A Computational Study of the Thermal Performance of a 15 kV Solid State Current Limiter Cooled by Immersion in Mineral Oil

This paper outlines the thermal performance of a unique liquid-cooled 15 kV/4000 A Solid State Fault Current Limiter (SSFCL) developed by Silicon Power of Malvern, PA with support of EPRI. The design features an extremely high power system which consumes 96 kW of power in a one phase configuration. The system is submerged in mineral oil coolant and the waste heat is dissipated by internal liquid convection and subsequently through an external radiator system driven by a centrifugal pump. This project numerically explores the effects of various design parameters on the heat dissipation and the resulting effect on the operating temperature of several components within the system.Copyright © 2008 by ASME