Saturated core fault current limiter field experience at a distribution substation

C I R E D 21st International Conference on Electricity Distribution Frankfurt, 6-9 June 2011
Pre-Print of Paper 0680
Pre-Print of Paper No 0680 1/4
SATURATED-CORE FAULT CURRENT LIMITER FIELD EXPERIENCE AT A
DISTRIBUTION SUBSTATION
Albert NELSON Larry MASUR Franco MORICONI
Zenergy Power Inc. – USA Zenergy Power Inc. – USA Zenergy Power Inc. – USA
albert.nelson@zenergypower.com larry.masur@zenergypower.com franco.moriconi@zenergypower.com
Francisco DE LA ROSA Detlev KIRSTEN
Zenergy Power Inc. – USA Zenergy Power GmbH – DE
francisco.delarosa@zenergypower.com detlev.kirsten@zenergypower.com
ABSTRACT
Zenergy Power has been developing an inductive-type of
fault current limiter (FCL) for electric power grid
applications. In March 2009 Zenergy Power installed a
FCL in the Avanti distribution circuit of Southern
California Edison’s Shandin substation in San Bernardino,
CA, rated at 15 kV and 1,200 amperes steady-state. In
January 2010, this device successfully limited its first series
of real-world faults when the circuit experienced multiple
single-phase and three-phase faults. Zenergy Power also
received contracts to deliver an 11 kV, 1,250 amperes FCL
for the CE Electric UK grid and a 138 kV, 1,300 amperes
FCL for the Tidd substation of American Electric Power.
INTRODUCTION
Since 2005, Zenergy Power (ZEN) has been developing
proprietary high-temperature superconductor (HTS) fault
current limiter (FCL) technology. The ZEN FCL is an
inductive type of FCL that uses a magnetically saturating
reactor concept to act as a variable inductor in an electric
circuit. Unlike resistive and shielded core FCLs that rely on
the quenching of the superconducting material (a sudden
transition from the superconductive state to a normal
resistive conductor state when a critical current level is
reached) to achieve increased impedance, saturating-core
FCLs use the dynamic behaviour in the magnetic properties
of a magnetic core (nominally grain-oriented silicon steel,
but other materials are possible and offer unique
performance characteristics) to change the inductive
reactance on the AC circuit being protected.
OPERATING PRINCIPLE
The basic operating principles of the ZEN FCL are easily
explained with a simple diagram. Referring to Figure 1,
there are two rectangular iron cores arranged side-by-side.
The iron cores are surrounded by a single HTS coil that
encircles the adjacent inner limbs of the iron cores in the
centre of the device. A low voltage DC power supply
energizes the HTS coil with a high DC bias current to create
a very strong DC magnetic field that magnetically saturates
the iron cores. The outer limbs of the iron cores are wound
with conventional copper coils that are connected in series
with the AC circuit that is to be protected. The DC bias
magnetic flux is unidirectional as determined by the
direction of DC bias current flow and the HTS coil winding
orientation. The AC flux generated by the line current in the
series-connected AC coils alternates direction in synch with
the periodic inverting of the AC line current sine wave.
Consequently, the AC magnetic flux alternately “boosts”
and “bucks” the DC bias magnetic flux in the portions of the
iron cores under the AC coils.
Figure 1. Basic saturating reactor FCL concept.
If the magnitude of the AC magnetic flux is small in
comparison to the DC bias magnetic flux, the iron cores
remain magnetically saturated, and the AC circuit
impedance is low. When the magnitude of the AC flux
generated by the AC line current is sufficient to overcome
the DC bias magnetic flux and to start to drive the iron cores
out of magnet saturation, the impedance increases suddenly,
acting to limit the AC line current flow. The response time
is sufficient to effectively limit the first ¼-cycle peak of the
AC line fault current. When the fault clears, the constant DC
bias magnetic flux restores the magnetic saturation of the
iron cores, reducing the AC impedance to the low steady-
state value.
CALIFORNIA GRID OPERATION
Background
ZEN has built and tested dozens of prototype FCLs,
including two full-scale distribution-voltage devices, based
on the architecture shown in Figure 1. After major

refurbishment and modification following extensive testing,
the second of these full-scale FCLs was installed in a field
demonstration in the Avanti circuit of the Southern
California Edison (SCE) Shandin Substation located in San
Bernardino, CA, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. The CEC FCL installed at the SCE Shandin
Substation in San Bernardino, California, USA.
This comprehensive field demonstration, which ran from
March 2009 until October 2010, was partially sponsored by
both the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE), with significant in-kind
support by SCE, and was the first instance of a HTS FCL
being used in commercial service in the U.S. electric grid.
The Avanti circuit, also known as the “Circuit of the
Future,” is a specially configured and instrumented
distribution circuit serving residential and commercial
customers that is used by SCE, DOE and CEC to test and
evaluate promising “smart grid” and grid modernization
technologies. The focus of the demonstration project was
two-fold. The first objective was to establish that ZEN
could design and qualify a FCL to a precise operational
performance specification defined by SCE. The second
objective was to thoroughly evaluate the operations and
maintenance considerations associated with the use of a
HTS FCL in commercial service and to define the
requirements and protocols for widespread adoption of HTS
FCLs by electric utilities. The demonstration programwas a
complete success on both counts.
The “Avanti” FCL was nominally a 15 kV class (110 kV
BIL), 1200 amperes rms, 60-Hz device that was designed to
limit a 23 kA rms symmetric prospective fault by at least
20% while producing no more than 70 V back-emf at rated
steady-state current). The FCL was subjected to extensive
full-power (rated voltage and current) testing, fault testing,
and standards testing at Powertech Laboratories, Surrey,
B.C., Canada in October 2008, and a second set of high-
voltage electrostatics acceptance testing (lighting impulse,
chopped-wave, voltage withstand, and partial discharge)
was performed at SCE’s laboratories in Westminster,
California in December 2008. In the absence of accepted
industry standards for FCLs, a comprehensive test plan
based on IEEE standards for transformers and series
reactors [1-3] was developed in collaboration with SCE and
NEETRAC1
. In all, 65 separate tests events were
performed, including 32 full-power fault tests with first peak
fault current levels up to 59 kA.
Fault tests included individual fault events of 20-30 cycles
duration, as well as multiple fault events in rapid sequence
(to simulate automatic re-closer operation) and extended
fault events of up to 82 cycles duration (to simulate primary
protection failure scenarios). The design, development and
testing of the FCL has been extensively documented in
several papers [4-5].
Figure 3. Current limiting behavior of the ZEN FCL.
Operating Experience
The operations and maintenance experience gained and the
resulting protocols for the design, installation, control,
monitoring, and employment of FCLs in the electric grid
were the most important results of the “Avanti” FCL
demonstration. The operating environment at the Shandin
substation was a severe, U.S. southwest desert environment
with hot (daytime temperatures well in excess of 40 °C),
dry, dusty, high-wind conditions. Additionally, a residential
neighbourhood located nearby imposed severe ambient
noise requirements. The FCL performed well throughout the
demonstration, but several significant modifications were
made in collaboration with SCE. Significant observations
from the demonstration project include:
The enclosure environmental conditions must be
maintained within a narrow band for the reliability of
the control, instrumentation, cryogenic refrigeration
and DC power supply equipment – additional air
conditioning was installed in the FCL enclosure to
satisfy hot-day cooling requirements.
Air-cooled cryogenic refrigerators were satisfactorily
employed (with sufficient enclosure air conditioning),
but water-cooled cryogenic refrigerators may be more
robust in the field.
A sub-cooled liquid nitrogen re-condensing cryogenic
system was successfully employed. Current FCLs will
use a “dry-type” conduction-cooling cryogenic system
free of liquid cryogens.
The FCL control system is able to shut itself down in
1
National Electric Energy Testing Research Applications
Center, The Georgia Technical University, Atlanta,
Georgia, USA.

the event of loss of station power – several substation
blackouts were experienced – and to automatically
restart when station power is restored, including the
restoration and stabilization of cryogenic refrigeration.
A UPS was installed to provide control,
instrumentation and DC bias current for up to two
hours during station outages.
While multiple channels of FCL system “health” data
were provided, SCE desired a “watch-dog” monitoring
system that provided a “Go” (all systems normal) or a
“No-Go” (some system off-specification) with an
automatic bypass switch to remove the FCL from
service in the event of a “No-Go” condition.
The FCL control system was successfully integrated
through a secure Ethernet connection into the SCE
SCADA system; a MODBUS control scheme enabled
secure, real-time monitoring and operation from the
SCE Control Room.
If the FCL is being relied upon for system protection,
the system must be configurable (through temporary
buss-splitting, for example) to control fault duty levels
in the event the FCL must be removed for maintenance
or repair.
Saturated-core FCLs as small inductors during steady-
state conditions and large inductors during fault
conditions must be evaluated for compatibility with
existing circuit resistance and capacitance values to
ensure voltage stability on the protected circuit – a
separate paper discusses this requirement [6].
The effects of saturated core FCLs on circuit breaker
transient recovery voltage must be evaluated to ensure
adequate rating of circuit breakers and determination of
maximum allowable interrupt currents – a separate
paper discusses this requirement [7].
On January 14, 2010 the FCL experienced its first-ever in-
grid fault. Based on the voltage data located at the load side
of the FCL, as shown in Figure 4, the event evolved from a
phase-to-phase fault, to a three-phase fault, to a temporary
recovery, to a phase-to-phase fault, to another three-phase
fault, ending with an open line and clearing. This very
unusual, mostly symmetrical, multi-fault event occurred
over a three-second period. Physically the event was
initiated by the overhead conductors of A and B phases
slapping together during high wind conditions near the end
of the Avanti Circuit. This phase-to-phase fault lasted about
250 milliseconds, when Phase C also faulted, thus evolving
into a three-phase fault, lasting about half a second. The air
insulation recovered its full strength for about one second,
but then the conductors of phases A and B again arced to
each other for about three quarters of a second. The arc was
about to be extinguished at this time; however, Phase C also
arced, becoming another three-phase fault. The event ended
about a quarter of a second later when Phase B conductor
opened, dropped to the ground, and the circuit was
eventually cleared. During this sequence of events the FCL
operated as designed and limited the fault current.
Figure 4. Multiphase sequence of fault events lasting over a
three second period.
DEVELOPMENT OF COMPACT FCL
Despite the unqualified success of the “Avanti” FCL
demonstration project, the large size and weight of the air-
dielectric, closed-core FCL architecture relative to its
electrical power rating challenged the economic value
proposition at distribution voltages. At the same time, the
air-dielectric design complicated scaling-up the device to
higher voltages. In light of these observations, ZEN
conceived of an open-core FCL design that used an oil
dielectric and conventional transformer design and
manufacturing techniques to create a much smaller FCL
with greater fault limiting performance and much higher
voltage and power ratings. This new design was designated
the “Compact FCL.”
ZEN, with financial support from DOE and the
Consolidated Edison Company of New York (ConEdison),
built and tested four full-scale distribution-voltage Compact
FCL prototypes using different internal designs. A unique
feature of the Compact FCL is that there is no physical
interface between the “AC side” of the device (the line
current and voltage in the circuit being protected) and the
“DC side” of the device (the HTS DC bias coil and its
associated power supply). The AC coils and bus-work are
located inside a dielectric tank, and the HTS DC bias
magnets are placed in cryostats that surround the tank.
Another important design innovation is the use of “dry-
type” cryogenics to conductively cool the HTS coil without
the use of liquid nitrogen. Conduction cooling allows the
HTS coil to be cooled below the nitrogen freezing point,
thereby improving the performance of the HTS wire and
reducing the amount used in the magnets. “Dry-type”
conduction cooling also avoids concerns about large
volumes of liquid cryogens in confined spaces and potential
pressure vessel and stored energy. Figure 5 shows a
recently completed 15kV class FCL with two “dry-type”
conduction cooled coils surrounding an oil-filled dielectric
tank with the AC coils. This device is 75% smaller and

lighter than the equivalent device shown in Figure 2.
Figure 5. Compact FCL with “dry-cooled” HTS magnets
surrounding an oil-filled dielectric tank with AC coils.
AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER PROJECT
ZEN has entered into an agreement with American Electric
Power (AEP), Columbus, Ohio, to partner for the
demonstration of a 138 kV three-phase FCL as a part of
ZEN’s ongoing DOE-sponsored FCL development
program. A single-phase 138 kV FCL prototype will be
built and tested in the first half of 2011, and a three-phase
FCL demonstration unit will be built, tested and installed in
AEP’s Tidd substation located near Steubenville, Ohio in
early 2012. This device will be designed to operate at 1.3
kA steady state and reduce an approximate 20 kA
prospective fault by 43% and instantaneously recover under
load. The device will be installed on the low side of the 345
kV to 138 kV transformer and will protect the 138 kV
feeder.
Figure 6. Comparison of voltage drop between a current
limiting reactor and the ZEN FCL.
AEP presently uses a conventional 3.8 Ω current limiting
reactor to protect the circuit from excess fault currents. This
reactor causes a 6% voltage drop on a base load of
320 MVA. When the ZEN FCL is installed the circuit will
have the same amount of fault current protection; however
the steady-state voltage drop will be 75% less – only 1.5%
on a base load of 320 MVA. Please see Figure 6.
Acknowledgments
The FCL at SCE´s Shandin substation was partially
sponsored by both the California Energy Commission
(CEC) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), with
significant in-kind support by SCE.
The compact FCL designs were developed and tested with
financial support from DOE and the Consolidated Edison
Company of New York (ConEdison),
The 138kV three-phase FCL is part of ZEN’s ongoing
DOE-sponsored FCL development program and partnered
by American Electric Power (AEP), Columbus, Ohio.
REFERENCES
[1] IEEE Std C57.16-1996. IEEE Standard Requirements,
Terminology, and Test Code for Dry-Type Air-core
Series-Connected Reactors.
[2] IEEE Std C57-12.01-2005. IEEE Standard General
Requirements for Dry-Type Distribution and Power
Transformers, Including Those with Solid-Cast and/or
Resin Encapsulated Windings
[3] IEEE Standard Test Code for Liquid-Immersed
Distribution, Power and Regulating Transformers”,
IEEE Std. C57.12.90-1999. M. Young, 1989, The
Technical Writers Handbook, University Science, Mill
Valley, CA, USA.
[4] Moriconi, F., Koshnick, N., De La Rosa, F., Singh, A.,
“Modelling and Test Validation of a 15kV 24MVA
Superconducting Fault Current Limiter,” Proceedings
of the 2010 IEEE PES Transmission and Distribution
Conference, April 19-22, 2010, New Orleans, LA,
USA.
[5] Moriconi, F., De La Rosa, F., Singh, A., Chen, B.,
Levitskaya, M., Nelson, A., “An Innovative Compact
Saturable-Core HTS Fault Current Limiter –
Development, Testing and Application to
Transmission-Class Networks,” Proceedings of the
2010 IEEE PES General Meeting, July 25-29, 2010,
Minneapolis, MN, USA.
[6] Clarke, C., Moriconi, F., Singh, A., Kamiab, A., Neal,
R., Rodriguez, A., De La Rosa, F., Koshnick, N.,
“Resonance of A Distribution Feeder with a Saturable
Core Fault Current Limiter,” Proceedings of the 2010
IEEE PES Transmission and Distribution Conference,
April 19-22, 2010, New Orleans, LA, USA.
[7] Lopez-Roldan, J., Price, A.C., De La Rosa, F.,
Moriconi, F., “Analysis of the Effect of a Saturable-
Core HTS Fault Current Limiter on the Circuit
Breaker Transient Recovery Voltage,” submitted to
the Proceedings of the 2011 IEEE PES General
Meeting, July 24-29, Detroit, MI, USA.

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