SURGE CURRENT

PROTECTION USING

SUPERCONDUCTOR

SUBMITTED TO:

SUBMITTED BY: Dr.SULABH SACHAN

CHANDRASHEKHAR MAURYA

Mrs. RUCHI YADAV 16EE13

E.E.

DEPARTMENT
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The seminar report on “SURGE CURRENT PROTECTION

USING SUPERCONDUCTOR” is outcome of guidance, moral

support and devotion bestowed on me throughout my work.

For this, I acknowledge and express my profound sense of

gratitude and thanks to everybody who have been a source of

inspiration during the seminar preparation. First, I offer our

sincere phrases of thanks with innate humility to Dr. SULABH

SACHAN (Assistant professor of EE Department) and Mrs.

RUCHI YADAV (Assistant professor of EE department ) F.E.T

MJP ROHILKHAND UNIVERSITY BAREILLY and guide

of my seminar for providing help whenever needed.

CHANDRASHEKHAR

MAURYA (16EE13)

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 CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

2. MATERIAL ISSUES

3. RESISTIVE LIMITERS

4. SUPERCONDUCTOR AS VARIABLE RESISTORS

AND SWITCHES

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5. SHIELDED CORE SCFCL

6. CONCLUSION

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7. REFERENCES

10

1. INTRODUCTION:

Damage from a short

circuit is a constant threat to any
electric power system. Insulation
damaged by aging, an accident, or
lightning strike can unloose
immense fault currents, practically
the only limit on their size being the
impedance of the system between
their location and power sources. At
their worst, faults can exceed the
largest current expected under

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normal load – the nominal current recovery of normal
by a factor of 100, producing operation after
mechanical and thermal stresses in clearing of a fault.
proportion to the square of the (v) Be capable of
current’s value. addressing tow faults
All power system within a period of 15
components must be designed to seconds.
withstand short circuit stresses for a Ideal limiters would also
certain period determined by time have to be compact, light weight,
needed for circuit breakers to inexpensive, fully automatic, and
activate (20-300 ms). The higher highly reliable besides having long
the fault currents anticipated the life.
higher will be the equipment and In the past, the customary
also the maintenance cost. So there means of limiting fault currents
obviously is a big demand for have included artificially raising
devices that, under normal impedances in the system with air-
operating conditions, would have coil reactors or with high stray
negligible influence on power impedance of transformers and
system but in case of fault will limit generators, or splitting power-grid
the prospective fault current to a artificially, to lower the number of
value close to the nominal. A power sources that could feed a
device of this kind is called fault fault current. But such measures are
current limiter. inconsistent with today’s demand
According to the for higher power quality, which
accumulated intelligence of many implies increased voltage stiffness
utility experts, an ideal fault current and strongly interconnected grids
limit would: with low impedance.
(i) Have zero impedance What is need is a device
throughout normal that normally would hardly affect a
operation power system but during a fault
(ii) Provide sufficiently would hold surge current close to
large impedance under nominal value, which is a fault
fault conditions current limiter. Until recently, most
(iii) Provide rapid fault current limiter (FCL) concepts
detection and depended on mechanical means, on
initiation of limiting the detuning of inductance-
action within less than capacitance (LC) resonance
one cycle or 16ms. circuits, or the use of strongly non-
(iv) Provide immediate linear materials other than High
(half cycle or 8ms) Temperature super conditions

44
 (HTS). None is without some able fault
drawbacks. current)
* Must be
replaced by
hands
Air-core * Proven * Entails large
reactor * voltage drop
Traditional * Causes
substantial
power loss
during
normal
operation
System * Proven * Reduces
reconfiguratio * Preferred system
1.1TRADITIONAL WAY n for fast- reliability
(bus splitting) growing * Reduces
OF FIXING FAULT
Areas operating
flexibility
CURRENT LIMITERS:
* Adds cost of
opening circuit
breakers
Device Advantages Disadvantages

Circuit-breaker * Proven * Needs zero

* Reliable current to Before examining super

break conducting fault current limiters

* some characteristics of non-linear

Performances material deserve a closer look.

limited to
100000A
* Costs a lot
and has limited
Lifetime
High- * Widely * Breeds
impedance used inefficiency in
transformer system
(high losses)
Fuse * Simple * Breaks too
often (have too
low withstand 1.2 Superconductor:

55
 Superconductors, because values for three variables so higher.
of their sharp transition from zero Outside that area, receptivity is in
resistance at normal currents to essence independent of field and
finite resistance at higher current current density as with ordinary
densities are tailor made for use in conductors.
fault current limiters. Equipped Until the discovery of high
with proper power controlled temperature superconductors (HTS)
electronics, a super conducting in 1986, the only materials known
limiter can rapidly detect a surge to super-conduct had to be cooled
and taken and can also immediately to below 23K (-2500C). The cost of
recover to normal operation after a cooling such low temperature
fault is cleared. superconductor (LTS) which is
Superconductors lose their mostly metals, alloys, and
electrical resistance below certain intermetallics, makes their use in
critical values of temperature, many possible applications
magnetic field and current density. commercially impractical. The HTS
A simplified phase diagram of a have a critical temperature in the
super conductor defines three comparatively balmy vicinity of
regions. 100 K and can be maintained at that
temperature by means of liquid
nitrogen (as opposed to helium)
cooling. The relative immaturity of
HTS materials processing and their
complex ceramic structures render
it difficult to draw them out into
long and flexible conductors.

2. MATERIAL ISSUES:

Low-temperature
In the innermost, where superconducting (LTS) wire has
values for temperature, field, and been available for several decades.
current density are low enough, the Its ac losses have been reduced by
material is in its true the development of multi filament
superconducting state and has zero wire. The diameter of the filament
resistance. In a region surrounding is on the order of 0.1µm and they
that area, resistively rises steeply as are decoupled by a highly resistive,

66
normal conducting matrix, which Essentially just three types
also serves as thermal stabilization. of HTS materials are available; all
Since any magnetic field interacts made from bismuth (BSCCO) or
only with the very thin and yttrium-cuprate (YBCO)
decoupled filaments, the ac losses compounds. They are silver
in the materials are tolerable even at sheathed wire (based on Bi 2223),
extremely low temperatures (for thin films (based on YBCO), and
LTS application, usually 4.2 K, bulk material (based on Bi 2212, Bi
boiling point of liquid helium). 2223 or YBCO). Usable in varying
Kept this cold, the specific degrees in either
heat of LTS is very low, but the materials are very poor at
current carrying capability is very conducting heat, unlike the LTS. In
high (greater than 105 ACm2). other words, hot spots don’t
Consequently, any conceivable propagate fast in the HTS, so that
SCFCL based on LTS would electrical stabilization becomes a
exceed its critical temperature major concern.
within several hundred The HTS materials with
microseconds of a fault. By the the highest critical current are
same token, the material is prone to YBCO films. They are typically,
hot spots, which some tiny 1µm thick and have a current
disturbance can trigger even at sub criticality threshold at 77K of up to
critical current values. 2000KA cm-2. But it is very
Because of such difficult to produce YBCO films
properties, LTS material is that are either long or extensive.
predestined for the fast heating Nevertheless, several groups are
resistive design. A fast homogenous developing limiters based on these
transition into the normal materials. Because of their high
conducting state is supported by critical current and the need to
excellent thermal conductivity, conserve material, any
which, together with the low economically justifiable design will
specific heat, leads to rapid perforce be of fast-heating type.
propagation of hot spots. The huge electric field-current
While there is only one density product in a fault will heat
large program left in the low the HTS to the point of normal
temperature type of SCFCL, more resistance setting in within a few
than 10 major projects are under hundred µs.
way worldwide on high temperature SCFCLs may be
type of device. The main reason is categorized as resistive or shield
the lower HTS cooling cost. core.

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3. RESISTIVE LIMITERS: field. They barely contribute to total
SCFCL impedance but dissipate

In the resistive SCFCL, the energy in superconductor, thus

super conductor is directly raising cooling costs.

connected in series with the line to In the case of a fault, the

be protected. To keep it inrush of current and magnetic field

superconducting, it is usually take the super conductor into the

immersed in a coolant that is chilled transition region, between zero

by a refrigerator. Current leads are resistance and normal resistivity.

designed to transfer as little heat as The fast rising resistance limits the

possible from the outside to the fault current to a value somewhere

coolant. between the nominal current and

In normal operation, the whatever fault current otherwise

current and its magnetic field can would ensue. After some time,

vary, but temperature is held perhaps a tenth of a second, a

constant. The cross section of super breaker will interrupt the current.

conductor is such as to let it stay The behavior of resistive

below critical current density. Since fault current limiter is largely

its receptivity is zero in this regime; determined by the length of the

the impedance of the SCFCL is superconductor and the type of

negligible and does not interfere material used for it.

with the network. All the same, the

superconductor’s impedance is truly
zero only for dc currents. The more
common ac applications are
affected by two factors. First, the
finite length of the conductor
produces a finite reactance, which,
however, can be kept low by special
conductor architecture. Second, a
superconductor is not loss free in ac
operation, the magnetic ac field
4. SUPERCONDUCTORS
generated by the current produces
AS VARIABLE
so called ac losses--basically just
eddy current losses. These are
RESISTORS AND
heavily influenced by the geometry SWITCHES:
of the conductor, and can be
reduced by decreasing the Several anisotropic high
conductor dimension transverse to temperature superconductor show
the direction of local magnetic critical current densities which are

88
strongly dependent on the direction
of an applied external magnetic
field. The resistance of a sample
can change by several orders of
magnitude by applying a magnetic
field.
The current carrying
capability of both low temperature
and high temperature super
Fig. 1. Definition of axes, current
conductors decreases with the
application of a magnetic field. and field direction for an HTS

Some anisotropic high temperature conductor

superconductors, in particular the
influenced by the applied external
bismuth and thallium based
magnetic field. However, if the
superconductors, show a resistance
magnetic field is perpendicular to
that is highly dependent on the
the ab plane, a steep exponential
amplitude and direction of the
reduction with field in the critical
applied field [1]-[3]. In general, this
current density is observed.
feature is undesirable, because the
By rotating a HTS wire
current carrying capability and,
sample along a-axis in a constant
therefore the stability margin are
magnetic field, the voltage varies as
lowered even by the self field of the
a function of angle, as shown in
current in the superconductor.
Fig.2.

Resistance Field Dependence of

HTS Wires
Anisotropic HTS materials
show a dependence of the critical
current density, and therefore the
resistivity, on the direction of the
applied magnetic field. With
reference to Fig.1, if magnetic field
is parallel to the basal ab plane, the
critical current density is little

Fig. 2. Voltage drop in a

BSCCO sample as a function of
external magnetic field angle

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 The measured voltage drop
is directly proportional to the
resistance of the samples because
the current is constant.
resistance of the sample shows, to a
first approximation, a sinusoidal
dependence on angle, which is
formed by the c axis and the
direction of the external field. The
sample resistivity is the highest,
when the field is parallel to the c
axis ( = 0).
While the voltage drop and
resistance values of the samples
shown in Fig.2 (measurements
made at 75k. Test sample was 1 cm
long BSCCO tape with a silver
sheath) are rather modest, larger
values can be achieved with longer
sample lengths. The
characteristic of thallium based
short sample is shown in Fig.3 for a
field of variable strength parallel to
the c-axis.
Fig. 3. Voltage-current
relationship for a thallium based
sample with the external field as a
variable.
The sample, which is
commercially available, is 10cm
long and is formed in a meander
The line fashion. The superconductor is
T12212 on a Lanthanum
Aluminates substrate. The figure
clearly shows that, with increasing
magnetic field, the critical current
of sample decreases. While sample
can carry a current of 0.4A in
superconducting state with no
background field, the current
carrying capability is reduced to
0.1A with an applied external field
of 200 Gausses. The resistance of
the sample in flux flow state is
limited by the resistivity of the
sheath or substrate material. The
resistivity of sheath or substrate
V-1 material should be high to achieve a
large resistance ratio between the
resistive and the superconducting
state.
Use of field dependent
resistor in the form of a variable
resistor and switch can be used for
fault current limiters.
A natural application of
the low and high resistance state of
a HTS wire is as a fault current
limiter. A fault current limiter is a
device that reduces current in short
circuit in an ac system to a
determined allowable lower value.
During normal operation the HTS
wire, installed in each phase of a
power system has no external field
applied. The resistance values of
the super conducting wire is
extremely low. If a fault occurs in
10
10
the system, the fault current is superconductor is connected in the
sensed and background field for the line not galvanic ally but
HTS wire is turned on, which magnetically. The device’s primary
results in a resistance increase in coil is normal conducting and
the circuit and in a reduction of the connected in series to the line to be
fault current. A simplified in protected, while the secondary side
diagram of a fault current limiter is is superconducting and shorted.
given below. (Because of the inductive coupling
between the line and
superconductor the device is
sometimes also called an inductive
SCFCL).

Included in the figure is a

current sensing unit which
measures the initial current rise of
the fault current and triggers the
current flows for the background
magnet. Controlling the value of the
background field adjusts the
resistance of the superconducting
wire and the fault current level. Depending on the turn ratio
between primary and secondary
side, the nominal current and
voltage will be transformed to the

5. THE SHIELDED CORE secondary side as the product of

turn-ratio and current and ratio of
SCFCL:
voltage to turn ratio. The
superconductor on the secondary
The shielded-core fault
has to be designed for these values.
current limiter, basically a shorted
transformer, is the other basic
category of SCFCLs. Here, the

11
11
 Assuming an ideal
transformer, the shielded-core
SCFCL will behave exactly like a
resistive SCFCL. Since the turns of
the secondary winding may be far
fewer than on the primary winding,
only short superconductors are
needed and the total voltage drop in
the cryogenic part of the device is
small. In most approaches, in fact,
there is just one secondary turn--
that is, the superconducting winding
is a tube as shown in figure.

6. CONCLUSION:

The purpose of this report

was the study of surge current
In normal operation the
protection using superconductors.
shielding effect of the
The SCFCL offers efficient
superconductor prevents the
advantages to power system and
magnetic flux produced by the
opens up a major application for
primary winding from entering the
super conducting materials.
iron core. During a fault, the large
increase in induced current, due to
primary winding current, exceeds
the critical current of the
superconductor. The shielding
effect is destroyed as flux enters the
iron core, resulting in the insertion
of a large current impedance into
the line to be protected.

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7. REFERENCES

1) www.superconductors.co

2) KE Gray, DE

flower-“superconducting

fault current limiter”

3) IEEE transaction on

Applied superconductivity

– vol.3, march 1997

4) www.ieee.org

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