to perform the operation duty of reclosing and rebreaking. In addition, this paper also

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considers the bidirectional topology of dc circuit breaker with bidirectional current

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breaking capability. The operating characteristics of the proposed DCCB topology are

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verified by simulations in Matlab/Simulink environment.
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Keywords: DC circuit breakers, Reclosing and rebreaking operation, Bidirectional
operation.
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1. Introduction
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In order to develop any power grid, whether ac or dc, the circuit breaker is the main
component required that can interrupt quickly and reliably to prevent damage to power
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when a fault occurs [1]. The technical challenges of dc circuit breakers for the dc grid are
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larger than the traditional ac system. It is understood that the dc fault levels very high is
caused by low dc impedances and the absence of a natural current zero-crossing point [2].
Therefore, the target of developing of a dc circuit breaker is to provide breaker with the
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ability to reduce current to zero rapidly [3-4]. Furthermore, after the initial breaking
operation by faults, it is necessary for the power grid to supply the loads as quickly as
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possible. If the duration of interruption after initial breaking operation sustains for longer
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durations, it will result in serious economic losses to the operators. Therefore, the
operating duty of the DCCB topology must be able to implement the reclosing and
rebreaking repeatedly, as mentioned in IEC-62271-100 Standard [5].
On the other hand, bidirectional topologies of DCCBs are widely applied instead of
using a single direction DCCB topologies [6]. It was explained that the output power is
controlled by charging the dc system current, thus the DCCB topology should be able to
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break the current in both the direction of forward and reverse sides [7]. In multi-terminal
DC grids during the fault, the normal power flow terminates and current from all the
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nodes flow towards the fault point. Hence, the DCCB topology must have bidirectional
current breaking capability [8]. Therefore, in order to improve the reliability of DC power
systems and to prevent damage to DC grids, a DCCB with bidirectional capability is
required.
Based on these key points, several new DCCB topologies are developed recently. In [9-
10-11], the hybrid DCCBs are proposed to achieve reclosing and rebreaking capability
because of recharging the capacitor by using an auxiliary power supply. However, those
topologies are costly for applications of DC grids. Meanwhile, the proposed solid state
DCCB topologies are improved to reclose and rebreak without using the auxiliary power

 Corresponding Author

ISSN: 2005-4297 IJCA

Copyright © 2016 SERSC
International Journal of Control and Automation
Vol. 9, No. 10 (2016)

supply, but these topologies do not have bidirectional current breaking capabilities [12-
13-14].
To overcome such drawbacks, this paper proposes a novel DCCB topology which is
not only capable of reclosing and rebreaking without using the auxiliary power supply but
also can implement bidirectional current breaking when a fault occurs. The proposed
DCCB topology and operation principle is described in Section 2 in detail. Section 3
illustrates the simulation results to verify the validity of the proposed topology in
Matlab/Simulink software. Finally, conclusions are presented in Section 4.

2. Proposed DCCB Topology

2.1. DCCB Topology Considering Unidirectional Operation
The injection current method has considered for the proposed DCCB topology.

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Basically, the main branch with a mechanical switch is for normal operation in the circuit.

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The auxiliary branch with an inductor, capacitor, and switch is to make resonance current
when the switch is turned-on. The current in the main branch can be zero by the injected

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inverse current from the resonance circuit. The DCCB topology proposed in this paper is

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based on the conventional injection current method. Figure 1 represents the simple

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structure of the DC circuit with the proposed DCCB. It is for unidirectional operation of
DCCB and consists of three mechanical switches and three thyristors. The branch with the
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resistor R1 and the switch S3 is used for recharging the capacitor C. The branch with the
resistor L2 and the switch T2 is used for reversing the polarity of the capacitor voltage.
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And the branch with resistor R2 and the thyristor T3 is to charge capacitor.
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Rs Ls S1 S2
T1
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C L1
L
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+ O
- Es
R1 S3 A
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D
L2 T2
O

R2

T3

DC Circuit Breaker
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Figure 1. Proposed DCCB Topology

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2.2. Operation Mode Considering Unidirectional Operation

The operation of the topology shown in Fig 1 can be classified as six parts. Figure 2
shows the full sequence of the operation modes in the proposed DCCB topology. The six
operation modes consists of one charging mode (t1 ~ t2), one normal mode (t2 ~ t3), two
breaking modes (t3 ~ t5), and two recharging modes (t5 ~ t7). In order to explain the
operation of the proposed DCCB topology, it is assumed that the direction of the normal
current flow is from the left to the right side. Meanwhile, a short circuit occurs at load
side.

404 Copyright © 2016 SERSC

 International Journal of Control and Automation
Vol. 9, No. 10 (2016)

Rs Ls S1 S2 Rs Ls S1 S2
T1 T1

C L1 C L1
L L
+ O + O
- Es - Es
R1 S3 A R1 S3 A
D D
L2 T2 L2 T2
R2 R2

T3 T3

(a) Mode 1 (t1 ~ t2) (b) Mode 2 (t2 ~ t3)

Rs Ls S1 S2 Rs Ls S1 S2
T1 T1

C L1 C L1

.
L L

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+ O + O
- Es - Es
R1 S3 A R1 S3 A
D D
L2 T2 L2 T2

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R2 R2

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T3 T3

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(c) Mode 3 (t3 ~ t4) (d) Mode 4 (t4 ~ t5)
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Rs Ls S1 S2 Rs Ls S1 S2
T1 T1
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C L1 C L1
L L
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+ O + O
Es Es
e
- R1 S3 A - R1 S3 A
D D
L2 T2 L2 T2
R2 R2
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T3 T3
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(e) Mode 5 (t5 ~ t6) (f) Mode 6 (t6 ~ t7)

Figure 2. Operation Modes of the Proposed DCCB Topology

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a. Mode 1 – Charging operation (t1 ~ t2)

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The capacitor in the DCCB should be pre-charged before the occurrence of the fault in
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the circuit. It means that the pre-charged capacitor of the proposed DCCB topology is
required to generate resonance current by L1 – C circuit. At this time, the injected current
into the main branch should be bigger than the fault current. During the charging mode, as
shown in Figure 2(a), the current flows through the path of T 1 – C – R2 – T3. During this
time interval, the capacitor is charged until the required voltage is achieved by turning-on
the thyristor T1. If the charging of the capacitor is finished at t2, the thyristor T1 is
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naturally turned-off.
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b. Mode 2 – Normal operation (t2 ~ t3)

In the normal mode as shown in Figure 2(b), the DC source current is flows directly to
the load through the switch S2. The capacitor voltage Vc should be kept at Vc(t2). This
ensures that its the ability to break the current cause by a short circuit fault using L1 – C
resonance current.

c. Mode 3 – Breaking operation (t3 ~ t5)

When short circuit fault occurs on load side, the fault current is increasing during the
third interval (t3 ~ t4) as shown in Figure 2(c). If the fault current is as high as a preset
reference current, the breaking mode is selected as the operation mode of the DCCB.

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Vol. 9, No. 10 (2016)

Meanwhile, if the magnitude of the fault current is smaller than the preset reference
current, the status of thyristor T1 is kept as the turned-off condition. In the breaking mode,
if the thyristor T1 is turned-on, the resonance current ic in the L1 – C circuit is increased
gradually. When the magnitude of the resonance current is equal to short circuit current is1,
the switch S2 is turned-off and all current in the circuit only flow through auxiliary branch
as shown in Figure 2(d). After that, the fault current is decreased gradually, the thyristor
T1 is naturally turned-off.

d. Mode 4 – Recharging operation (t5 ~ t7)

The recharging of the capacitor is required for reclosing and rebreaking of the DCCB
after isolating the fault current. On the other hand, the capacitor should be recharged to
the required voltage for next operation. The recharging mode is divided into two
operation modes. The capacitor is discharged until the required voltage through the

.
branch with the C – R1 – S3 as shown in Figure 2(e). However, the polarity of the

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capacitor is different from the polarity of the precharged voltage initially. Therefore, the
operation for reversing the polarity is required as shown in Figure 2(f). During the reverse

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mode, the capacitor voltage can be changed from +Vmax to –Vmax by equation (1). When

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the operation in the reverse mode is finished, the thyristor T2 is naturally turned-off.

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1
𝑉𝑐 (𝑡) = 𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 (1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝐿𝐶 𝑡)
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√
(1)
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2.3. Considering of Bidirectional Current Flow in the DCCB Operation

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Base on the unidirectional DCCB topology shows in Figure 1 with single direction, the
bidirectional DCCB topology is proposed as shown in Figure 3. Compared with the
unidirectional DCCB topology, the thyristor T1 is replaced by two pairs of thyristors.
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Figure 4(a) assumes that the fault occurs at the right side of DCCB. The normal current
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flows from the left to the right through the thyristor T1a and T1b. In contrast, Figure. 4(b)
assumes that the fault occurs at the left side of DCCB. The normal current flows from the
right to the left through the thyristor T2a and T2b. In this topology, the polarity of the
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precharged capacitor is same although the direction of the current flow for breaking is
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changed.
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Rs Ls is1 S1 is2 T2b S2

T1a C T1b L1
ic T2a
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L
+ O
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- Es
is3 R1 S3 A
D
it4 L2 T4
R2

T3

Bidirectional DC Circuit Breaker

Figure 3. Proposed Bidirectional DCCB Topology

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Vol. 9, No. 10 (2016)

a b a b
T2b S2 T2b S2
T1a C T1b L1 T1a C T1b L1
T2a T2a

a) From the left side to the right b) From the right side to the right
Figure 4. Bidirectional Current Flow in the Proposed DCCB Topology

3. Simulation Results
3.1. Test Scenario

.
In order to test the proposed DCCB topology, Figure 3 is used in the simulation and its

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parameters are shown in Table 1. The simulation is based on two scenarios such as
breaking the positive current and the negative current in bidirectional DCCB topology. In

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addition, the number of operations of the DCCB are limited to two time because it is

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enough to verify the capability of the reclosing and rebreaking. The fault condition is

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considered as the short circuit without any load.

Table 1. System Parameters

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Parameters Specification
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DC Network Voltage 100 [V]

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Interruption Current 3 [kA]
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Rs 0.001 [Ω]
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Ls 5 [uH]
C 20000 [μF]
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R1 0.5 [Ω]
m nl

R2 0.77 [Ω]
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L1 0.02 [uH]
L2 0.1 [uH]

3.2. Test of Interrupting Positive Current in Bidirectional DCCB Topology

For interrupting the positive current in the DC circuit, it is assumed that the capacitor is
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not precharged initially. The operation of the DCCB starts after a time delay of 0.05s. DC
currents in each branch and DC voltage of capacitor are represented in Figure 5 to Figure
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7. In addition, Figure 8 shows the control signals in each switch including thyristor.
During the charging mode, the charging current flows through the branch with switch S 1,
thyritosr T1a and T3. The capacitor was fully charged to 100V within 0.05s as shown in
Figure 7. The thyritosr T1a and T3 are naturally turned-off at the end of the charging mode.
As mentioned in the section 2.2, the negative capacitor voltage is required for normal
operation of the DCCB. This operation is possible by turning-on the thyristor T4 at 0.15s.
The condition of the short circuit starts right after changing the polarity of capacitor
voltage. During the normal mode, DC current can be increased on the branch with switch
S1 and S2. When the DC current reaches to the setting value for interrupting DC current,
the inverse current by L1 – C resonant circuit is injected to main circuit by turning-on
thyristor T1a and T1b. When the current on switch S2 is reduced to zero, the switch S2 is

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International Journal of Control and Automation
Vol. 9, No. 10 (2016)

turned-off. After that, the current is1 is fully interrupted within 12ms. However, the
voltage of capacitor is very high during the breaking operation and the discharging of the
capacitor is required to perform the reclosing and rebreaking capability in the next
operation. Therefore, the capacitor voltage is discharged by turning-on the switch S3 until
its voltage is equal to the required magnitude. If the operation for discharging the
capacitor voltage is finished, the reclosing and rebreaking is possible after reversing the
capacitor voltage. As a result, the sequential process of the DCCB can be repeated until
the fixed number of times.

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Figure 5. Simulation Waveform of Current Flow in the Breaking Mode
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Figure 6. Simulation Waveform of Current Flow in the Recharging Mode

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Figure 7. Simulation Waveforms of the Capacitor Voltage Vc

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(a) S1 signal (b) S2 signal (c) S3 signal

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(d) T1a signal (e) T1b signal (f) T2a signal

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(g) T2b signal (h) T3 signal (i) T4 signal
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Figure 8. Simulation of Controlling and Status Signals

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3.3 Test of Interrupting Negative Current in Bidirectional DCCB Topology
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In order to charge the capacitor in proposed DCCB, the DC source should be connected
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to left side of the DCCB as shown in Figure 3. Therefore, for interrupting the negative
current in the DC circuit, it is assumed that the capacitor is precharged to the required
voltage and the polarity of the DC source is only changed to consider negative current in
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the topology. In other words, there is no charging mode at initial time. For interrupting the
negative current, the DC currents in each branch and DC voltage of capacitor are
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represented in Figure 9 to Figure 11 and the control signals in each switch including
thyristor are shown in Figure 12. The overall operation of the DCCB is similar to the
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results in positive current. However, the inverse current is generated by turning-on

thyristors T2a and T2b. Furthermore, the direction of the injected current to the main branch
is opposite. The full sequential process of the DCCB are represented in Figure 12.
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Figure 9. Simulation Waveform of Current Flow in the Breaking Mode

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Vol. 9, No. 10 (2016)

Figure 10. Simulation Waveform of Current Flow in the Recharging Mode

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Figure 11. Simulation Waveforms of the Capacitor Voltage Vc

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(a) S1 signal (b) S2 signal (c) S3 signal

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(d) T1a signal (e) T1b signal (f) T2a signal

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(g) T2b signal (h) T3 signal (i) T4 signal

Figure 12. Simulation of Controlling and Status Signals

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4. Conclusions
This paper proposed a novel circuit breaker topology for breaking the dc fault current.
The DCCB is capable of the reclosing and rebreaking because of the recharging of the
capacitor. In addition, it is possible to interrupt the positive and negative dc fault current
in the circuit. The simulation results showed that the performances of this proposed
topology is suitable for the bidirectional operation.

Acknowledgments
This research was supported by Korea Electric Power Corporation through Korea
Electrical Engineering & Science Research Institute[grant number: R15XA03-40]

References

.
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[1] U. A. Khan, J. G. Lee, F. Amir, “A Novel Model of HVDC Hybrid-Type Superconducting Circuit
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fil O
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e
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[13] J. Y. Kim, S. S. Choi, S. M. Song, and I. D. Kim, “New DC Solid State Circuit Breaker with reclosing
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Vol. 9, No. 10 (2016)

Authors

Van-Vinh Nguyen, He received his M.S degree in Electrical

Engineering from Hanoi University of Science and Technology,
Vietnam, in 2014. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student in the Department
of Electrical Engineering, Incheon National University, Korea. His
research interests include Microgrids, LVDC and MVDC.

Ho-Ik Son, He received his B.S degree in electrical engineering

from Incheon National University, Korea in 2012. Currently, he is a

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combined master and Ph. D. student in department of Electrical
Engineering from Incheon National University. His research interests
are power system analysis, HVDC system control & protection, and

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FACTS.

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Hak-Man Kim, He received his first Ph.D. degree in Electrical
Engineering from Sungkyunkwan University, Korea in 1998 and
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received his second Ph. D. degree in Information Sciences from

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Tohoku University, Japan, in 2011, respectively. He worked for

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Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI), Korea from Oct.
1996 to Feb. 2008. Currently, he is a professor in the Department of
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Electrical Engineering, Incheon National University, Korea. His

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research interests include microgrid operation & control, DC power

systems, and FACTS.
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412 Copyright © 2016 SERSC

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