Dynamic Analysis of Fault Current Limiters Performance in Distribution Systems

This article presents the impact of several designs of fault current limiters (FCL) in distribution systems. The voltage quality in not faulted feeders; the transient recovery voltage in circuit breakers and the time operation of overcurrent relay are evaluated. The aim of FCL in distribution systems is to reduce the fault current to levels below the nominal capacity of the circuit breakers, avoiding the replacement of such equipment. However the effect in the operation of FCL can be important during no maximum fault conditions like two-phase faults and minimum demand. A comparative study was assessed, by analyzing the performance for different FCL in electrical systems during maximum and minimum fault conditions. The results show that the over limitation of current fault resulting during low fault conditions can compromise the distribution networks performance.