Fast Coordination Fuse Protection Scheme for DC Marine Integrated Power Systems With Additional Composite Inductances and Capacitances

Abstract

The fuses are widely used in DC marine integrated power systems because of the small volume and strong current breaking ability, but face selectivity challenges due to similar fault currents at different locations. Existing methods based on capacitances cannot fully address the issue because large capacitance will lead to high fault current which causes severe equipment damage. This paper proposes a fast coordination method, utilizing both inductance and capacitance. To determine the optimal size of these additional components, an iterative calculation approach is proposed, taking into account steady-state and transient constraints by a lumped-parameter model. The enhanced capacitance expedites the fuse operation on the faulty feeder by increasing the fault current, while the additional inductance slows the current rise in other feeders, thereby extending the time difference between the operation of various fuses. The combination of additional inductance and capacitance facilitates fast and coordinated fuse operation. The proposed method is verified using MATLAB/Simulink, demonstrating that the short circuit faults can be isolated within 1 ms without causing false operations of other fuses. The proposed method significantly enhances the selectivity of the existing methods without triggering higher fault currents.