Operating characteristics of the Permanent-Magnet-Biased Saturation Based Fault Current Limiter

This paper describes a topological configuration of a fault current limiter consisting of a permanent and saturable core. The operating characteristics of this permanent-magnet-biased saturation based fault current limiter (PMFCL) are simulated in details by means of finite element method (FEM) with ANSOFT. Firstly, the relationship between the total harmonic distortion of transient limiting current and its peak value is analyzed. Secondly, the paper presents the flux density variation with different source voltages as well as magnetic flux density distribution under different operation conditions. Finally, the fault current limiting characteristics influenced by the source voltages and the number of turns of the coil are investigated. The research results present analytical basis and calculation reference for the parameter optimization of this type of PMFCL.