Field tests on a 35kV/90MVA Superconducting Fault Current Limiter

We developed a 35kV/90MVA Superconducting Fault Current Limiter (SFCL) and installed it in a transmission network at Puji substation of China Southern Power Grid at the end of 2007. A 72 hour period of trial operation was conducted before the SFCL was commissioned into the grid. This device demonstrated having very low impedance in normal power transmission and no adverse effect on the power network. To fully examine its current limiting capacity, current limiting tests were conducted under artificially imposed short-circuit conditions on July 20, 2009. A series of five different tests, including a fail safe test, were carried out. The experimental results are in good agreement with design expectations. The device's current limiting capacity has been convincingly demonstrated. In this paper, we report some details of these tests and the resultant data.