Skip to main content
APEC 2026 Main banner

Solid State and Hybrid Circuit Breakers

D20.3 - A Parallel Nonlinear Inductor-Based and a Coupled Inductor-Based Fault Current Commutation Strategies for a Medium-Voltage Hybrid DC Circuit Breaker

Thursday, March 26, 2026
12:00 PM - 1:45 PM CT
Location: Hemisfair Ballroom
This paper proposes two fault current commutation methods. The first one is an active parallel nonlinear inductor-based commutation strategy, enabling both reduced stray inductance through cylindrical design and scalable current handling through modularity. The current distribution mechanism is detailed, and a modified voltage-based active controller is introduced. Time-domain simulations verify the method, and finite element analysis shows lower stray inductance than with the single-inductor approach. The second method employs a coupled inductor to achieve multi-level output voltage and a higher equivalent switching frequency. Therefore, the current through the FMS can be well confined within a limited range, and the current rating of the power semiconductor devices can be reduced due to the coupled inductor’s current-balancing effect. Time-domain simulations verify the theoretical effectiveness of this approach under ideal conditions.