Study on Peak Current Limiting Characteristics of a Flux-Lock Type SFCL Using Its Third Winding

Generally, the peak amplitude of the fault current after the fault occurrence depends on the transient component of the fault current, which is determined by the fault condition such as the fault angle. In the suggested flux-lock type superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL), the fault current of the lower peak amplitude causes the only high-T_C superconducting (HTSC) element connected in series with one of two coils comprising the flux-lock type SFCL to be quenched, which the fault current can be limited by the lower limiting impedance of the flux-lock type SFCL. On the other hand, the fault current with the higher peak amplitude makes another HTSC element connected with the third winding to be quenched after the HTSC element connected in series with one of the SFCL´s two coils is quenched, which contributes to the higher limiting impedance of this SFCL. Therefore, the effective fault current limiting operation of the flux-lock type SFCL can be performed by generating the SFCL´s limiting impedance in proportion to the peak amplitude of the fault current. To confirm the current limiting operation of the proposed flux-lock type SFCL, the short-circuit tests of the flux-lock type SFCL using its third winding according to the fault angle were carried out and its effective fault current limiting operations were discussed.