Synchronous controlled switching by vacuum circuit breaker (VCB) with electromagnetic operation mechanism

Synchronously controlled switching to suppress transient overvoltage and overcurrent resulting from when the circuit breakers on medium voltage systems are closed is described. Firstly, by simulation it is found that if the closing time is synchronously controlled so that the contacts of the circuit breaker close completely at the instant when the voltage across contacts of the breaker at each of the three individual phases are zero, the resulting overvoltage and overcurrent is significantly suppressed when compared to conventional three phase simultaneous closing. Next, an algorithm for determining the closing timing based on a forecasted voltage zero waveform, obtained from voltage sampling data, is presented. Finally, a synchronous closing operation experiment utilizing a controller to implement the algorithm and a VCB with an electromagnetic operation mechanism is presented. The VCB was successfully closed at the zero point within a timing error of 200 microseconds.