High voltage current limiter

High voltage current limiter is a special type of current limiting fuse that meets the high current application requirements different from traditional current limiting fuses. It was developed by EPRI in the late 1970s and launched as the second generation product by G&W in 1985. Over the past 40 years, the product line has been continuously expanding, growing, and improving.

The application and benefits of high-voltage current limiters: indoor or outdoor use, onshore or offshore use, laboratory and on-site testing, easy installation and maintenance, SCADA adaptability, high cost-effectiveness, network protection, arc flash, arc impact and injury reduction, faster system recovery, replacing traditional current limiting fuse technology. High continuous current (5kA @ 15kV, 4kA @ 38kV) is conducted through the backup path to conduct continuous current through electronic induction and triggering, opening the main path and reversing the fault current. The current limiting fuse is used to clear the fault

It will not disconnect at every fault. The typical time period between operations is 5-10 years.

Relay protection coordination - For most systems, coordinated protection is not affected. The two main functions of a high-voltage current limiter are to reduce the fault current to within the capacity range that the equipment can withstand. Reduce fault energy to limit damage, minimize repair time and costs, and protect personnel.

More importantly, it can save money. When upgrading the power system, it can cut off higher fault currents without replacing or upgrading all existing circuit breakers and switchgear, which greatly saves costs. Allow bus connections to be closed, power sources to be connected in parallel, and typically avoid overall system upgrades to serve increased loads. It can eliminate the need for reactors or bypass them and eliminate related losses. The operating cost of a reactor may be tens of thousands of dollars per year, accounting for 25% of a factory's energy loss. By purchasing switch equipment with lower breaking levels, one can save money. A 63kA circuit breaker switchgear is more than twice that of a 50kA one, and a 50kA one is 1.5 times that of a 40kA one. Additionally, it has a large footprint, a large substation size, and high construction costs.

Protecting human safety is of paramount importance. It is crucial to avoid arc damage to operators. Personnel protection - minimizing medical and legal costs related to injury. In the event of a misoperation on an FPSO offshore oil platform, the grounding switch was energized and closed, causing the instantaneous current limiter to quickly cut off the current without causing casualties or equipment damage. After replacing the fuse of the current limiter, power supply was quickly restored.

The other characteristics of high-voltage current limiters are a 20-year protection life, while competing equipment has a protection life of 5-7 years.

Powerful, designed! Outdoor use, no need for casing. Redundant sensing and triggering logic with trigger signal redundancy can be provided. No di/dt sensing, this is the original requirement of EPRI. The current limiter can protect the capacitor bank. Simple and reliable. 70% of customers debug and maintain their own equipment. Remote enable/disable and remote trip indication. Multiple openings on the main busbar for faster reversing and cleaning. Computer generated characteristic maps.