Modeling and Analysis of Superconducting Fault Current Limiter for System Integration of Battery Banks

Battery energy storage system (BESS) is required in microgrids to balance the energy requirements from the load and the generated available energy. However, under fault conditions, there are many problems facing BESS. Accordingly, superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) is presented in this paper as an effective solution for system integration of battery banks. A microgrid composed of PV system, battery bank, DC bus, and loads is modeled using PSCAD/EMTDC computer package. The impact of SFCL on battery current and its rate of rising is obtained under different battery conditions. Moreover, the change of battery state of charge after using SFCL is highlighted. The results proved that using SFCL with batteries will provide technical benefits on battery lifetime, grid code compliance, and cost of DC circuit breaker. Finally, the required SFCL material is evaluated by obtaining the suitable resistance value and critical current followed by experimental investigation of developed resistance for an actual superconducting tape.