| Abstract: | Since fault current tends to increase with electrical power demand, current‐limiting technology for overcurrents has been investigated. As a promising candidate, the superconducting fault‐current limiter (SC‐FCL) is expected to be introduced into power systems. One of the most important features of the SC‐FCL is recovery to a normal operating mode, that is, superconducting state rapidly after current interruption. In this paper, the recovery time of an SC‐FCL introduced into a distribution power system is discussed. To obtain the fundamental data, the recovery time of short Nb‐Ti superconducting cables was measured. We developed a method of calculation of the recovery time and it was confirmed that the calculated results agree with the measured ones. We studied the recovery characteristics of an SC‐FCL in a 6.6‐kV distribution system for the short‐circuit fault near the substation. We considered 3 and 17 cycles as the period from fault occurrence until current interruption. As a result, the superconducting cable length required to recover within the high‐speed reclosing time of 0.3 s are more that 270 and 480 m for 3 and 17 cycles, respectively. © 2000 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 132(4): 34–44, 2000 |
