Improvement of power quality by means of fault current limitation

Power quality improvement is becoming an increasingly important issue for both electric utilities and customers. Utilities are currently exploring methods of increasing the reliability of the power supply due to the growing number of sensitive loads. Therefore, this paper explores the impact of a series resonant fault current limiter (FCL) on the improvement of power quality of a radial distribution system. It provides simulations of a typical distribution system with and without the FCL to determine its effect on voltage dips during faulted conditions. It also investigates the interaction of the FCL with system protection and provides protection engineers with methods of re-coordinating the protective scheme after placing the series resonant FCL into a distribution system.