Single AC/DC fault current limiter for both side of hybrid AC/DC microgrid

Increasing short-circuit fault currents is one of the critical challenges in microgrids (MGs). In this paper, a novel AC/DC fault current limiter (ADFCL) is proposed to limit short circuit current of both DC and AC sides in hybrid AC/DC MGs (ADMGs). It includes two AC and DC ports, installed between AC MG (ACMG) and DC MG (DCMG). Also, it has only one common limiting resistor for limiting short circuit current in faulty MG without affecting the performance of the healthy MG. The proposed ADFCL power circuit, its principle of operation and control system are presented. Then, the feasibility of the ADFCL is verified by simulation in PSCAD/EMTDC environment and finally, a prototype is built. Both experimental and simulation results reveal that the ADFCL can limit the faulty MG by using only one limiting resistor without affecting the performance of the healthy one, which reduces the cost of using FCL in ADMGs.