8th International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications
3-6, 2019
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M.Arun Bhaskar, S.Premalatha, Arjun Parameswaran,
P.Dinesh
Department of EEE, Velammal Engineering College
Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
m.arunbhaskar@gmail.com*, premsbala@gmail.com,
arjunparameswaran1998@gmail.com,
pdinesh2911@gmail.com
Abstract— There is a need to protect large wind farms from
fault conditions. The paper has a wind turbine generator system
producing power for single phase loads located at different
lengths of the transmission lines. In this paper, initially, over
current relay was used to protect the system. Over current relay
employs inverse time- current characteristics to perform the
tripping operation. Because of relay operation, the current flow is
intermittent in the lines. Further studies were done on to limit the
fault current magnitude flowing in the circuit. For this purpose,
Fault Current Limiter was used. Fault Current Limiter consists
of bridge arrangement of diodes and thyristors for normal
operation. Anti- parallel arrangement of diodes with thyristors
with a reactance limits the fault current magnitude. It was found
that by using Fault Current Limiter, the fault current magnitude
was reduced by a greater degree.
Keywords— Wind Energy Conversion Systems, Transmission
Lines, Fault Current Limiter and Single Phase Loads.
I. INTRODUCTION
Wind energy is the most sought after form of renewable
source of energy for power generation now-a-days. Its
magnitude of power generation makes it reliable for large
amount of energy generation. To maintain an uninterrupted
flow of power to the grid system wind farms or rather
individual wind mill has to be protected from any kind of
contingencies. The contingencies normally occur to wind farms
are faults, over voltage, surges and voltage sags. The effects of
faults can be effectively eliminated by using Fault Current
Limiters (FCLs) to limit the higher magnitude of fault current.
The construction of Wind Energy Conversion Systems is
studied [4]. There arise power quality issues when inter
connecting renewable energy sources to the grid [3].
Protection of grid along with Distributed Generation is
necessary [6] for situations when fault and network
disturbances occur. Protections setting for the wind inter-
connected system is discussed [12]. The principle of operating
over current relay is studied [5]. The existing relay co-
ordination techniques are briefly dealt [13]. For the proper
operation of relays, a defined operating of relays, a defined
operating time and time dial settings are presented [11]. With
dual setting for an over current relay, protection is performed
[10]. Apart from current and time in operating characteristics,
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Brasov, ROMANIA, Nov.
Subhransu Sekhar Dash
Electrical Engineering Department, Government College of
Engineering, Keonjhar, Odisha, India
munu_dash_2k@yahoo.com
voltage is also included to define the operating characteristics
[14]. For a typical grid connected wind turbine system,
protection was implemented [16]. Protection schemes were
implemented on type 1, 2, 3 and 4 wind turbine generator
systems [17]. Working of relays and positioning of Fault
Current Reactors is present [18]. The performance of R- type,
L- type and LR- type SSFCL’s when used in SMIB with an
induction generator are studied [1] and these effects on the
parameters related to wind power generation are also taken into
consideration. For proper relay co-ordinations, along with
FCLs present in the circuit, the relay constraints are calculated
and by iteration suitable sizes of FCLs are placed at desired
locations [2]. A series transformer- based solid state fault
current limiter is used [7] for a double feeder radial distribution
network to limit the fault current. Bridge- type configuration is
used along two- feeder network [8] to limit the fault current.
Another type of fault current limiter is arranged with LC tank
circuit to limit the fault current [9]. Bridge- type FCL is used to
ride- through fault in wind turbines and; the effect on voltage
and torque is also considered [15]. Relay co- ordination along
with FCL implementation when a Distributed Generation is
added to the existing system is studied [19][20].
In section 1, the construction and principle of operation of
Bridge type Fault current limiter is explained. Section 2 deals
with the modelling of the test system containing a stand alone
WECS coupled to an infinite bus. Also the performance of the
test system during fault condition is shown with results. In
section 3, the modelling of bridge type FCL in PSCAD is
shown and also the performance of the Test system with
proposed FCL during fault condition with results are explained.
Section 4, deals with the comparison of results and conlusion.
II. BRIDGE TYPE FAULT CURRENT LIMITERS
A. Construction
The bridge type Fault Current Limiter is connected to the
Power Grid through a coupling Transformer. The star
connected secondary windings (Ta, Tb, Tc) of the coupling
Transformer is connected with a Discharging Resistor (R) and
a DC Reactor (Ld). The discharging resistor is connected in
parallel with a semiconductor switch (T).
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8th International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications
Fig. 1. Bridge Type Fault Current Limiter.
Fig. 2. DC Reactor current, Terminal Voltage and Fault Current
The effect of bridge type Fault current limiter with
discharging resistor during normal and fault condition in the
Fault current, Terminal Voltage and DC reactor current values
is shown in Figure 2.
In normal operating mode, the values of DC reactor current
and terminal voltages are zero. This is due to the bypassing of
discharging resistor when the semiconductor switch (T) is
closed. Therefore, the impedance seen by the primary side of
the coupling transformer is very less.
During the fault mode, there are two operating states. In the
first state, the DC reactor current values are controlled by the
switching periods. Hence the DC reactor current value is
maintained at i1. During the second state, the DC reactor
current magnitude will increase to i2 and terminal voltage
reaches V2. To maintain the DC reactor current at a prescribed
level, the controller absorbs the energy of the DC reactor by
adjusting the switching periods. In turn the terminal voltage
can also be maintained at a predetermined level.
III. WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM
Wind turbine employed here is a horizontal axis type rotor
with a three-blade system. The mechanical speed of the turbine
is dictated by the number of pole pairs present. In this case a 5-
pole pair is chosen to meet out the rated power. The turbine is
set to generate 3 MVA power.
The generator used here is squirrel cage induction
generator. This is particularly useful for fixed speed
application. For simulation, the inputs to the turbine are the per
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unit speed, the slip to the machine until the simulation time and
the electrical torque as a negated value of mechanical torque.
The generation is taking place at a voltage level of 110 kV at a
frequency of 60 Hz. The power factor of the machine is 0.85,
efficiency at rated load is 0.985 per unit and the full load slip is
0.015 per unit. The data are based on EMTP type 40 in
PSCAD.
Fig. 3. Modelled Wind Energy Conversion System
An excitation voltage of 120kV is provided from a voltage
source to the machine. The rated apparent power of the
machine is 1kVA.
IV. TEST SYSTEM
The performance of the proposed bridge type FCL can be
tested using the system shown in Figure 3. The single line
diagram of the test system consists of a stand alone WECS
connected to the Power Grid through a bridge type FCL.
Fig. 4. Single Line Diagram of Test System
V. SEQUENCE FOR BREAKER TRIPPING
In PSCAD, an inverse time over current relay block is
present. The input signal is the current and the output signal is
the trip signal to the breaker. The relay is set with a pick- up
current of 30 Amperes with a time dial setting of 0.01 second.
The type of curve used in this relay is IEEE Std.C37.112 and
the type of characteristics is standard inverse. The sequence of
breaker tripping and subsequent re-closure for the three phases
is shown in figure 5.
The generator feeds the loads at 110kV and at 60 Hz
frequency. The generator is excited by means of a voltage
source supplying a 1kVA reactive power. Each transmission
line is separately modelled as a single-phase line using
Bergeron model. The line length of phase A is 9 kilometres
where a single-phase load of 1 Mega Watt is connected. The
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8th International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications Brasov, ROMANIA, Nov. 3-6, 2019

line length of phase B is 6 kilometres where a single-phase

load of 0.5 Mega Watt rating is connected. The line length of
phase C is 7 kilometres where a single-phase load of 1 Mega
Watt rating is connected.

Fig. 8. Breaker A tripping time

During the initial operation in phase B, the load current is

Fig. 5. Sequence for tripping the breaker
15.5 amperes. When the fault occurs at 3.5 seconds in phase B,
the current rises to 11.8142 kilo amperes. The relay senses the
fault and trips the breaker at 3.5049 seconds and recloses at
3.705 seconds. Phase B fault current waveform is shown in
figure 9. After the breaker is reclosed, the normal operation is
restored. The breaker tripping instant is shown in figure 10.

Fig. 9. Phase B fault current waveform

Fig. 6. Real power generated by the wind turbine in per unit

Here, the real power is generated as 0.89 per unit. So, with
the rated 3 MVA power, the real power produced is 2.67 MW
as shown in figure 6.A single breaker scheme is utilized here
since it is a radial system. Only, single lines to ground faults
are created. The duration of fault is 0.2 seconds.
During the initial operation in phase A, the load current is
30 amperes. When the fault occurs at 3 seconds for phase A,
the current rises to 14.9613 kilo amperes. The relay senses the
fault and trips the breaker at 3.0065 seconds and recloses at
3.29 seconds. Phase A fault current waveform is shown in
figure 7. After the breaker is reclosed, the normal operation is Fig. 10. Breaker B tripping time
restored. The tripping instant of breaker is shown in figure 8.
During the initial operation in phase C, the load current is
30 amperes. When the fault occurs at 4 seconds in phase C, the
current rises to 4.1842 kilo amperes. The relay senses the fault
and trips the breaker at 4.0050 seconds and recloses at 4.2146
seconds. Phase C fault current waveform is shown in figure 11.
After the breaker is reclosed, the normal operation is restored.

Fig. 7. Phase A fault current waveform

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The simulation diagram along with Fault Current

Limiters is shown in figure 14.

Fig. 11. Phase C fault current waveform

Fig. 14. Simulation diagram of WECS with Fault Current Limiter

Pulse Width Modulation for firing the thyristors in Bridge-

Fig. 12. Breaker C tripping time
VI. BRIDGE- TYPE FAULT CURRENT LIMITERS
The model for bridge- type fault current limiter is taken
from [8] and is shown in figure 13. Diodes 1 with thyristor 3
and diode 2 with thyristor 4 form the rectifier bridge feeding
the inductor with DC current. During fault operation, the
thyristors 3 and 4 are blocked. Thyristors 1 and 2 along with
diodes 1 and 2 form a short- circuit thereby rendering the
reactance to carry the fault current which is the AC current.
The current is thus reduced to some suitable magnitude. The
reduction in the fault current is done by the inductor present in
the circuit. The inductor values are varied to reduce the fault
current effectively.
G3a
type Fault Current Limiter
To generate PWM pulses, the comparison is made between
the reference signal which is the current quantity in this case
and the carrier signal. The carrier signal is produced as a
multiple of the reference frequency which is 60 Hertz. The
rotary switch present, as is seen in the figure 15 consists of five
steps representing the dominant harmonic numbers 5, 7, 9, 11
and 13. Any harmonic number can be chosen to be multiplied
with the reference frequency. The comparator compares these
two values. When A>B, that is the reference signal has gone
beyond the magnitude of carrier signal, the comparator fires the
thyristors 1 and 2 to turn- on to reduce the magnitude of fault
current and, thyristors 3 and 4 are turned off. When A<B, the
thyristors 1 and 2 remain in the off- state and, thyristors 3 and 4
remain in operation supplying DC current to the reactor.

For phase A, the inductance value placed in the bridge-

G3a

type FCL is 0.9 Henry. The reference signal is the measured

current quantity and the carrier frequency is a multiple of fifth
harmonic. The thyristor firing arrangement for phase A is
D1a

D2a

0.9 [H]
Iaf shown in figure 15. Similar arrangements follow for phase B
IinA
G1a G2a
IoutA
and phase C. For phase B, inductance value is 0.6 Henry and
the carrier frequency is a fifth order harmonic multiple. For
G1a

G2a

phase C, the inductance is 0.9 Henry and the carrier frequency

is a multiple of thirteenth harmonic.
G4a
G4a

Fig. 13. Typical set-up of Bridge-type Fault Current Limiter in PSCAD

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Fig. 18. Gating pulses for thyristor 3 in phase A

Fig. 15. PWM generation and subsequent generation of pulses for the
thyristors of phase A

The pulses produced due to Pulse Width Modulation

technique for thyristors 1, 2, 3 and 4 in phase A are shown in
figures 16, 17, 18 and 19 respectively.

Fig. 19. Gating pulses for thyristor 4 in phase A

The phase A current waveform after introducing Fault

Current Limiters to the circuit is shown in figure 20.

Fig. 16. Gating pulses for thyristor 1 in phase A

Fig. 20. Phase A current waveform

Fig. 17. Gating pulses for thyristor 2 in phase A

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8th International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications
TABLE I. COMPARISON TABLE FOR FAULT CURRENT MAGNITUDE BY
IMPLEMENTING FAULT CURRENT LIMITER USING DIFFERENT CONTROL
STRATEGIES
Fault Fault Current Fault Current
Current Magnitude Magnitude after using
Phases (kA) FCL Block (kA)
PHASE A 15.40 kA 1.877 kA
PHASE B 12.50 kA 4.0435 kA
PHASE C 4.20 kA 2.945 kA
When using Fault Current Limiters to reduce the magnitude
of fault current during fault instances, the fault current was
found to be reduced to a considerable value. By utilizing Fault
Ride Through technique, the fault current was drastically
reduced to that of the load current value.
VII. CONCLUSION
In this paper, a bridge type FCL is modelled and the
performance of the proposed FCL is tested with a standalone
WECS coupled to a power grid. Based on the simulation
results performed in PSCAD, the following conclusions can be
drawn:
The DC reactor in the fault current limiter can limit the
increase in fault during the instance of fault. It also prevents the
sudden voltage drop during fault instances.
It also reduces the
1) During the fault condition, the increment of the fault
current is limited by dc reactor without any delay and
smoothing the surge current waveform and prevention from
instantaneously deep voltage drop during fault.
2) Then, by controlling the duration of ON and OFF
periods of semiconductor switch generates a controllable
resistor in order to control the terminal voltage of IG at
threshold value during fault, which causes reducing the rotor
acceleration and stabilizing the system by consuming the dc
reactor energy over limiting fault current in acceptable level.
3) The simulation results shows that the bridge-type FCL is
more effective for enhancement of FRT capability
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Brasov, ROMANIA, Nov. 3-6, 2019
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