A Fault Arc Circuit Breaker Based on Arc Voltage and Short-circuit Current Detection

This paper developed an arc fault circuit breaker capable of effectively identifying both series and parallel are faults, as well as limiting the output quantity of arc faults, which is particularly useful in renewable energy systems such as photovoltaic and wind power setups to mitigate the risks associated with DC arc faults. Series arc faults are identified by detecting arc voltage using a voltage sensor, while parallel arc faults are detected through short-circuit current limitation using a current sensor. By adding a current-limiting switch, the output quantity of arc faults is effectively controlled. Experiments on both series and parallel arc faults were conducted, and the results showed that the proposed arc fault circuit breaker can effectively identify series and parallel arc faults and control the output quantity of arc faults. Additionally, a miss detection and false operation test was designed, with a miss detection rate of $\mathbf{2. 5 \%}$ and a false operation rate of only $\mathbf{3. 3 3 \%}$, effectively verifying the safety of the proposed arc fault circuit breaker. This device has significant implications for the development and testing of are fault detectors.