Thyristor Arc Eliminator for Protection of Low Voltage Electrical Equipment

Karol Nowak, Jerzy Janiszewski and Grzegorz Dombek
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Karol Nowak: Institute of Electric Power Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, Piotrowo 3A, 60-965 Poznan, Poland
Jerzy Janiszewski: Institute of Electric Power Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, Piotrowo 3A, 60-965 Poznan, Poland
Grzegorz Dombek: Institute of Electric Power Engineering, Poznan University of Technology, Piotrowo 3A, 60-965 Poznan, Poland

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 14, 1-15

Abstract: The paper presents the layout of two opposing thyristors working as an Arc Eliminator (AE). The presented solution makes it possible to protect an electrical apparatus against the effects of an arcing fault. An Arc Eliminator is assumed to be a device cooperating with the protected apparatus. Thyristors were used because of their speed of operation and a relatively lower cost compared to other semiconductors with the same current-carrying capacity. The proposed solution, as one of the few currently available, makes it possible to eliminate the fault arc—both at short-circuit currents and current values to which overcurrent protections do not react. A test circuit was designed and made to study the effectiveness of the thyristor arc eliminator. A series of tests was carried out with variable impedance in the arc branch, including the influence of circuit inductance on arc time. It was found that the thyristor arc eliminator effectively protects devices powered from a low voltage power network against the effects of a fault or arc fault. The correctness of system operation for a wide range of impedance changes in the circuit feeding the arc location was demonstrated.

Keywords: arc eliminator; arc fault; arc protection; low voltage; thyristor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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