Experimental study of high-speed hybrid circuit breaker used in fast isolation of faulty power

A novel hybrid circuit breaker using IGBT and high-speed repulsion mechanism was given in this paper, which can isolate the failed power supply within 2ms. The high-speed electromagnetic repulsion mechanism is connected in parallel with IGBT, and the device is especially suitable for isolating or switching fault power in low voltage area. It has both advantages of traditional mechanical switches and power electronic switches, like large conduction flow, fast isolating and less energy consumption. The key of the study locates at the control sequence between mechanical switch and IGBT, as well as the design of the buffer circuit in the case of resistive or inductive load. Moreover, the operating characteristics of mechanical switch should meet the demands of fast switching. A large number of experiments have been carried out on prototype under the guidance of simulation in MATLAB. The breaking waves of the hybrid switch are analyzed under resistive and inductive load. The results show that the switch performed quickly and reliably, and the buffer circuit can effectively suppress the overvoltage upon the switch.