On the design of hybrid DC-breakers consisting of a mechanical switch and semiconductor devices

Abstract: The interest of using direct current in networks for both transmission and distribution of power is increasing due to the higher efficiency compared to the alternating current used today. As no natural zero crossings exist in direct current, the interruption of fault currents becomes a challenge. Several circuit breaker topologies have been proposed to fulfill the requirements for DC grids. One such topology is the hybrid DC-breaker consisting of three parallel branches: a mechanical switch, a semiconductor branch, and a metal oxide varistor.The current interruption in the hybrid DC-breaker is made in three steps. A mechanical switch carries the nominal current with low losses during normal operation. When the breaker is tripped to interrupt the current, the mechanical switch is opened and commutates the current into the semiconductor branch. This branch will then conduct the current as the mechanical switch regains its voltage withstand. The semiconductors turn off and force the current into the varistor branch where the magnetic energy is absorbed and the current is forced to zero.This thesis is based on simulations and experiments to obtain design rules for such a DC-breaker. It has been shown that several aspects needs to be considered. Simulations are performed with several different models to obtain the requirements of each of the components in the DC-breaker.First of all, the choice of the semiconductor is important. There are a number of components available in the market, but typically they are optimized for fast switching applications like inverters rather than circuit breaker applications that only requires one single switching. Due to the high current and voltage ratings and the easy control, the IGBT seems to be the best choice among the commercially available components.Simulations on the mechanical switch show that there is an optimal combination of opening time and arc voltage of the to obtain a successful commutation into the semiconductor branch. The actuator is a key component since a relatively low increase in performance of the actuator drive circuit, significantly decreases the requirement of the other components in the DC-breaker.A significant part of the work has been put on the voltage transient during the turn-off of the semiconductor. As the current is forced into the varistor branch, the stray inductance in that loop will result in an over-voltage due to the high current derivative. A new type of snubber has been investigated using another varistor mounted close to the semiconductor. It has been shown that the function of the varistor snubber can be divided into two regions depending on the ratio between the snubber and the main varistor. If the ratio is high enough, the energy absorbed in the snubber varistor is only a few percent of the total energy.