Title :
Photoconductive switches for AC circuit protection
Author :
Triaros, Christos P. ; Carroll, Dennis P. ; Lindholm, Fredrik A.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng., Florida Univ., Gainesville, FL, USA
fDate :
12/1/1990 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
The basic suitability of the photoconductive circuit element (PCE) for protective switching applications in AC power transmission and distribution circuits is examined. Specific applications include circuit breakers and fault-current limiters. This work considers a hybrid switching mechanism, which consists of a parallel arrangement of the PCE with a low-capacity mechanical switch. Electrical, optical, and thermal models are developed for the PCE device, which are incorporated in a system-level computer simulation of a power test circuit. Simulation results show the feasibility of the hybrid switching concept, although device sizes appear to be relatively large due to thermal dissipation requirements
Keywords :
circuit breakers; photoconducting devices; power system protection; power transmission; semiconductor switches; AC circuit protection; AC power transmission; circuit breakers; device sizes; distribution circuits; fault-current limiters; hybrid switching mechanism; low-capacity mechanical switch; photoconductive circuit element; power test circuit; protective switching applications; system-level computer simulation; thermal dissipation requirements; Application software; Circuit breakers; Circuit faults; Circuit testing; Optical devices; Optical switches; Photoconducting devices; Power transmission; Protection; Switching circuits;
Journal_Title :
Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions on
