Analysis of the influence factors of VSC–HVDC on AC three-phase short-circuit current level

Purpose This paper aims to clarify voltage sourced converter’s (VSC’s) influence rules on the alternating current (AC) short-circuit current and identify the key factors, so as to propose the short-circuit current suppression strategy. Design/methodology/approach This paper investigates the key factors which impact the short-circuit current supplied by the VSC based on the equivalent current source model. This study shows that the phase of the VSC equivalent current source is mainly affected by the type of fault, whereas the amplitude is mainly decided by the control mode, the amplitude limiter and the electrical distance. Based on the above influence mechanism, the dynamic limiter with short-circuit current limiting function is designed. The theoretical analysis is verified by simulations on PSCAD. Findings The short-circuit current feeding from VSC is closely related to the control mode and control parameters of the VSC, fault type at AC side and the electrical distance of the fault point. The proposed dynamic limiter can make VSC absorb more reactive power to suppress the short-circuit current. Research limitations/implications The dynamic limiter proposed in this paper is limited to suppress three-phase short-circuit fault current. The future work will focus more on improving and extending the dynamic limiter to the fault current suppression application in other fault scenarios. Practical implications The research results provide a reference for the design of protection system. Originality/value The key influence factors are conducive to put forward the measures to suppress the fault current, eliminate the risk of short-circuit current exceeding the standard and reduce the difficulty of protection design.