Design and experiments of a bidirectional thyristor bridge switch for LC commutation in high-current DC vacuum circuit breaker

In the Quench Protection System (QPS) of superconducting fusion device, high-current DC breaker is an important component. LC commutation circuit provides a negative pulse current to generate zero-crossing point in Vacuum Circuit Breaker (VCB) for DC interruption. In this paper, a bidirectional thyr...

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Main Authors: Meng Xu, Wei Tong, Hua Li, Zhiquan Song, Zhenhan Li, Chao Gao, Peng Fu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142061525002364
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author Meng Xu
Wei Tong
Hua Li
Zhiquan Song
Zhenhan Li
Chao Gao
Peng Fu
author_facet Meng Xu
Wei Tong
Hua Li
Zhiquan Song
Zhenhan Li
Chao Gao
Peng Fu
author_sort Meng Xu
collection DOAJ
description In the Quench Protection System (QPS) of superconducting fusion device, high-current DC breaker is an important component. LC commutation circuit provides a negative pulse current to generate zero-crossing point in Vacuum Circuit Breaker (VCB) for DC interruption. In this paper, a bidirectional thyristor bridge switch for LC commutation circuit is proposed, and the test and performance research are carried out. Firstly, the electrical issues of high-voltage stress, large-current temperature rise and voltage balancing protection are analyzed, and a 15 kV/55 kA thyristor bridge switch prototype is developed. In the testing of the prototype, the inconsistency phenomenon of series connected thyristors in trigger conducting stage was discovered. After eliminating external factors, it was found that the inconsistency was caused by the parameter dispersion of thyristors themselves. Through the selection of UGT/IGT parameter, the thyristors after replaced show higher consistency. Moreover, this phenomenon has been explained in detail based on the physical structure of thyristor. Finally, high-current experiments including pulse discharge test of LC commutation circuit and 55 kA VCB breaking test are successfully implemented. The performance of thyristor bridge switch was further verified.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 0142-0615
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Elsevier
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series International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems
spelling doaj-art-6a7fc41ac2b64e30940588622bac98392025-08-20T03:49:41ZengElsevierInternational Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems0142-06152025-07-0116811068510.1016/j.ijepes.2025.110685Design and experiments of a bidirectional thyristor bridge switch for LC commutation in high-current DC vacuum circuit breakerMeng Xu0Wei Tong1Hua Li2Zhiquan Song3Zhenhan Li4Chao Gao5Peng Fu6Institute of Plasma Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China; University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, ChinaSchool of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, ChinaInstitute of Plasma Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China; Corresponding author.Institute of Plasma Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, ChinaSchool of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, ChinaZhuzhou CRRC Times Semiconductor Co., Ltd, Zhuzhou 412001, ChinaInstitute of Plasma Physics, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, ChinaIn the Quench Protection System (QPS) of superconducting fusion device, high-current DC breaker is an important component. LC commutation circuit provides a negative pulse current to generate zero-crossing point in Vacuum Circuit Breaker (VCB) for DC interruption. In this paper, a bidirectional thyristor bridge switch for LC commutation circuit is proposed, and the test and performance research are carried out. Firstly, the electrical issues of high-voltage stress, large-current temperature rise and voltage balancing protection are analyzed, and a 15 kV/55 kA thyristor bridge switch prototype is developed. In the testing of the prototype, the inconsistency phenomenon of series connected thyristors in trigger conducting stage was discovered. After eliminating external factors, it was found that the inconsistency was caused by the parameter dispersion of thyristors themselves. Through the selection of UGT/IGT parameter, the thyristors after replaced show higher consistency. Moreover, this phenomenon has been explained in detail based on the physical structure of thyristor. Finally, high-current experiments including pulse discharge test of LC commutation circuit and 55 kA VCB breaking test are successfully implemented. The performance of thyristor bridge switch was further verified.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142061525002364DC breakerThyristorSeries connectedUGT/IGTConducting consistency
spellingShingle Meng Xu
Wei Tong
Hua Li
Zhiquan Song
Zhenhan Li
Chao Gao
Peng Fu
Design and experiments of a bidirectional thyristor bridge switch for LC commutation in high-current DC vacuum circuit breaker
International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems
DC breaker
Thyristor
Series connected
UGT/IGT
Conducting consistency
title Design and experiments of a bidirectional thyristor bridge switch for LC commutation in high-current DC vacuum circuit breaker
title_full Design and experiments of a bidirectional thyristor bridge switch for LC commutation in high-current DC vacuum circuit breaker
title_fullStr Design and experiments of a bidirectional thyristor bridge switch for LC commutation in high-current DC vacuum circuit breaker
title_full_unstemmed Design and experiments of a bidirectional thyristor bridge switch for LC commutation in high-current DC vacuum circuit breaker
title_short Design and experiments of a bidirectional thyristor bridge switch for LC commutation in high-current DC vacuum circuit breaker
title_sort design and experiments of a bidirectional thyristor bridge switch for lc commutation in high current dc vacuum circuit breaker
topic DC breaker
Thyristor
Series connected
UGT/IGT
Conducting consistency
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142061525002364
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