Fault Current Limiting Capabilities of Thyristor Controlled Rectifier and Modular Multilevel Converter for MVDC based Shipboard Power Systems

摘要

In order to achieve the goals of survivability, efficiency, power density, and reliability for Shipboard Power System (SPS), Medium Voltage Direct Current (MVDC) systems require an appropriate converter topology in the power generation module to handle the rail-to-rail fault currents. Thyristor based rectifiers are an attractive choice for high current ratings of thyristors along with high surge current capability. Additionally, IGBT-based rectifiers such as Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) are also becoming popular for handling fault current in MVDC systems. This work focuses on the application of twelve pulse Thyristor Controlled Rectifier (TCR) and an MMC with current limiting functions which can minimize the rectifier output current temporarily in case of rail-to-rail faults. A comparative study and simulation in a real-time environment have been carried out to understand their fault response that can help choosing the appropriate topology, which will ultimately benefit the MVDC breaker-less architectures in All Electric Ships (AES).