Design of HTS power cable with fault current limiting function

Abstract

As demand for electricity in urban areas increases, it is necessary to improve electric power stability by interconnecting neighboring substations and high temperature superconductor (HTS) power cables are considered as a promising option due to its large power capacity. However, the interconnection of substations reduces grid impedance and expected fault current is over 45 kA, which exceeds the capacity of a circuit breaker in Korean grid. To reduce the fault current below 45 kA, a HTS power cable having a fault current limiting (FCL) function is considered by as a feasible solution for the interconnection of substations. In this study, a FCL HTS power cable of 600 MVA/154 kV, transmission level class, is considered to reduce the fault current from 63 kA to less than 45 kA by generating an impedance over 1 Ωwhen the fault current is induced. For the thermal design of FCL HTS power cable, a parametric study is conducted to meet a required temperature limit and impedance by modifying the cable core from usual HTS power cables which are designed to bypass the fault current through cable former. The analysis results give a minimum cable length and an area of stainless steel former to suppress the temperature of cable below a design limit.