Fault current limiters are devices that limit currents in electrical networks during a fault event, such as power lines touching or arcing due to tree branches. In this paper, two designs for small-scale saturated-core fault current limiters are discussed: one that uses DC coils to saturate the cores, and one that uses a hybrid design with DC coils and permanent magnet blocks. The hybrid design is found to meet the same performance criteria with a 50% reduction in energy consumption when compared to the DC coil only design. 1965-2012 IEEE.
Funding
Design, build and test a fault current limiter employing magnesium diboride (MgB2) superconducting coils
Knott, J. C. & Moscrop, J. W. (2013). Increasing energy efficiency of saturated-core fault current limiters with permanent magnets. IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, 49 (7), 4132-4136.