Electrical Power and Energy Systems 95 (2018) 307–314

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Electrical Power and Energy Systems

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijepes

Coordination of overcurrent protection relays in networks with

superconducting fault current limiters
W. Rebizant a,⇑, K. Solak a, B. Brusilowicz a, G. Benysek b, A. Kempski b, J. Rusiński b
a
The Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wyb. Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland
b
The Faculty of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Automatics, University of Zielona Góra, ul. Licealna 9, 65-417 Zielona Góra, Poland

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The paper concerns coordination of overcurrent (OC) protection relays in power networks with supercon-
Received 21 December 2016 ducting fault current limiters (SFCL). At the beginning, information about designed SFCL and conditions
Received in revised form 4 July 2017 that ensure overcurrent protection coordination are presented. Next, settings of the overcurrent relays
Accepted 21 August 2017
were determined for a sample network with SFCL model installed. The considered HV/MV power system
was modeled in the ATP/EMTP software and the effects of OC relays coordination was analyzed. At the
end, conclusions from conducted studies and resulting guidelines for protection coordination are
Keywords:
provided.
Overcurrent protection
Protection coordination
Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Superconducting fault current limiter

1. Introduction Short-circuit impedance can also be increased by using current

The growing importance of distributed electricity generation,
as a result of the rapid development of renewable energy sources,
in many cases may cause a need to increase the transmission
capacity of the medium voltage (MV) power grid [1,2]. Direct con-
nection of a new energy source to the MV grid increases short-
circuit power at the point of common coupling (PCC), which may
cause risks for the existing technical infrastructure of the electric
power network due to the impact of thermal and dynamic effects
caused by increased values of short-circuit currents. This may be
sufficient reason for the refusal to give permission for the connec-
tion of a new generation unit to the grid, or it may necessitate addi-
tional investments in the modernization of the MV line supplied
from the substation. An alternative to the modernization of power
system is to limit the maximum values of expected short-circuit
currents [3–6]. Limiting of short-circuit currents consists in the
artificial increase of the short-circuit impedance. An application
serving this purpose is the limiter, which contains a fast fuse (so
called Is-limiter), whose operation causes a long power interrup-
tion and requires maintenance service intervention [3,6].
This article was written as part of research project GEKON2/O2/267193/13/2015.
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: waldemar.rebizant@pwr.edu.pl (W. Rebizant), krzysztof.
solak@pwr.edu.pl (K. Solak), bartosz.brusilowicz@pwr.edu.pl (B. Brusilowicz),
g.benysek@iee.uz.zgora.pl (G. Benysek), a.kempski@iee.uz.zgora.pl (A. Kempski),
j.rusinski@iee.uz.zgora.pl (J. Rusiński).
limiting reactors, which are connected in series with the protected
circuit [4,5]. The main disadvantage of this solution is a voltage
drop in normal operating state of the power system and increased
risk of overvoltages generated as short-circuit currents are
switched-off.
In recent years, in several countries, some research and techni-
cal work have led to development of the construction of more
effective superconducting fault current limiters (SFCL) [7–10].
The impedance of an SFCL is practically equal to zero in the super-
conducting state and increases rapidly after leaving the supercon-
ducting state (quench), when the short-circuit current exceeds
certain critical value [11].
The main advantage of these solutions, irrespective of the con-
struction, is the ability to return to the superconducting state in a
relatively short time after disappearance of a short-circuit without
the need for maintenance service intervention.
Zero impedance of the SFCL in the superconducting state per-
mits the exploitation of the possibilities which are created by an
increased short-circuit power (improved voltage quality and relia-
bility of the power), while the SFCL impedance after exiting the
superconducting state permits the realization of the main aim -
limiting the value of the maximum short circuit current. Therefore,
settings of preventive protections, responsive to frequency or volt-
age changes (if voltage sag is not related to the appearance of short
circuit), do not need to be changed. However, under fault condi-
tions, the exit from the superconducting state of the SFCL is an irre-
versible phenomenon as long as short-circuit conditions persist.
Since too long short-circuit duration can lead to damage of the

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijepes.2017.08.021
0142-0615/Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
308 W. Rebizant et al. / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 95 (2018) 307–314

superconducting circuit of the SFCL, thus consequently short-
circuit currents must usually be switched-off by substation circuit
breakers. Therefore, the application of an SFCL requires close corre-
lation between the critical current of the SFCL and overcurrent set-
tings of the protection devices, so that the SFCL reacts only to
short-circuit currents with values exceeding the short-time with-
stand currents of the network infrastructure elements (nearby
short-circuits), while maintaining as large as possible functionality
of the system protection.
Application of an SFCL may have positive impact on operation of
power systems. SFCL can improve voltage quality by reducing volt-
age dips [12], can be used to protect synchronization of generators
with a power system [13] or to protect generators against conse-
quences of faults [14].
The protection devices should protect components of a power
system to which they have been designed, however, often they
are also aimed at providing backup in some network configura-
tions. Such a case often occurs when power line sections are pro-
tected. Proper setting of protection devices guarantees that every
fault will be switched off, despite the failure of one of the protec-
tion relays. An SFCL installed in a specific power system node
may affect operation of not only protection device installed at
the same node but also operation of all following devices. For this
reason, presence of an SFCL should be taken into account while set-
ting all devices in order to ensure coordination of operation
between them. In literature, coordination of overcurrent protec-
tions with dependent time characteristics can be found [15–20].
However, for protection devices installed in distribution networks
independent time characteristics are quite frequently used. In this
paper, studies of coordination between overcurrent protections
with such characteristics applied in the network with an SFCL
are presented.
together, therefore they are characterized by practically identical
parameters and a good magnetic coupling. The task of the sec-
ondary winding HTS2 is to compensate the inductance of the pri-
mary winding. Thanks to this the SFCL in the superconducting
state is characterized by practically zero impedance and the super-
conducting circuit works as an air compensated reactor through
which load current flows [21]. Another advantage is also the light-
weight coreless construction, which could have important mean-
ing in the implementation of SFCLs in existing substations.
Some electrical and construction parameters of the considered
SFCL have been specified in the papers [9,10]. Based on this and
additional experimental studies of superconducting tape proper-
ties the full set of parameters necessary to build the simulation
model has been determined.
Nowadays the superconducting circuits of the SFCL system are
built with high temperature superconducting tapes (HTS). These
tapes are characterized by two basic limit parameters: the critical
temperature TC and the critical current IC (the current at which the
superconductor quenches). Fig. 2a shows a view of the test stand
used for investigation on the properties of superconducting mate-
rials, and Fig. 2b shows a sample of testing tape with a length of
10 cm. This is the tape SF-12100 produced by SuperPower
company.
The HTS tape resistance as a function of temperature is shown
in Fig. 3. After exceeding the temperature TC = 90 K this material
is quenched and the resistance of the HTS changes in practically
step mode and increases with temperature. This allows estimation

2. Superconducting fault current limiter

The model of SFCL that was investigated in the simulative way

is based on the structure described in [9,10]. This is an induction
limiter which has two superconducting windings in parallel con-
nection with the copper winding. The scheme of the SFCL is shown
in Fig. 1.
In the superconducting state the SFCL has a structure analogous
to a transformer with the primary superconducting winding con-
nected in series with the protected circuit and the secondary wind-
ing shorted. Superconducting windings HTS1 and HTS2 are wound

LCu RCu

LHTS1 RHTS1
I

LHTS2 RHTS2
cryostat
Fig. 2. Testbed to investigate the properties of superconducting tape: (a) testbed
Fig. 1. Superconducting fault current limiter. layout, (b) sample of the tested tape.
 W. Rebizant et al. / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 95 (2018) 307–314
Fig. 3. Resistance characteristics as a function of temperature for a 10 cm long HTS
sample.
of the HTS winding resistance in the simulation model after
quench.
Fig. 4 shows the current and voltage waveforms as well as the
resistance of the tested tape, illustrating the transition of the HTS
from superconducting state to a resistive state. Increasing the cur-
rent flow through the sample to above IC = 300 A results in the dis-
appearance of superconductivity. By combining the tapes in
parallel the critical current of the SFCL can be increased, depending
on the load current and expected short circuit current [21,22].
The SFCL simulating model is shown in Fig. 5. The system was
modeled as a step changing impedance when the short circuit cur-
rent exceeds the IC value, according to the relation:

0; ! ðI < IC Þ
Z SFCL ¼
ðZ HTS jjZ Cu Þ; ! ðI > IC Þ
Fig. 4. Current and voltage waveforms (a) and the resistance (b) of the HTS at
quench.
309
Fig. 5. The SFCL system simulation model.
This simplified assumption could be accepted because of very
short response time of the SFCL and the step changing transition
of the HTS from the superconducting state to the resistive state
(Fig. 3). The time of the SFCL response could be evaluated in the
range of single ms [7,23,24].
Finally, the parameters of the SFCL equivalent model deter-
mined on the basis of the literature and experimental studies are
given in Table 1.
3. Overcurrent protection
At current state of technology of the HTS tapes, obtaining higher
values of the critical current IC (by parallel tapes connecting), to
exceed values of protection relays settings, creates technological
ð1Þ
problems and may be uneconomic. Alternatively, independent
and instantaneous overcurrent protection settings adjustment
can be considered as a solution of the problem.
In the paper coordination between overcurrent protections in a
radial line with SFCL is considered.
3.1. Independent time overcurrent protection
Overcurrent relays are used as primary or backup protections
for high current short-circuits detection in medium voltage net-
works. The protection starts to operate when, in the protected cir-
cuit, the value of fault current exceeds a pre-set value. After the
prescribed time delay the protection should send a signal to trip
a breaker. When the delay is set, the speed requirement to
switch-off faults as soon as possible is not maintained, however
the delay allows for selective operation of protective devices. To
achieve coordination between OC relays, the delay values of partic-
ular devices should increase from the receiving node towards the
supplying node (Fig. 6). In practice, the time steps vary in the range
from 0.3 s to 0.7 s. Currently, the most common value is 0.3 s.
The value of trip current and the condition of protection sensi-
tivity can be determined from:
Itrip ¼ kb IL max ð2Þ
Table 1
The SFCL parameters.
IC [A] 1200
RCu [X] 0.46
LCu [mH] 16.7
RHTS [X] 117
LHTS [mH] 8.3
310 W. Rebizant et al. / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 95 (2018) 307–314

3.2. Instantaneous overcurrent protection

tA tB tC
Power A B C
system I> I> I> The trip current of instantaneous overcurrent protections is
determined with use of short-circuit calculations and is not depen-
dent upon the network load current. This protection should oper-
ate selectively, i.e. immediately switch-off short-circuit occurred
only in the protected section. The protection reach is determined
using studies of dependence of the fault current value on the loca-
t tA
tion of the fault in the protected line. The trip current level and
t tB sensitivity condition can be expressed with the following
t tC formulae:
Itrip ¼ kb If 3 ð4Þ

Fig. 6. Coordination of independent time overcurrent protection devices. Itrip < If 2 =ks ð5Þ

where kb – the safety ratio (usually from 1.2 to 1.6), If3 – three-
phase fault current at the end of the protected section, If2 – two-
tA tp tB tC phase fault current at the beginning of the protected zone, ks – sen-
Power A B C sitivity ratio (usually 1.2–1.5, in extreme cases ks = 1).
system I > I >> I> I>
Formulae (4) and (5) guarantee selectivity of the relays opera-
tion, yet only a part of the line section is protected. To achieve pro-
tection of the whole section, two-step protection should be used.
Such protection combines the instantaneous with the independent
time overcurrent functions (Fig. 7).
t tA Such a solution ensures short time of operation for faults
occurred close to the busbar where the protection device is
installed, coverage of the whole line length and selectivity of oper-
tp ation. The two-step OC protection is commonly used in most med-
ium voltage networks.
When an SFCL is installed in a network the following steps
Fig. 7. Two-step overcurrent protection. should be done:

ks ¼ If 2 =Itrip P 1:5
where kb – safety factor (usually 1.2–1.3), ILmax – maximum value of
the load current, If2 – maximum value of two-phase fault at the end
of the protected line.
In nodes where SFCL units are installed, settings of the overcur-
rent protection according to presented equations and the time
delay values should be verified. The condition (2) will not change
since it does not depend on the short-circuit current. However,
one ought to take into account that the maximum operation time
of an SFCL is quite limited (for considered SFCL it is 160 ms) and
after this time the SFCL must be disconnected/by-passed. Even if
a reduced value of time step is assumed, e.g. 120 ms (assuming
80 ms circuit breaker time and 40 ms protection own time), the
time step and operation time of SFCL will be comparable. Thus,
in such a case achieving of selectivity for independent time OC
relays may be impossible. The protected zone/distance, for the
maximum time 160 ms, will be limited to two sections only (pro-
tected line and the nearest neighboring line section).
ð3Þ – for instantaneous overcurrent protection, the trip current
should be calculated (formulae (4) and (5))
– for two-step overcurrent protection, the time step of indepen-
dent time overcurrent functions should be verified.
In networks with SFCL installed the instantaneous overcurrent
relays can easily be applied. When two-step overcurrent protec-
tions are to be used, the same problems as for independent time
OC relays can occur. The challenge is again related to limited oper-
ation time of the SFCL and problematic selection of the time steps.
4. Overcurrent protection settings determination
4.1. Medium voltage network model
Fig. 8 presents considered medium voltage network model
developed in ATP-EMTP environment. The medium voltage net-
work is connected to 115 kV subsystem (short-circuit power SSC115-
kV = 8000 MVA; Z0/Z1 = 1.5; source impedance time constant
T1 = L1/R1 = 0.1 s). In substation A HV/MV transformer is installed

SEE RA RB RC
115kV 15kV I > I >> FLA I > I >> FLB I > I >> FLC
B C D
A
tD=0,15s
iA LAB iB LBC iC LC

RL RL RL
load load load
S1 S2 S3

Fig. 8. Medium voltage network model simulated in ATP-EMTP.

 W. Rebizant et al. / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 95 (2018) 307–314 311

Table 2 4
10
Parameters of overhead lines 15 kV. 2.5
Substation A Substation B
Symmetrical component R0 [O/km] X0 [O/km] C0 [nF/km]
Zero sequence 0.59 1.55 4.09
2
Positive sequence 0.44 0.37 10.52

Fault current (A)

If3
1.5
and its parameters are: YNd11, # = 115/15.75 kV/kV, SN = 69 MVA,
uk = 11.5%, PFe = 28 kW, PCu = 300 kW. Note, that the short-circuit
power in substation A (at MV side) is equal to SSC15.75kV = 558 MVA. Settings of
1 instantaneous
At transformer MV terminals the SFCL is connected, with the fol- If2 overcurrent
lowing parameters of the unit: impedance ZSFCL = 0.6888 + j5.19 O protection
and critical current IC = 1.2 kA. It was assumed that the length of
0.5
the overhead lines LAB, LBC, LC are lAB = 10 km, lBC = 13 km, lC = 20 -
km, respectively. The parameters of overhead lines are given in
Table 2. For modeling of the lines the lumped PI model was applied
[25]. The apparent powers of particular loads are S1 = 1.66 MVA, 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
S2 = 1.36 MVA, S3 = 0.74 MVA, cosu = 0.94 (inductive). Distance to fault place (km)
2000
4.2. Protection of the network without SFCL Substation B Substation C
1800

The first simulated case was for the network without SFCL. The 1600 If3
overcurrent protection setting can be calculated using formulae (4)
Fault current (A)
1400
and (5), or they can be determined using an analysis of fault cur- If2 IC
rent values as a function of the distance to the fault place. The 1200
instantaneous overcurrent protection should not operate during
1000
three-phase faults occurred outside the protected section, and at
the same time, it should cover about 25% of the protected section 800
for two-phase faults – this ensures the coordination between the
600
relays. Fig. 9 presents the levels of three-phase (If3) and two- Settings of
instantaneous
phase (If2) fault currents as a function of the distance to the fault. 400 overcurrent
The figure was spitted into three sub-pictures for better readability protection
of the results along all the lines of the network. The highest value 200
of three-phase fault is 22.5 kA (at the busbar A). The lowest value is 0
400 A at the end of line C. The level of two-phase fault current at 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
the busbar A is 17.7 kA and at the end of the network – 314.7 A.
Distance to fault place (km)
The settings of instantaneous overcurrent relays at busbars A, B 1000
and C are also marked in Fig. 9. All the calculated values of OC relay Substation C
900
settings are given in Table 3.
800
Fault current (A)

4.3. Protection of the network with the SFCL installed 700 If3
600
The SFCL starts limiting fault currents when the current is larger If2
than the device critical current IC (see the SFCL critical current level 500
marked in the second sub-picture of Fig. 9). In the considered MV
400
network the SFCL unit was able to limit the level of three-phase
currents, provided the fault occurred at the maximum distance 300 Settings of
from busbar A amounting to 14 km, and also for two-phase faults instantaneous
200 overcurrent
at the location of up to 11 km. It means that the SFCL provides lim-
protection
iting current of faults occurred in the whole line LAB and in the part 100
of line LBC.
Fig. 10 presents the magnitudes of fault currents as a function of 0
22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42
the fault distance in the network with an SFCL. The SFCL limited Distance to fault place (km)
the current of the three-phase fault at the busbar A from 22.5 kA
to 1.75 kA (compare Figs. 9 and 10, upper parts). Similar effects Fig. 9. Fault current as a function of fault distance (network without SFCL).
are observed for two-phase faults.
Since the SFCL limits fault current at busbars A and B, thus the
instantaneous OC protection settings at A and B should be revised. Table 3
Overcurrent protection settings.
Determination of new settings of the protection at busbar A, based
on Fig. 10, is easy, while the settings of protection at busbar B Busbar Instantaneous Instantaneous Independent Time steps
should be determined with care. For the relay trip current calcu- protection protection time delay (Dt = 0.3 s)
without SFCL with SFCL protection
lated by (4) the selectivity condition is fulfilled. However, the sen-
sitivity condition (5) for two-phase faults at the beginning of the A 3000 A 1000 A 165.6 A 1.05 s
line is not met (Fig. 10, second part). It is seen that the fault current B 900 A 745 A 92.4 A 0.75 s
C 480 A 480 A 32.4 A 0.45 s
at the beginning of line LBC is smaller than the fault current
312 W. Rebizant et al. / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 95 (2018) 307–314

2000 a)
Substation A Substation B 2000
1800

(A)
phase L1
1800 phase L2
1600 If3

A
phase L3
1600

Amplitude of currents - relay R

set. inde. time prot.
Fault current (A)

1400 set. instan. prot.

If2 1400
1200
1200
1000
1000
800
800
Settings of
600 instantaneous 600
overcurrent
400 protection 400
200 200
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Distance to fault place (km)
Time (s)
1600 b) 900
Substation B Substation C

(A)
1400 800

B
IC

Amplitude of currents - relay R

1200 700
Fault current (A)

If3 phase L1
600
1000 phase L2
If2 phase L3
500 set. inde. time prot.
800
set. instan. prot.
400
600
300
Settings of
400 instantaneous
overcurrent 200
200 protection
100
0 0
10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Distance to fault place (km) Time (s)
Fig. 10. Fault current as a function of fault distance (network with the SFCL).
Fig. 11. Amplitudes of currents for two-phase fault and settings of protections at
busbar A (a) and B (b).

occurred at the distance of around 5 km from busbar B. As an effect

the relay may not react for some two-phase faults at the beginning
of the line when the fault current is limited by the SFCL.
Thus, it is suggested that the settings of the instantaneous over-
current protection at busbar B are determined in such a way so that
at least three-phase faults along possibly longest part of the line LBC
are detected (Eq. (4), with lower value of the safety factor, e.g.
kb = 1.1) and the remote busbar C is not exceeded. When the
condition (5) cannot be met, even with a lower value of the sensi-
tivity ratio ks, the support of the time-dependent OC relay function
is the only way to provide backup for two-phase faults detection.
Determined settings of the OC relays are given in Table 3, together
with the settings for the network without SFCL. Settings of the
time-dependent OC devices are the same as in network without
SFCL.
5. Simulation results
The performance of discussed overcurrent relays has been
tested with the signals generated with use of ATP-EMTP software.
Simulations without SFCL have proven that the settings of overcur-
rent relays were properly calculated and the coordination between
the relays was maintained. Results of these analysis are not dis-
cussed in the paper. Selected cases of simulations for the network
with the SFCL installed are presented below. In each presented case
the fault was incepted at t = 0.1 s. Note, that the current amplitudes
were calculated with use of orthogonal component obtained from
full-cycle FIR filters (a pair of sine and cosine ones) [26].
The first considered case is a two-phase metallic fault, located
at 0.005 pu from busbar B. The fault currents are limited by the
SFCL to the level of 700–800 A (Fig. 11). The limited currents cause
operation of the protections at busbars A and B only. Two-phase
fault at the beginning of the line LBC should cause operation of
instantaneous overcurrent protection located at substation B and
should be tripped without delay. However, in this case only the
independent time protection could detect this fault, with operation
time t = 0.75 s. One should note that this time is much longer than
the maximum operation time of the SFCL.
In the case of the three-phase fault located at 0.005 pu from
busbar B the fault current was also limited by the SFCL (Fig. 12).
Amplitudes of the currents measured were high enough to evoke
operation of the independent time overcurrent protection at bus-
bar A and the instantaneous protection at busbar B. Such operation
is desirable and correct. However, if the fault occurs closer to the
busbar C, the instantaneous protection in busbar B may maloper-
ate. This case will be similar to previously discussed two-phase
fault – there will be a problem with too short operation time of
the SFCL.
One of the characteristic parameters of the SFCL is its operation
time – the time of fault current limiting. This time for considered
SFCL amounts to 160 ms. After that time the SFCL should be dis-
 W. Rebizant et al. / Electrical Power and Energy Systems 95 (2018) 307–314 313

a) 2000 a) 2000
phase L1 phase L1
(A)

(A)
1800 phase L2 1800 phase L2
phase L3 phase L3
A

1600

A
set. inde. time prot. 1600 set. inde. time prot.
Amplitude of currents - relay R

Amplitude of currents - relay R

set. instan. prot. set. instan. prot.
1400 1400

1200 1200

1000 1000

800 800

600 600

400 400

200 200

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Time (s) Time (s)
b) b) 1400
1000

(A)
(A)

900
1200

B
phase L1
B

800

Amplitude of currents - relay R

phase L2
Amplitude of currents - relay R

1000 phase L3
700
phase L1 set. inde. time prot.
phase L2 set. instan. prot.
600 800
phase L3
500 set. inde. time prot.
set. instan. prot.
600
400

300 400

200
200
100

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2

Time (s) Time (s)

Fig. 12. Amplitude of currents for three-phase fault and settings of protections at Fig. 13. Amplitude of currents for two-phase fault and settings of protections in
busbar A (a) and B (b). busbar A (a) and B (b) – SFCL with by-pass.

connected or a by-pass should be activated. Obviously, disconnec-
tion of the SFCL will also result in disconnection of all further
located loads. Therefore, the use of a by-pass seems to be a better
solution.
Amplitudes of two-phase fault currents, occurred at 0.005 p.u.
from busbar B, measured at all busbars are presented in Fig. 13.
As previously, the fault was incepted at 0.1 s. The short-circuit
caused operation of the SFCL and limitation of the currents. For
the fault occurring close to the busbar B, the instantaneous protec-
tion should operate. In this case only the independent time OC
relay with the time delay amounting to 0.75 s was activated. After
160 ms the by-pass was activated which resulted in an increase of
the currents and exceeding of the trip settings of protections at
busbar A (malfunction) and B (correct operation). In such a case
the selectivity condition is not fulfilled. It is obvious that in order
to improve the coordination of applied protections, adaptive set-
tings or blocking of one of the relays should be applied.
tection devices. It was shown that if the SFCL may operate when a
fault occurs in the second or further protected sections this can be
a source of protection maloperation. It was found that simultaneous
ensuring of both selectivity and sensitivity of the protection in such
networks may be difficult or sometimes impossible.
Thus, it was concluded that the critical current of SFCL should
coincide with the first protected section of the considered network.
Only when such a condition is satisfied proper operation of the
overcurrent relays and their coordination can be achieved.
When the critical current of SFCL does not coincide with the
first section protected by the instantaneous OC relays, then satis-
factory solution is obtained by decreasing the protection settings
in the second protected section, in order to enhance relays sensitiv-
ity. However, this can lead to the erroneous operation when a
three-phase fault in the third section occurs. Therefore, in such a
situation the one and only way to ensure both protection selectiv-
ity and sensitivity is to use protection with adaptive settings.

Acknowledgement
6. Conclusions
The Authors gratefully acknowledge financial support of their
In this paper selected problems related to overcurrent protection research under grant GEKON2/O2/267193/13/2015.
operation were considered for the cases when superconducting fault
current limiters are introduced into the power network. Recommen-
References
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minimize the number of re-adjusted relays when adding DGs in
Electrical Engineering at the University of Zielona Gora.
interconnected power systems with a minimum value of fault current
His research focuses mainly on issues related to the use
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was awarded MSc and PhD degrees in electrical engi-
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superconducting fault current limiter. IEEE Trans Appl Supercond 2012;22(3). His field of interest is Electromagnetic Compatibility in
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electrical engineering from the University of Zielona
Góra, Zielona Góra, Poland. At present he is research
fellow at the Institute of Electrical Engineering,
Waldemar Rebizant (SM’05) was born in Wroclaw, University of Zielona Góra. His research focuses mainly
Poland, in 1966. He received his M.Sc., Ph.D. and D.Sc. on power quality, power electronics systems in power
degrees from Wroclaw University of Science and Tech- network, especially analysis and study of properties of
nology (WUST), Wroclaw, Poland in 1991, 1995 and active power compensator. He is Consultant with many
2004, respectively. In 2012 he got the professorship companies in the field power quality.
from the hands of the President of the Republic of
Poland.
Since 1991 he has been a faculty member of Electrical
Engineering Faculty at the WUST, at present at the
position of the Faculty Dean. He is also Doctor Honoris
Causa of the University of Magdeburg, Germany. In the
scope of his research interests are: digital signal pro-
cessing and artificial intelligence for power system protection. Prof. Rebizant has
published more than 180 scientific papers, is an author of 11 patents and several
patent applications. Details can be found at http://zas.pwr.edu.pl/WR.