The Hybrid HVDC Breaker by ABB - The hybrid design has negligible conduction losses, while

preserving ultra-f ast current interruption capability.

http://electrical- engineering- portal.com/enhance- grid- reliability- with- hybrid- hvdc- breaker December 22, 2012
Enhance Grid Reliability With Hybrid HVDC Breaker
Content
1. Int roduct ion t o HHVDC
2. How does Hybrid HVDC Breaker work? (VIDEO)
3. Hybrid HVDC Breaker Const ruct ion
4. Proact ive cont rol
5. Prot ot ype Design Of The Hybrid HVDC Breaker
6. Comparison/Summary
Introduction
The advance of volt age source convert er-based (VSC) high-volt age direct current (HVDC)
t ransmission syst ems makes it possible t o build an HVDC grid wit h many t erminals.
Compared wit h high-volt age alt ernat ing current (AC) grids, act ive power conduct ion losses are
relatively low and react ive power conduct ion losses are zero in an HVDC grid.
This advantage makes an HVDC grid more attractive.
Figure 1 - Hybrid HVDC breaker main components
However, t he relat ively low impedance in HVDC grids is a challenge when a short circuit f ault
occurs, because t he f ault penet rat ion is much faster and deeper.
Consequent ly, f ast and reliable HVDC breakers are needed t o isolate faults and avoid a
collapse of the common HVDC grid voltage.
Furt hermore, maint aining a reasonable level of HVDC volt age is a precondit ion f or t he
convert er st at ion t o operat e normally. In order t o minimize dist urbances in convert er operat ion,
part icularly t he operat ion of st at ions not connect ed t o t he f ault y line or cable, it is necessary t o
clear t he f ault wit hin a f ew milliseconds.
Go t o Cont ent
How does Hybrid HVDC Breaker work? (VIDEO)
Cant see this video? Click here to watch it on Youtube.
Go t o Cont ent
Hybrid HVDC Breaker Construction
The hybrid HVDC breaker consist s of an additional branch, a bypass f ormed by a
semiconductor-based load commutation switch in series wit h a fast mechanical
disconnector.
The main semiconduct or-based HVDC breaker is separat ed int o several sect ions wit h individual
arrester banks dimensioned f or f ull volt age and current breaking capabilit y, whereas t he load
commut at ion swit ch mat ches lower volt age and energy capabilit y.
Af t er f ault clearance, a disconnect ing circuit breaker int errupt s t he residual current and isolat es
t he f ault y line f rom t he HVDC grid t o prot ect t he arrest er banks of t he hybrid HVDC breaker
f rom t hermal overload.
During normal operat ion
t he current will only flow
through the bypass, and
t he current in t he main
breaker is zero.
When an HVDC f ault
occurs, t he load
commut at ion swit ch
immediat ely commut at es
t he current t o t he main
HVDC breaker and t he
f ast disconnect or opens.
Wit h t he mechanical swit ch in open posit ion, t he main HVDC breaker breaks t he current .
The mechanical swit ch isolat es t he load commut at ion swit ch f rom t he primary volt age across
t he main HVDC breaker during current breaking.
Figure 2 - Proactive control of hybrid HVDC breaker. LCS denotes load commutation
switch
Thus, the required voltage rating of the load commutation switch is significantly reduced.
A successf ul commut at ion of t he line current int o t he main HVDC breaker pat h requires a
volt age rat ing of t he load commut at ion swit ch exceeding t he on-st at e volt age of t he main
HVDC breaker, which is t ypically in t he kV range f or a 320 kV HVDC breaker.
This result in t ypical on-st at e volt ages of t he load commut at ion swit ch is in t he range of
several volt s only.
The t ransf er losses of t he hybrid HVDC breaker concept are t hus signif icant ly reduced t o a
percent age of t he losses incurred by a pure semiconduct or breaker.
The mechanical swit ch opens at zero current wit h low volt age st ress, and can t hus be realized
as a disconnect or wit h a light weight cont act syst em. The f ast disconnect or will be exposed t o
t he maximum pole-t o-pole volt age def ined by t he prot ect ive level of t he arrest er banks af t er
f irst being in open posit ion while t he main HVDC breaker opens.
Thomson drives result in f ast opening t imes and compact disconnect or design using SF6 as
insulat ing media.
Go t o Cont ent
Proactive control
Proact ive cont rol of t he hybrid HVDC breaker allows it t o compensat e f or t he t ime delay of t he
f ast disconnect or, if t he opening t ime of t he disconnect or is less t han t he t ime required f or
select ive prot ect ion.
As
shown in
Figure
2,
proact ive current commut at ion is init iat ed by t he hybrid HVDC breakers built -in overcurrent
prot ect ion as soon as t he HVDC line current exceeds a cert ain overcurrent level. The main
HVDC breaker delays current breaking unt il a t rip signal of t he select ed prot ect ion is received or
t he f ault y line current is close t o t he maximum breaking current capabilit y of t he main HVDC
breaker.
To ext end t he t ime bef ore t he self -prot ect ion f unct ion of t he main HVDC breaker t rips t he
hybrid HVDC breaker, t he main HVDC breaker may operat e in current limit at ion mode prior t o
current breaking.
The main HVDC breaker controls the voltage drop across the HVDC reactor to zero t o
prevent a f urt her rise in t he line current .
Pulse mode operat ion of t he main HVDC breaker or sect ionalizing t he main HVDC breaker as
shown in Figure 2 will allow adapt ing t he volt age across t he main HVDC breaker t o t he
inst ant aneous HVDC volt age level of t he HVDC grid.
The maximum durat ion of t he current limiting mode depends on t he energy dissipat ion
capabilit y of t he arrest er banks.
On-line supervision allowing maint enance on demand is achieved by scheduled current t ransf er
of t he line current f rom t he bypass int o t he main HVDC current breaker during normal
operat ion, wit hout dist urbing or int errupt ing t he power t ransf er in t he HVDC grid.
Fast backup prot ect ion similar t o pure semiconduct or breakers is possible f or hybrid HVDC
breakers applied t o HVDC swit chyards.
Due t o t he proact ive mode, over-current s in t he line or superior swit chyard prot ect ion will
act ivat e t he current t ransf er f rom t he bypass int o t he main HVDC breaker or possible backup
breakers prior t o t he t rip signal of t he backup prot ect ion.
In t he case of a breaker f ailure, t he backup breakers are act ivat ed almost inst ant aneously,
t ypically wit hin less t han 0.2 ms. This will avoid major dist urbances in t he HVDC grid, and keep
t he required current -breaking capabilit y of t he backup breaker at reasonable values. If not
ut ilized f or backup prot ect ion, t he hybrid HVDC breakers aut omat ically ret urn t o normal
operat ion mode af t er t he f ault is cleared.
Go t o Cont ent
Prototype Design Of The Hybrid HVDC Breaker
The hybrid HVDC breaker is designed t o achieve a current breaking capabilit y of 9.0 kA in an
HVDC grid wit h rat ed volt age of 320 kV and rat ed HVDC t ransmission current of 2 kA. The
maximum current breaking capabilit y is independent of t he current rat ing and depends on t he
design of t he main HVDC breaker only.
The f ast disconnect or and main HVDC breaker are designed f or switching voltages
exceeding 1.5 p.u. in considerat ion of f ast volt age t ransient s during current breaking.
Figure 3 - Design of 80kV main HVDC breaker cell
The main
HVDC breaker
consist s of
several HVDC
breaker cells
wit h individual
arrest er banks
limit ing t he
maximum
volt age across
each cell t o a
specif ic level
during current
breaking. Each
HVDC breaker
cell cont ains
f our HVDC
breaker st acks
as shown in
Figure 3.
Two st acks are required t o break t he current in eit her current direct ion.
Each st ack is composed of up t o 20 series connect ed IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor)
HVDC breaker posit ions.
Due t o t he large di/dt st ress during current breaking, a mechanical design wit h low st ray
induct ance is required.
Applicat ion of press pack IGBTs wit h 4.5 kV volt age rat ing [6] enables a compact st ack design
and ensures a st able short circuit f ailure mode in case of individual component f ailure. Individual
RCD snubbers across each IGBT posit ion ensure equal voltage distribution during current
breaking.
Opt ically powered gat e unit s enable operat ion of t he IGBT HVDC breaker independent of
current and volt age condit ions in t he HVDC grid. A cooling syst em is not required f or t he IGBT
st acks, since t he main HVDC breaker cells are not exposed t o t he line current during normal
operat ion.
For t he design of t he auxiliary HVDC breaker, one IGBT HVDC breaker posit ion f or each current
direct ion is suf f icient t o f ulf ill t he requirement s of t he volt age rat ing.
Parallel connect ion of IGBT modules increases t he rat ed current of t he hybrid HVDC breaker.
Series connect ed, redundant IGBT HVDC breaker posit ions improve t he reliabilit y of t he
auxiliary HVDC breaker.
A mat rix of 33 IGBT positions f or each current direct ion is chosen f or t he present design.
Since t he auxiliary HVDC breaker is cont inuously exposed t o t he line current , a cooling syst em
is required.
Besides water cooling, air-forced cooling can be applied, due t o relat ively low losses in t he
range of several t ens of kW only.
Go t o Cont ent
Comparison
Exist ing mechanical HVDC breakers are capable of int errupt ing HVDC current s wit hin several
t ens of milliseconds, but t his is t oo slow t o f ulf ill t he requirement s of a reliable HVDC grid.
HVDC breakers based on semiconduct ors can easily overcome t he limit at ions of operat ing
speed, but generat e large t ransf er losses, t ypically in t he range of 30 percent of t he losses of a
volt age source convert er st at ion.
To overcome these obstacles, ABB has developed a hybrid HVDC breaker described
above.
The hybrid design has negligible conduct ion losses, while preserving ult ra-f ast current
int errupt ion capabilit y.
Go t o Cont ent
Resource: ABB Grid Systems, Technical Paper Nov2012: The Hybrid HVDC Breaker An
innovation breakthrough enabling reliable HVDC grids