This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been

fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
10.1109/TASC.2014.2364916, IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity
4LOr3A-01 1

Resistive Superconducting Fault Current

Limiters are becoming a Mature Technology
J. Bock, A. Hobl, J. Schramm, S. Krämer, C. Jänke

Abstract — Resistive superconducting fault current limiters Table I shows medium voltage rSFCL systems with coated
(rSFCL) are reliably reacting devices and excellent means to conductor tapes, which have been designed and built by NSC.
overcome issues of higher short circuit current levels resulting These projects cover developing steps towards a modular
from added electricity generation and more interconnected
design of resistive SFCLs which are independent of the cc-
networks. Due to the strong impedance increase of the
superconductor components initiated by a fault and the very low tape manufacturer.
reactance under all operating conditions the rSFCL technology is TABLE I
ideal for protection of electricity grids. Several rSFCL systems
BREAKDOWN of NEXANS cc-TAPE-BASED rSFCLs
based on different superconductor materials have been designed,
built, tested, and commissioned by Nexans SuperConductors at Parameter ENSYSTROB ECCOFLOW AmpaCity
distribution grids of several DNOs and also two times at a power
plant. A recently built system is operating together with a HTS Rated Voltage Ur, kV 12 24 12
cable to supply up to 40 MVA on 10 kV enabling a very compact
cable design. First market opportunities for medium voltage Rated Current Ir, A 565 1005 2300
SFCLs have been identified and fully commercial projects Prospective peak current
63 25.57 50
targeting at permanent installations are now becoming reality. ipeak, kA
Different development stages leading from first trial devices to
First peak limiting ip, kA 16.3 10.8 11.5
real commercial systems are presented including further
necessary steps for SFCLs getting close to serial production. Limitation time, ms 120 1000 100

Index Terms— superconducting fault current limiter, SFCL,
YBCO coated conductor tape, limiting behavior, first grid The modular standardized design of components and the
installations experience from several devices built have led to a continuous
improvement of Nexans’ SFCLs. The latest two devices under
construction are for a costumer in the UK and are intended for
I. INTRODUCTION permanent installation. Some key facts are listed in table II.
Superconducting fault current limiters of the resistive type TABLE II
(rSFCLs) have seen a remarkable progress during the last few NEXANS cc-TAPE-BASED rSFCLs under construction
years [1]-[7]. Opening of the market has been achieved with
Parameter Chester Street Bournville
first commercial devices built on the basis of BSCCO bulk
coils by Nexans SuperConductors (NSC) [1], [3]. Especially Rated Voltage Ur, kV 12 12
since first coated conductors (cc) tapes (based on YBCO or
REBCO) are available in sufficient qualities and quantities to Rated Current Ir, A 1600 1050
allow full-size devices to be built, a broader market entry Prospective peak current
20 21
ipeak, kA
becomes possible [8], [9]. Medium [6], [10], [11] and high
voltage [7] rSFCLs have been developed and tested in several First peak limiting ip, kA 9.9 7.7
laboratories. Some medium voltage rSFCLs have also Limitation time, ms 100 100
undergone rigorous field testing and have shown availability
and reliability during every-day operation in distribution [1],
[4] or power plant auxiliary supply [6] grids.
II. WORKING PRINCIPLE
This work was supported partly by the German government, Grant Nr. rSFCLs have the unique characteristics of almost zero
03ET1055D (AmpaCity) and partly by the European Commission
(ECCOFLOW) Grant No. 241285
impedance under normal operating conditions and high
Corresponding author: A. Hobl is with Nexans SuperConductors GmbH, impedance at fault conditions. An overview on all aspects of
Hürth, Germany, e-mail: Achim.Hobl@nexans.com J .Bock, J .Schramm and development and application of SFCLs is given in [2]. Several
S. Krämer are with Nexans SuperConductors as well, emails: principles have been developed, inductive types, “saturated
Joachim.Bock@nexans.com, Judith.Schramm@nexans.com,
Simon.Kraemer@nexans.com, C. Jänke has been with Nexans
iron core” or “shielded iron core”. Compact and efficient
SuperConductors as well during the work reported here. SFCLs based upon the resistive type have been demonstrated
in several real grid installations.

1051-8223 (c) 2013 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See
http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
10.1109/TASC.2014.2364916, IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity
4LOr3A-01 2

The working principle of rSFCLs is based on the nonlinear associated with short circuits. Only if needed in the fault case,
voltage-current-characteristic in the superconductor material the impedance is ramped up instantaneously and protects the
U ~ ( I )n grid and the equipment from possible damages of a too high
Ic
of the form , where Ic is the critical current of the short circuit power.
superconductor, defined as the current, at which 1 µV voltage
drop per cm superconductor length is reached. The exponent n
is usually between 5 and 50 for typical High Temperature
Superconductors (HTS) and differs with the material type and
conductor performance [12].

Fig. 2. prospective and limited current during a short-circuit event

In contrast to inductive current limiting concepts, like e.g. the

Fig. 1. current – voltage characteristics of a superconductor compared to a
normal conductor
In case of a short circuit the current increases and the voltage
follows this power law in a way that the resistance of the
material rises several orders of magnitude until the material
completely leaves the superconductor state and behaves like a
normal resistor with a proportional current-voltage-law (Fig.
1). During the arising resistance associated heating starts and
brings the superconductor above its critical temperature within
a few ms. This accelerates the transition and the non
superconducting state is reached even faster.
saturated iron core, only the resistive SFCL also minimises the
phase shift between current and voltage during a short circuit.
This effect strongly reduces the stress and the requirements on
the circuit breakers. In any case, all circuit breakers, busses
and cables downstream of a limiter can have much lower
ratings and equipment cost can be saved significantly.
Especially high savings are expected for power plant
installations when building new blocks or expanding existing
equipment.
An interesting aspect of using SFCLs also is that equipment
can be operated closer to its limits and therefore more
headroom at the substation is provided, e.g. for further
integration of distributed generation. All in all investment can
be suspended or shifted by installing a SFCL [13].

After the first half cycle a further heating of the material in the
normal conducting state leads to a further increasing resistance IV. GRID TYPE APPLICATIONS
and a decrease of the limited current (Fig. 2). This phase
change of the material and the transition from the SFCLs as versatile devices for fault current management can
superconducting to the normal conducting regime is called a be applied at different positions within a typical grid, as shown
“quench”. The rSFCLs make use of this transition: The normal in Fig. 3 [14], [15].
amplitude of the rated current is below the critical current I c
and the quench is triggered by the high current occurring
during a short circuit event.

III. BEHAVIOUR IN THE GRID

The typical limiting behaviour of the rSFCL is shown in Fig 2,
the dashed red line marks the prospective current flowing
without limiter. The solid green line denotes the limited
current and shows effective and reliable limitation already in
Fig. 3. grid installations of SFCLs
the first half cycle. The symmetrical waveform in the
following half cycles, denominated as follow current, shows
1) Feeder Application
the almost purely resistive behaviour of the limiter. The Depending on the protective function, the rSFCL can be used
amplitude of the follow current can be adapted by selection of
either in incoming feeders, e.g. as transformer feeder, or in the
appropriate materials.
outgoing feeders. This in-line application protects all elements
The rSFCL technology enables new innovative grid structures. downstream of the point of installation. Obviously, the rating
It offers for the first time the advantage to design grids with of the device changes according to the chosen position.
very low impedance, e.g. due to grid coupling or caused by
low impedance equipment, without the risks for such networks

1051-8223 (c) 2013 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See
http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
10.1109/TASC.2014.2364916, IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity
4LOr3A-01 3

2) Busbar Coupling
The rSFCL is especially advantageous for busbar couplings, as
fully redundant feed-in is possible without a normally
associated increase in short-circuit currents. In case of a fault,
the limiter ensures that the short-circuit contribution from the
un-faulted bus is strongly reduced. Even more, the un-faulted
side can maintain almost stable voltage and operation [15]. An
additional advantage for busbar coupling is that under normal
operating conditions substantial load levelling can be reached
resulting in lower operational losses and less stress for the
equipment.

V. SYSTEM DESIGN
Fig. 5. SFCL 12-2400 for the AmpaCity Project
The system design for rSFCLs as standard devices must take
into account various requirements. The main challenge is to
achieve standard components allowing different rated currents, VI. SYSTEM TESTING
different voltage levels and also integrating cc-tapes from
As standards for testing of SFCLs are not available yet,
varying sources of supply. NSC developed a component
distinguished efforts are undertaken by the activity of the
concept, where the cc-tapes are arranged in a multifilar
CIGRE working groups D.1.38 “Emerging Test Techniques
winding allowing a space-saving setup. The components are
Common to High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) Power
connected in stacks to a very compact module equivalent to
Applications” and the IEEE Working Group P37.302 on Fault
one phase of the rSFCL.
Current Limiter which develops a comprehensive guide for the
testing procedure. All SFCL devices put to the grid have been
type tested in certified test labs before. However, today only
the dielectric tests can be referenced to international IEC
norms.
In addition, there are two extreme, demanding scenarios for
the cc-tapes regarding the prospective currents: Very high
prospective currents lead to high peak forces and large
temperature time-gradients. On the other hand, low
prospective currents, as they appear at high impedance faults,
only slightly above the average critical current of the
superconductor, can lead to a dangerous situation if only parts
of the superconductor material quenches.

Fig. 4. 3D-CAD model: module of series-connected limiter components.

Different designs for the cryostat have been successfully

utilized like all three phases in one common nitrogen vessel
for maximum simplicity of cryostat assembly, or three
separate vessels, each for one phase, but housed in one
common vacuum tank. The mostly applied design employs
three single-insulated cryostats. In this design, which has also
been used for the AmpaCity SFCL device (Fig. 5), three
nitrogen vessels are connected both at the bottom in the liquid
phase and at the top for exchange in the gaseous phase to
ensure equal liquid nitrogen levels. The cryostats can be
Fig. 6. Effect of a partial load on a single component. The critical current of
arranged side by side or in a triangle setting. The limiter this component is about 1750 A.
modules are suspended from the lid of the nitrogen vessels and
centered at the bottom. The current leads between the module The evolution of a quench caused by a low prospective short
and the cables outside the cryostat are designed for plug-in circuit current is shown in Fig. 6. The voltage (dashed line) is
into encapsulated medium voltage connectors and are developing slowly and goes back to zero during the first half
subjected to a dielectric acceptance test before mounting. cycles. Effective current limitation starts only after about 30
ms which is in contrast to limitation within about

1051-8223 (c) 2013 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See
http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
10.1109/TASC.2014.2364916, IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity
4LOr3A-01
2 ms in case of high prospective current events.
Especially the sections with low Ic are affected by events
caused by low prospective currents, because the current will
not be limited by only short sections going into the quench.
NSC has put special effort in investigating this latter regime,
and has developed components which are able to withstand
low prospective currents and partial loads.
Type testing of an SFCL includes the dielectric and the
limiting properties of the device at a certified laboratory. The
result of the limitation test for the AmpaCity rSFCL, which
was performed at the IPH institute in Berlin, is given in Fig. 7.
Prospective and limited currents - AmpaCity
60000
40000
20000
Current [A]
0 iL3
0.29 0.3 0.31 0.32 0.33 0.34 0.35
-20000
-40000
-60000
Time [s]
Fig. 7. Limitation of full system during type testing
VII. CONCLUSION
During the last seven years NSC has proven the viability of
SFCLs from the basic superconductor material to the complete
system. Starting with devices based on BSCCO bulk
components, several systems have been put to the distribution
grid in UK and to a power station in Germany and were
successfully field tested during time periods of more than a
year.
Most recently SFCLs using YBCO cc tapes with strong
limitation have been engineered, produced, type- and field
tested under different conditions. The latest two rSFCL
systems, under construction for a customer in UK, are planned
as a permanent installation for continuous operation.
The technology provides the exceptional possibility to design
new innovative grid structures: The grid can have very low
impedance, e.g. by grid coupling or low impedance
equipment, but without the risk associated to high short circuit
power.
With a resistive SFCL in the line, the limiter minimises the
phase shift between current and voltage during a short circuit,
an effect which strongly reduces the stress and requirements
on the circuit breakers in line, because the current and voltage
are zero almost simultaneously. All circuit breakers, busses
and cables downstream of a limiter can have much lower
ratings and significant equipment cost can be saved. For e.g.
the power plant installation this is attractive in the case of
building new blocks or extending the existing ones. An
interesting aspect of using rSFCLs is also that in case of
equipment loaded close to its operating limits, investment can
1051-8223 (c) 2013 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See
http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
4
be shifted by temporarily installing an rSFCL.
The present movement in the power generation towards
distributed and renewable energies leads to a fundamental
downsizing of average power generation units. Where the
integration of distributed generation meets existing grids and
leads to excessive short circuit overloading, rSFCLs can be a
very promising solution: Most generation units are able to
supply directly into the medium voltage grid, but that would
need a higher short-circuit capability than in many cases
available, especially for units where the connection is not or
cannot be made through power electronic interfaces. The
typical solution is the connection to the high voltage grid with
the need for a separate and expensive transformer with
considerable additional cost for breakers, cables, and civil
works. An alternative solution would be the integration via
SFCLs.
All field tests realized today are on the medium voltage level.
iL1 However, due to the high performance of rSFCLs in these first
iL2
grid installations, large interest is seen to integrate such
0.36 0.37 0.38 iL1, lim devices also into high voltage grids. Here the fault is a major
iL2, lim
iL3, lim concern since fault current levels actually approach the
interruption capacity of installed circuit breakers.
REFERENCES
[1] J. Bock, F. Breuer, H. Walter, S. Elschner, M. Kleimaier, R. Kreutz, M.
Noe: “CURL 10: Development and Field-Test of a 10 kV /10 MVA
Resistive Current Limiter Based on Bulk MCP-BSCCO 2212”, Appl.
Supercond. IEEE Trans.. Vol. 15, pp. 1955-1960, June 2005
[2] M. Noe, M. Steurer, “High-temperature superconductor fault current
limiters: concepts, applications, and development status” Supercond. Sci.
Tech. Vol. 20, pp. R15-R29, March 2007
[3] R. Dommerque, S. Krämer, A. Hobl, R. Böhm, M. Bludau, J. Bock, D.
Klaus, H. Piereder, A. Wilson, T. Krüger, G. Pfeiffer, K. Pfeiffer, S.
Elschner, “Medium Voltage Superconducting Fault-Current Limiters -
Production and Tests”, Supercond. Sci. Tech., Vol. 23 034020 (6pp).
March 2010.
[4] D. Klaus, A. Wilson, R. Dommerque, J.Bock, D. J. J. McWilliam, A.
Creighton, “Fault Limiting Technology Trials in Distribution Networks.”
20th International Conference on Electricity Distribution, Prague, 8-11
June 2009, Paper 0140.
[5] J. Bock, R. Dommerque, S. Elschner, A. Hobl, and M. O. Rikel, “Melt-
cast Bi-HTS for fault current limiting devices”, presented at
PASREG10, Washington, July 2010.
[6] S. Elschner, A. Kudymow, J. Brand, S. Fink, W. Goldacker, F. Grilli, M.
Noe, M. Vojenciak, A. Hobl, M.Bludau, C. Jänke, S. Krämer, J. Bock,
“ENSYSTROB – Design, manufacturing and test of a 3-phase resistive
fault current limiter based on coated conductors for medium voltage
application”, Physica C, Vol. 482, p.98, 2012
[7] H. –P. Kraemer, W. Schmidt, H. Cai, B. Gamble, D. Madura, T.
MacDonald, J. McNamara, W. Romanosky, G. Snitchler, N. Lallouet, F.
Schmidt, S. Ahmed, “Superconducting Fault Current Limiter for
Transmission Voltage”, Physics Procedia, Volume 36, 2012, Pages 921-
926, ISSN 1875-3892,. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/
pii/S1875389212021670)
[8] A. Hobl, S. Elschner, J. Bock, S. Krämer, C. Jänke, J. Schramm,
“Superconducting fault current limiter – a new tool for the ‘grid of the
future’ “, CIRED 2012, Lisbon
[9] J. Bock, A. Hobl, J. Schramm, „Superconducting Fault Current
Limiters – a New Device for Future Smart Grids“, CICED 2012,
Shanghai
[10] M. Noe, A. Hobl, P. Tixador, L. Martini and B. Dutoit, “Conceptual
Design of a 24 kV, 1 kA Resistive Superconducting Fault Current
Limiter”, IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, Volume:
22, Issue: 3, June 2012
[11] L. Martini, M. Bocchi, M. Ascade, A. Valzasina, V. Rossi, G. Angeli,
“Development, Testing and Installation of a Superconducting Fault
This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
10.1109/TASC.2014.2364916, IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity
4LOr3A-01 5

Current Limiter for Medium Voltage Distribution Networks”,

SUPERCONDUCTIVITY CENTENNIAL Conference 2011
[12] T. Matsushita, “Flux Pinning in Superconductors”, Springer Verlag
2007, ISBN 978-3-540-44514-2
[13] J. McCall, N. Reddy, J. Bock, A. Hobl, J. Schramm, “Resistive
Superconductor Fault Current Limiter Design and Application for
Extending Critical Asset Life”, 2013 CIGRÉ Canada Conference,
Calgary, Alberta, September 9 - 11, 2013
[14] Lin Ye, M. Majoros, T. Coombs, A.M. Campbell, “System Studies of the
Superconducting Fault Current Limiter in Electrical Distribution
Grids”, Applied Superconductivity, IEEE Transactions on (Volume:17,
Issue: 2 )
[15] A. Morandi, “State of the art of superconducting fault current limiters
and their application to the electric power system”, Physica C: Vol. 484,
p. 242, 2013

1051-8223 (c) 2013 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See
http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.