Fault Current Limiter Placement Strategies and Evaluation in Two Example Systems

Abstract

The growth of demand invariably lead to higher and higher fault currents, and as a consequence protection devices must have higher ratings. The integration of distributed energy resources further complicates protection schemes, especially those that assume a radial distribution scheme and power flowing in only one direction. These conditions generate an increasing demand for fault current limiters to keep fault currents within the ratings of existing protection equipment as well as to minimize the impact of distributed generation on the grid during faults. However, placement of protection equipment must be carefully considered in order to keep them cost effective and to prevent the limiters themselves from disrupting existing protective measures. This paper explores several placement and coordination guidelines, as well as provides simulations of fault current limiters placed in substations with ring bus and double bus configurations, respectively.