Design and Simulation of 2-Parameters TRV Synthetic Testing Circuit for Medium Voltage Circuit Breakers

Short circuit tests on circuit breakers are performed to prove the ratings of the circuit breakers. The drawbacks of direct testing using the power system or short circuit alternators: direct testing requires high power for testing CBs, high cost of installation, flexibility of the system available is limited and availability of limited power for testing of high voltage circuit breakers. Synthetic testing is an alternative equivalent method for testing of CBs. Parallel current injection synthetic testing method is widely used for testing CBs as it is capable of providing RRRV and recovery voltage as required by various standards. This paper discusses the transient recovery voltage (TRV) rating concepts. Analysis and design of 2-parameters TRV synthetic testing circuit is done by using MATLAB. Computer simulation is performed to verify the validity and effectiveness of the circuit by means of PSIM simulator. Design examples and simulation results are shown for a medium voltage circuit breakers i.e. for 12kV and 36 kV circuit breakers