A comparison between moving magnet and moving coil actuators for vacuum interrupters

Medium voltage direct current (MVDC) systems have been proposed for a variety of applications including offshore wind farm collector system and transport electrification. An efficient and reliable hybrid DC circuit breaker is critical for MVDC system protection. The operating speed of the hybrid DC circuit breaker heavily relies on the speed of the mechanical circuit breaker. Two types of actuators: moving magnet actuator and moving coil actuator using electromagnetic interaction are compared in this paper for the operation of a medium voltage vacuum interrupter. The Finite Element software package COMSOL is used to simulate the static and dynamic performance of each actuator topology. The paper focuses on comparing the advantages and disadvantages of these two actuator topologies particularly for vacuum interrupter application. The moving coil actuator is found to have better dynamic performance and is more suitable for medium voltage vacuum interrupter application.

[1]  Di Zhang,et al.  Architecture, Voltage, and Components for a Turboelectric Distributed Propulsion Electric Grid (AVC-TeDP) , 2015 .

[2]  Armin Schnettler,et al.  Circuit-breakers for medium-voltage DC grids , 2016, 2016 IEEE PES Transmission & Distribution Conference and Exposition-Latin America (PES T&D-LA).

[3]  J. F. Eastham,et al.  Novel synchronous machines: linear and disc , 1990 .

[4]  Jiyan Zou,et al.  HVDC hybrid circuit breaker based on SF6 interrupter and vacuum interrupter in series , 2013, 2013 2nd International Conference on Electric Power Equipment - Switching Technology (ICEPE-ST).

[5]  Xiaoze Pei,et al.  Superconducting fault current limiter with integrated vacuum interrupter , 2012 .

[6]  R.C. Okonkwo,et al.  Design and performance of permanent-magnet DC linear motors , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Magnetics.

[7]  R.W. De Doncker,et al.  Solid-state circuit breaker based on active thyristor topologies , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[8]  D. Howe,et al.  Analysis of a short-stroke, single-phase, quasi-Halbach magnetised tubular permanent magnet motor for linear compressor applications , 2008 .

[9]  Yu Du,et al.  Solid state circuit breakers for shipboard distribution systems , 2017, 2017 IEEE Electric Ship Technologies Symposium (ESTS).

[10]  Mike Barnes,et al.  Fast Operating Moving Coil Actuator for a Vacuum Interrupter , 2017, IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion.

[11]  P. Vassiliou,et al.  Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6): Global Environmental Effects and Toxic Byproduct Formation , 2000, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.

[12]  Bin Li,et al.  Analysis and Experiment of a Micro-Loss Multi-Port Hybrid DCCB for MVDC Distribution System , 2019, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[13]  Jiyan Zou,et al.  Investigation on the interrupting test of mechanical HVDC vacuum circuit breaker , 2017, 2017 4th International Conference on Electric Power Equipment - Switching Technology (ICEPE-ST).

[14]  Ebrahim Farjah,et al.  Hybrid DC Circuit Breaker and Fault Current Limiter With Optional Interruption Capability , 2018, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[15]  Anders Blomberg,et al.  The Hybrid HVDC Breaker An innovation breakthrough enabling reliable HVDC grids , 2012 .

[16]  N. Wagner,et al.  Ultra-fast moving coil actuator for power switches in medium-voltage grids , 2019 .

[17]  Vahid Vahidinasab,et al.  Towards robust OPF solution strategy for the future AC/DC grids: case of VSC-HVDC-connected offshore wind farms , 2018 .

[18]  E. Gaio,et al.  Development and Testing of a 10-kA Hybrid Mechanical–Static DC Circuit Breaker , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity.

[19]  Alex Q. Huang,et al.  High current medium voltage solid state circuit breaker using paralleled 15kV SiC ETO , 2018, 2018 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC).

[20]  X.M. Feng,et al.  The technology and application of voice coil actuator , 2011, 2011 Second International Conference on Mechanic Automation and Control Engineering.

[21]  Oliver Cwikowski,et al.  Design and Experimental Tests of a Superconducting Hybrid DC Circuit Breaker , 2018, IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity.

[22]  Li Li,et al.  Researches on interruption characteristics of a hybrid HVDC circuit breaker , 2017, 2017 4th International Conference on Electric Power Equipment - Switching Technology (ICEPE-ST).

[23]  Mike Barnes,et al.  A review of technologies for MVDC circuit breakers , 2016, IECON 2016 - 42nd Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society.