A low-voltage hybrid switch for laboratory experiments

A low-voltage hybrid switch for laboratory experiments is presented in the paper. The device is composed of IGBT switches in parallel with mechanical switches. The switch is intended to be used in the Power Quality (PQ) Laboratory, for creating or mitigating inrush and switching-off disturbances of devices. It can also be operated in the voltage-dip mode, for testing device immunity to voltage dips and notches. The switching-on and switching-off angles are programmable independently in every phase. The voltage-dip mode can cause dips with a programmable position and duration in all three phases simultaneously. Operation of the device was verified with laboratory experiments and results are presented in the paper together with the proposed topology and design details.