Solid-State Circuit Breaker Protection for DC Shipboard Power Systems: Breaker Design, Protection Scheme, Validation Testing

The ultrafast protection speed requirement motivates the adoption of solid-state circuit breakers (SSCBs) for dc shipboard power systems. A 1 kV and 1.5 kA SS dc circuit breaker (DCCB) based on reverse blocking integrated gate commutated thyristor (RB-IGCT) semiconductor technology was designed, built, and tested for dc fault protection of naval dc shipboard power systems. This article presents different aspects and challenges in designing an RB-IGCT based SS DCCB, the selection and design of a selected protection coordination scheme, and the validation test setup and experimental testing results of a single SS DCCB and protection coordination between SS DCCBs. The developed SS DCCB delivers premium fault protection performance and is the solution of choice for demanding dc distribution systems, battery energy storage systems, and other distribution systems with high penetration of power electronics converters. Thanks to the fast fault interruption, the fault energy going through the system is greatly reduced and some components may be designed with lower engineering margins.