Improvement on current limiting performance of current limiting devices with damping coils

An improved model of the current limiting devices such as the high-Tc superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) and the reactor have been developed. The high-Tc SFCL mainly consists of the primary copper coil, the secondary high-Tc superconducting rings, and the damping coils, which are magnetically coupled through a three-legged magnetic core. Because a portion of the magnetic flux above the saturation point generated by the fault current is cancelled by the damping coil, thereby the magnetic core is prevented from getting into the saturated state. The limiting current level and the saturation of the core could be controlled by the air-gap length of the central leg with the damping coil. A new design of the SFCL is found to increase the effective impedance by about 60 to 70%, compared to the SFCL design without the damping coils.