High-speed Solid-State Circuit Breaker with Latching Current Limiter for DC Systems

The advancement of DC systems, especially in transportation applications, hinges on the development of effective protection mechanisms. Robust protection systems are crucial for enabling the widespread adoption of DC technologies in important transport modes, offering both operational and economic benefits. This paper introduces a high-speed solid-state circuit breaker designed for enhancing the protection of general DC systems. The upgraded breaker integrates the functionality of a latching current limiter, designed to minimize modifications to existing technologies. A custom gate driver and controller are developed and experimentally validated to support the circuit breaker. A scaled solid-state circuit breaker prototype is tested under various operational conditions to evaluate its performance. The breaker's behavior is simulated in SPICE to guide the experimental validation on a referential DC system. The results demonstrate high performance, with a clearing time close to 200 ns, effectively reducing system stress during short circuits. The current limiter functionality prevents unnecessary tripping during temporary overcurrents, keeping the current within safe parameters. The innovative gate driver simplifies the implementation of the latching current limiter, offering a practical and scalable solution. This work represents a significant step forward in DC protection technology, promoting the adoption of DC systems in transportation applications and beyond, by addressing critical protection challenges.