Investigation of a Novel IGCT Module for DC Circuit Breaker

Power semiconductors for DC circuit breaker (DCCB) have attracted great attentions due to their fast and arc-less operation under full-range current-breaking. Since the robustness of Integrated Gate-Commutated Thyristor (IGCT) is the highest among all full-control power semiconductors, it becomes the perfect power semiconductor candidate for DC circuit breaker. In this paper, the principle and operation of hybrid circuit breaker are introduced. Technical analysis of full-control power semiconductor is conducted and IGCT is the best choice for HCB. Then, A novel power semiconductor circuit based on two IGCTs, diode-bridge, snubber-circuit and MOV is proposed and designed both topologically and structurally. The selection of full-control power semiconductor is discussed and fast recover diode must be used to ensure reliability. Furthermore, the internal current distribution is analyzed. Finally, a test of a single-stage IGCT module prototype demonstrates successful current-breaking at over 10kA and below 4kV, which is promising in the area of fault protection in future MVDC distribution system.