The focus of this research is on identification, location, interruption, characterization and overall management of faults in conventional AC distribution systems as well as isolated MVDC power systems. The primary focus in AC distributions systems is on identifying and locating underground cable faults using voltage and current waveforms as the input data. Cable failure process is gradual and is characterized by a series of single-phase sub-cycle incipient faults with high arc voltage. They often go undetected and eventually result in a permanent fault in the same phase. In order to locate such incipient cable faults, a robust yet practical algorithm is developed taking into account the fault arc voltage. The algorithm is implemented in the time-domain and utilizes power quality monitor data to estimate the distance to the fault in terms of the line impedance. It can be applied to locate both sub-cycle as well as permanent faults. The proposed algorithm is evaluated and proved out using field data collected from utility distribution circuits. Furthermore, this algorithm is extended to locate evolving faults on overhead distribution lines. Evolving faults are faults beginning in one phase of a distribution circuit and spreading to another phase after a few cycles. The algorithm is divided into two parts, namely, the single line-to-ground portion of the fault and the line-to-line-to-ground portion of the fault. For the single line-to-ground portion of the fault, the distance to the fault is estimated in terms of the loop or self-reactance between the monitor and the fault. On the other hand, for the line-to-line-to-ground and line-to-line portion of the fault the distance is estimated in terms of the positive-sequence reactance. The secondary focus of fault management in AC distribution systems is on identifying fault cause employing voltage and current waveform data as well as meteorological information. As the first step, unique characteristics of cable faults are examined along with methods to identify such faults with suitable accuracy. These characteristics are also used to distinguish underground cable faults from other overhead distribution line faults. The overhead line faults include tree contact, animal contact and lightning induced faults. Waveform signature analysis, wavelet transforms and arc voltages during the fault event are used for fault cause identification and classification. A statistical based classification methodology to identify fault cause is developed by utilizing promising characteristics. Unlike the AC system infrastructure which is already in place, the DC system considered in this document is that of a notional electric ship. The nature of DC current, with the absence of a current zero as well as the presence of power electronic devices influencing the current behavior, makes interrupting DC fault currents challenging. As a part of this research an innovative DC fault interruption scheme is proposed for rectifier- fed MVDC systems. A fault at the terminals of a phase-controlled rectifier results in a high magnitude current impulse caused by the filter capacitor discharging into the fault resistance. It is proposed to use a series inductor to limit the magnitude of this current impulse. The addition of the inductor results in an underdamped series RLC circuit at the output terminals of the rectifier which causes the fault current to oscillate about zero. Furthermore, it is proposed to utilize a conventional AC circuit breaker to interrupt this fault current by exploiting the zero crossings resulting from the oscillations. Using the proposed scheme for the example case, the peak fault current magnitude as well as the interruption time is significantly reduced. / text

The present thesis deals with fault impact mitigation in grid connected converters used for High Voltage Direct Current transmission. Certain critical fault cases require additional obstructing protection actions to ease the impact on the converter valves. DC sided faults drives high fault currents through the converters. Single phase to ground faults at the converter AC bus results in overvoltages across the converter valve arms. The phenomenon of these faults are described both for symmetric and asymmetric configurations. Different available solutions are explained and evaluated. Simulations in PSCAD/EMTDC show the impact of the protection measures. A three phase short circuit introduced on the tertiary winding of the transformer is an effective temporary measure against the destructive fault cases. It is shown in this report that a tertiary shortcircuit will greatly reduce the overvoltages after converter bus faults and redirect a large part of the fault currents after DC faults. With the lower voltage on the tertiary winding, it is a suitable connection point for short circuit devices.

The need for DC power at continuous uninterrupted rates is a reality for ship survival during highly intense combat and regular travel. The new proposed distribution system on the all-electric ship is designed using a DC distribution method (zones) in which the use of transformers and frequency issues/manipulation can be eliminated with the use of power electronics. These power electronic devices can greatly simplify the system and provide more available space, possible cost reduction, and variable control. One key feature is to make sure that the DC buses/systems and converters/rectifiers are protected from faults, transients, and other malicious events that can cause unwanted interference, shutdown, and possible damage or destruction. DC faults can have a detrimental impact on the ship performance. DC protection should allow for high speed and highly sensitive detection of faults enhancing reliability in the supply of electric power. DC fault protection geared towards a lower voltage scenario/system has not yet been studied and analyzed rigorously. The research goal of this work has been to develop a method in which the system can detect a DC fault and perform suppression of the fault and return to normal operating conditions once the fault is removed. The use of power electronics and DC fault detection methods are employed to determine how to best protect the system?s stability and longevity. The findings of the research work have demonstrated that using zero-crossing logic on the AC side of the system is beneficial in DC fault detection. Also, different grounding schemes can produce different effects, whereas some grounding schemes can help protect the system during a disturbance.

No description available.

This thesis provides insight into state-of-the-art Modular Multilevel Converters (MMC) for medium and high voltage applications. Modular Multilevel Converters have increased in interest in many industrial applications, as they offer the following advantages: modularity, scalability, reliability, distributed location of capacitors, etc. In this study, the modeling, control and design considerations of modular based multilevel converters, with an emphasis on the reliability of the converter, is carried out. Both modular multilevel converters with half-bridge and full-bridge sub-modules are evaluated in order to provide a complete analysis of the converter. From among the family of modular based hybrid multilevel converters, the newly released Alternate Arm Converter (AAC) is considered for further assessment in this study. Thus, the modular multilevel converter with half-bridge and full-bridge power cells and the Alternate Arm Converter as a commercialized hybrid structure of this family are the main areas of study in this thesis. Finally, the DC fault analysis as one of the main issues related to conventional VSC converters is assessed for Modular Multilevel Converters (MMC) and the DC fault ride-through capability and DC fault current blocking ability is illustrated in both the Modular Multilevel Converter with Full-Bridge (FB) power cells and in the Alternate Arm Converter (AAC). Accordingly, the DC fault control scheme employed in the converter and the operation of the converter under the fault control scheme are explained. The main contributions of this study are as follows: The new D-Q model for the MMC is proposed for use in the design of the inner and outer loop control. The extended control scheme from the modular multilevel converter is employed to control the Alternate Arm Converters. A practical reliability-oriented sub-module capacitor bank design is described based on different reliability modeling tools. A Zero Current Switching (ZCS) scheme of the Alternate Arm Converter is presented in order to reduce the switching losses of the Director Switches (DS) and, accordingly, to implement the ZCS, a design procedure for the Arm inductor in the AAC is proposed. The capacitor voltage waveform is extracted analytically in different load power factors and the waveforms are verified by simulation results. A reliability-oriented switching frequency analysis for the modular multilevel converters is carried out to evaluate the effect of the switching frequency on the MMC's operation. For the latter, a DC fault analysis for the MMC with Full-Bridge (FB) power cells and the AAC is performed and a DC fault control scheme is employed to provide the capacitor voltage control and DC fault current limit, and is illustrated herein. / Master of Science

För sammankoppling av multi-terminala HVDC-system med punkt-till-punkt kopplingar ärDC-DC-omvandlaren den enda möjliga sammankopplingen. Därför genomgår problemenmed spänningsmatchning och likspänningsströmbegränsning i högspännings DC-systemomfattande forskning samt ligger i fokus för denna avhandling. Först analyseras toppmodernatopologier för högspännings DC-DC-omvandlare som används för samtrafik av flera terminalaHVDC-system. De analyserade topologierna jämförs sedan baserat på dess olika funktioner.Topologin för en konventionell icke-isolerad DC-DC-omvandlare analyseras när det gäller design,kostnad, storlek, förlust och effektstyrningskapacitet. Först skapas en matematisk modell ochsedan utförs en numerisk analys för olika arbetsområden. Därefter görs en jämförelse av entvåfas-icke-isolerad DC-omvandlare baserad på energilagring, maximal likströmsöverföring ochtotala förluster. Simulering utförs av en tvåfas och en trefas icke-isolerad DC-omvandlare iPSCAD med olika typer av styrenheter. Dessutom tas en isolerad omvandlartopologi och analyserasi detalj från matematisk modellering till validering med hjälp av simuleringsresultat.Olika typer av felanalyser för både isolerad och icke-isolerad omvandlartopologi görs. Slutligenutförs även analyser av DC-felet i olika möjliga anslutningar av omvandlaren i Multi-TerminalGrid, dvs Monopole, Bipole med både symmetriska och asymmetriska konfigurationer. / For interconnection of multi-terminal HVDC systems involving point-to-point links, aDC-DC converter is the only possible way to interconnect. Therefore, the issues of voltagematching and DC fault current limiting in high voltage DC systems are undergoing extensiveresearch and are the focus of this thesis. Starting with analyzing the state of the art highvoltage DC-DC converter topologies for interconnection of multi-terminal HVDC systems andbenchmarking each converter topology based on different functionalities. A basic non-isolatedDC-DC converter topology is analyzed in terms of design, cost, sizing, losses and power controlcapability. First, starting with the mathematical modeling and then the numerical analysis isdone for different operating regions. Next, it is compared with the two-phase non-isolated DCconverter based on energy storage, maximum DC power transfer, and total losses. Simulation oftwo-phase and three-phase non-isolated DC converter is done in PSCAD incorporating differenttypes of controllers. Then, an isolated converter topology is taken and analyzed in detail startingfrom mathematical modeling to validation using simulation results. Different types of faultsanalysis for both isolated and non-isolated converter topology is done. Finally, analyzing the DCfault in different possible connection of the converter in the multi-terminal grid, i.e. monopole,bipole in both symmetric and asymmetric configurations.