A Review on Hybrid Circuit Breakers for DC Applications
Ana Rafaela Figueiredo Bento, Fernando Bento, António J. Marques Cardoso
Abstract
Direct Current (DC) power system protection presents a major challenge due to its unique characteristics, namely the absence of natural zero current crossing points. Thanks to their features, DC protection devices allow the safe commutation of the fault current. Selective protection and fast fault isolation are key features that any Direct Current Circuit Breaker (DCCB) should feature, assuring minimal power outages and the effective protection of sensitive electronic components. To overcome the liabilities of mechanical circuit breakers (MCBs) and solid-state circuit breakers (SSCBs), several novel concepts of hybrid circuit breakers (HCBs) have been proposed over the years, to take advantage of the benefits of both the MCBs and SSCBs. This paper presents an up-to-date state of the art on the technologies applied to DC HCBs and describes novel HCB concepts. Design considerations, challenges and future trends are also discussed.