Transmission line protection of VSC-HVDC systems using fault current limiters

Author(s)

Fabricio Andrade Mourinho

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Carlos.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC/SBD)
• Defense date: 2016-04-08

Examining board members

José Carlos de Melo Vieira Júnior; Ghendy Cardoso Junior; Silvio Giuseppe Di Santo

• Advisor: José Carlos de Melo Vieira Júnior

Abstract

HVDC technology based on voltage source converters, VSC-HVDC, are not yet fully disseminated and applied in Brazil, in contrast to other countries that have begun to study and widely employ this type of transmission technology. When compared with traditional HVDC systems, VSC-HVDC systems are more efficient and can overcome the challenges encountered in the conventional direct current transmission. The VSC-HVDC can be used more efficiently in the new energy networks to feed islands, integration of wind generation, renewal of lines in urban centers, multiterminal applications and connection with weak systems. Because it is a recent technology, VSC-HVDC is not yet widely adopted and a major limitation of using these systems is their weakness against faults in the DC line. In this context, fault current limiters (FCL) can be used to minimize the impact of faults. The action of the limiters is beneficial to the system during fault conditions, however, the use of protection schemes to detect the fault and extinguish the faulty condition is still required. Therefore, this work aims to propose and evaluate a new protection scheme operating in selective and reliable way for VSC-HVDC systems in the presence of FCL based in superconductor materials or inductive FCL. To reach such a goal, in this work it has been implemented four traditional DC lines protection functions, namely: directional current, differential, overcurrent with voltage restraint and traveling waves, and also proposed a new protection function, which is based on the conductance. This last protection function has presented the lowest detection time, when considering the most severe faults. In addition, it was evaluated the behavior of these functions when the system presents the FCL in series with the DC line. It has been shown that it is possible to extract the benefits of FCL without deteriorating the quality of the results of the protection functions, which increases the safety and reliability of the VSC-HVDC systems, since the impact of faults is minimized and they are identified in a short time. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/14343-0 - Protection of HVDC transmission lines based on voltage source converters by using fault current limiters
• Grantee: Fabricio Andrade Mourinho
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master