A simple-structured DC solid-state circuit breaker with easy charging capability

With the development of DC distribution, DC circuit breaker is required to ensure the stability of the DC grid. Unlike a mechanical circuit breaker that blocks after several tens of milliseconds, a DC SSCB(Solid-State Circuit Breaker) can break the fault well within 1 [ms], so it can prevent the damage of accident. However, the previous DC SSCB requires a lot of switching elements for charging commutation capacitors, and the control is complicated. Therefore, this paper proposes a new DC SSCB suitable for DC grid. The proposed DC SSCB is simple to control for charging commutation capacitors, and it can perform the rapid breaking and operating duty of reclosing and rebreaking. The proposed DC SSCB was designed to 380 [V] and 5 [kW] class which is suitable for residential DC distribution, and the operating characteristics of the proposed DC SSCB were verified by simulations and experiments. It is anticipated that the proposed DC SSCB may be utilized to design and realize DC grid system. © 2017 The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers.