Performance Analysis of Hybrid Type HVDC Circuit Breakers in Voltage Source Converter based HVDC System

Abstract

Voltage Source Converter HVDC (VSC-HVDC) are a better alternative than conventional thyristor based HVDC systems. Unfortunately, VSC-HVDC’s full potential cannot be utilized up till now due to absence of suitable HVDC protection. Recently, hybrid HVDC circuit breakers (HDCCB) have been developed and successfully lab tested. However, their application and feasibility in VSC-HVDC needs to be investigated. In this research paper we have modelled an existing HDCCB and evaluated its impact on fault reduction and interruption in VSC-HVDC systems. The HDCCB was applied in Korean Jeju-Haenam VSC-HVDC system model and its impact was analyzed for HVDC line-to-ground and line-to-line faults. HDCCB successfully interrupted the fault current and prevented the damages to costly IGBTs and converter transformers.