Short-circuit protection for low-voltage DC microgrids based on solid-state circuit breakers

Proper short-circuit protection in dc microgrids has provided a sturdy challenge to researchers as the development of commercially-viable equipment providing fast operation, coordination and reliability still continues. In this paper, issues associated with short-circuit protection of low-voltage dc (LVDC) microgrids are analyzed, a short-circuit protection methodology based on solid-state circuit breakers (SSCBs) that provides fault-current limiting (FCL) is evaluated, several fault-detection techniques are considered, and certain topics related to the SSCB design are addressed. Simulation results for a simple 1kV dc microgrid system illustrate that SSCB solutions based on integrated gate-commutated thyristors (IGCT) are feasible for low-voltage microgrids but requires connecting several devices in parallel to open fast-rising fault currents.