A Novel Current-Injection Based Design for HVDC Circuit Breakers

This article deals with a new design for HVDC Circuit Breakers (HVDC CB) based on high current injection. HVDC CBs have to withstand and break DC currents under additional stress caused by line inductances. Its current breaking capability is a key feature for holistic grid construction. Semiconductors are a limiting factor in this field. Besides thermal problems, physical switching mechanisms set limitations according to the device's Safe Operating Area (SOA). The new design has an improved current switching capability and an adequate voltage protection suitable for high performance demands of a HVDC grid environment. Simulations in MATLAB Simulink verify the outlined benefits.