Faults in the HVDC System

❖ In an HVDC system, various types of faults can occur, including

direct current (DC) faults, converter faults, and alternating
current (AC) faults. Among these, DC faults are considered the
most dangerous and require careful analysis. HVDC transmission
line faults are caused due to external mechanical stress, lightning
strikes, overloading of the line, and pollution. In the DC
transmission system, two types of common faults generally exist.
❖ DC line faults are mainly of two types: line-to-line faults and line-
to-ground faults. In the case of a DC line fault, there is a high
probability of line failure, and such faults tend to be more powerful
and occur more frequently compared to AC faults.
❖ However, AC faults can also occur in HVDC systems, and faults on
the AC side can directly impact the performance and stability of
the DC link. Therefore, both AC and DC faults must be properly
understood and managed to ensure the safe operation of HVDC
networks.
 Faults occur in HVDC Systems
❖ In HVDC systems, faults are abnormal conditions that can disturb the flow of power
and damage equipment. Most faults are caused by problems in the AC system,
but they can affect the DC link as well. Quick detection and clearing of these
faults are very important to maintain system stability. Different types of faults occur
in AC networks, DC lines, cables, and converter stations, each requiring specific
protection methods.
❖ The most common faults are DC line faults, which include pole-to-pole (between
positive and negative conductors) and pole-to-ground faults. These faults can occur
due to lightning strikes, insulation failure, or physical damage to the line, and
they often result in very high currents that must be quickly cleared.
❖ Another type is converter faults, which happen in converter stations where AC is
converted to DC or vice versa. These faults may involve the failure of power
electronic devices like thyristors or IGBTs, or faults in the DC bus system.
❖ AC side faults, although occurring in the AC network, can also impact the HVDC
system, especially in line-commutated converters (LCC), where a voltage drop
can cause commutation failure, meaning the valves fail to switch properly.
❖ Lastly, control and protection faults can occur due to software issues,
communication errors, or malfunctioning relays, leading to incorrect operations
or failure to detect real faults.
 Nature and types of Faults occur in HVDC Systems
❖ In HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) systems, faults refer to abnormal
conditions like short circuits or equipment failures that interrupt the normal flow of
electricity. These systems are sensitive to faults because they carry high power
over long distances, and any disturbance can cause serious damage or power
outages.
❖ In HVDC systems, the DC circuit breaker operates without natural current zero
crossings (unlike AC systems), special fast-acting protection systems are needed to
quickly detect and isolate faults to keep the system stable and safe.

❖ Other faults that can occur in HVDC systems include valve misfire, commutation
failure, and maloperation of control and protection circuits. These issues can
affect the smooth operation of the system and require careful design of protection
schemes.
 Nature and types of Faults occur in HVDC Systems
❖ DC faults are faults that occur on the DC side of an HVDC system.
These faults can seriously disrupt power transmission and put heavy
stress on system equipment. Common types of DC faults include short
circuits, overcurrents, and insulation failures within the DC
transmission lines.
1) DC Line - to - Line Fault
▪ The DC line-to-line faults are usually caused by insulation failure
between the two DC conductors. When both wires of the HVDC
line are connected together, then the line-line fault is created. When
a line-to-line fault occurs in a DC transmission line, the capacitor
will be discharged rapidly. Simultaneously, the AC system will be
three-phase short-circuited through the fault point. When the fault
occurs on the DC side, the IGBTs can be blocked for self-protection
during faults, leaving reverse diodes exposed to overcurrent. The
fault demands that both converters should be blocked. The equivalent
circuit of a DC Line-to-Line fault is shown in Figure. The DC short-
circuit fault can be divided into three stages as follows.
Nature and types of Faults occur in HVDC Systems # DC Line - to - Line Fault @ Continuation
DC Line - to - Line Fault

HVDC line-line fault

OR Equivalent circuit of a DC line-to-line fault

Nature and types of Faults occur in HVDC Systems # DC Line - to - Line Fault @ Continuation

a) Discharging of Capacitor: When a DC line-to-line fault occurs, a

loop circuit without any source is formed. Then the DC filter
capacitor discharges through the transmission line impedance. After
the fault occurs, the system firstly experiences the capacitor
discharge stage. In this stage, the capacitor voltage decreases and
drops to zero. The capacitor discharging current is shown in the
equation.

b) Diode Freewheeling Stage: When the capacitor voltage decreases

and reaches less than the grid voltage, then the diode freewheeling
stage starts, and in this stage, the IGBT should be in the turn-off state
because of protection purposes. When the system goes into the
freewheeling stage then the rectifier works as an uncontrolled
rectifier. Then the DC current and the diode current will decrease
rapidly.
Nature and types of Faults occur in HVDC Systems # DC Line - to - Line Fault @ Continuation
c) Capacitor Recharging Stage: In the Capacitor Recharging Stage, the DC link
capacitor, cable inductance, and AC side form a forced response, and the
capacitor will be charged. During this stage, the DC voltage increases. In this
stage, the converter works as a current source and provides fault current to the
line shown in the Figure.
When the grid is in the feeding stage, then the
equations for the sending end voltage and current
are:
:

Figure: Fault current feeding by the Grid

 Nature and types of Faults occur in HVDC Systems @ Continuation
2) DC Line to Ground Fault
▪ The DC line-to-ground fault is caused by insulation failure between the DC
conductor and ground. In an overhead HVDC transmission system, the DC
Line to Ground fault is temporary, which is caused by lightning strikes and
pollution. For an underground HVDC transmission system, the DC line to
ground fault is the most frequent fault. In the case of the underground cable,
when one line’s insulation fails, then this line is connected to the sheath, and
then a line-to-ground fault is created. The equivalent circuit of a DC Line to
ground fault is shown in the figure.

OR

Figure: An equivalent circuit of a DC Line to

Ground Fault
 Nature and types of Faults occur in HVDC Systems # DC Line - to - Ground Fault @ Continuation

This fault can be divided into three stages are as follows:

a) DC Side Capacitor Discharge Stage: When a DC Line to Ground
fault occurs, a discharge circuit is formed among the fault pole
capacitor and fault impedance through the fault line. After the fault
occurs, the system experiences the DC side capacitor discharge stage.
b) Grid-Side Current Feeding Stage: When a DC Line to Ground fault
occurs, the DC side capacitor discharges due to this, the DC voltage
drops constantly. When the DC voltage drops to below any grid
phase voltage, then the system will experience the grid side current
feeding stage.
c) Voltage Recovery Stage: The fault pole capacitor voltage drops, and
the non-fault pole capacitor voltage rises with the capacitor
discharging. The DC voltage gradually restores, so the system enters
the voltage recovery stage.
Nature and types of Faults occur in HVDC Systems # AC Line Faults @ Continuation
❖ AC Line Faults: When AC faults occur either on the inverter side or
converter side, then the DC transmission line is also affected by this
fault.
❖ On the rectifier side of the HVDC system, when a temporary fault
occurs on the AC side, the DC transmission system may suffer a
power loss.
❖ When the inverter side faces an AC fault, the commutation process
may fail, and the flow of power can be interrupted. In AC faults, there
are three more frequent faults. On the inverter side of the HVDC
system, when a fault occurs on the AC system, the commutation
failure can occur and may interrupt power flow. The single line to
ground fault occurs on the primary side of the converter transformer
at the rectifier. The line-to-line fault occurs on the primary side of the
converter transformer at the rectifier. A three-phase fault is one of the
most severe faults in the HVDC system, as compared to the other two
faults.
Nature and types of Faults occur in HVDC Systems # AC Line Faults @ Continuation
▪ AC Line-ground fault: When any one of the three phases is short-
circuited to ground, then a single line to ground fault is created. The
line-ground fault is the most common type of fault in an AC system.
When this fault occurs, then the customer experiences a voltage sag.
This fault also affects our DC transmission system.
▪ Double line ground fault: This fault is the second most frequent fault
in the AC system. When two lines of three phases join together and get
short-circuited to the ground, then the double line to ground is created.
▪ Triple line-ground fault: When all three phase lines are short-
circuited and touch to the ground, then a three-phase ground fault
exists. fall on the ground. This is one of the most dangerous faults
compared previous two faults in the HVAC system.
 Faults on the AC side of Converter Stations
❖ The common faults on the AC side of converter stations include
symmetrical three-phase faults and asymmetrical faults like line-to-
ground, line-to-line, and double line-to-ground faults. These faults
cause a large drop in the converter terminal voltage, which reduces or
even stops the DC link power. Due to the large time constants in the DC
control units, it becomes difficult to quickly restore the DC current and
power to their original values. Additionally, these faults change the
reactive power needs of the converter, further affecting the voltage
stability.
❖ When an AC side fault happens, it can cause a sudden voltage dip,
leading to disturbances in the converter operation, especially in Line
Commutated Converters (LCC), where it may result in commutation
failure. During a commutation failure, the valves in the converter cannot
switch properly, affecting the flow of power.
❖ Most AC side faults are temporary and are usually cleared by tripping the
AC circuit breakers. However, until the fault is cleared, and the supply is
restored, the HVDC system may experience a temporary loss or
reduction of power.
 Faults on the AC side of Converter Stations @ Continuation
a) 3-phase Symmetrical Fault
▪ A 3-phase symmetrical fault is less severe than in pure AC systems because the DC
link does not feed extra current into the fault. If the fault occurs on the rectifier side,
protective relays detect it, and the AC breaker isolates the fault, allowing the system
to recover after clearing.
▪ However, if the fault happens near the inverter side, it causes commutation failures
and gives rise to large DC current peaks. This is controlled by quickly reducing the
firing angles of the valves. The fault is usually cleared within about 100
milliseconds (5 cycle time), and the system returns to normal shortly after.
▪ Typical simulated current waveforms at the rectifier and inverter ends are shown in
Figure below. The peak fault current can reach 2.5 p.u. The fault is simulated at 0.5
s, cleared at 0.62 s, and the normalcy is restored at 0.75 s.

3-phase fault at the

inverter end (the DC side
current)
 Faults on the AC side of Converter Stations @ Continuation
b) 3-phase Asymmetrical Faults
▪ In the case of asymmetrical faults like line-to-ground (L-G) or line-
to-line (L-L) faults, usually sufficient commutating voltage is
available, so the DC link can operate at a very reduced power level.
However, the valve firing circuits, which depend on signals from the
transformer windings, may malfunction and cause improper gate
signals. As a result, the system is usually shut down.
▪ The Fault clearing and reestablishment of the link is done in the same
way as for three-phase symmetrical faults. Typically, the fault is
cleared in a short time, and normal operation is restored after proper
control actions.
 Possible HVDC faults
In HVDC systems, most short-circuit type faults originate from the AC side and
pass through the DC link to the other connected AC system. These faults can be
explained as follows:
1) AC Network Faults: These include short circuits like line-to-ground or line-
to-line faults in the AC system, converter transformers, AC buses, filters, or
other equipment. Such faults are usually temporary and are cleared by tripping
the breakers on the AC side. However, until the fault is cleared, and the supply
is restored, the system experiences a power loss.
2) AC Line Faults on the Inverter Side: When faults occur on the inverter side
AC lines, a commutation failure typically happens, which means the valves in
the converter cannot switch properly. However, these faults are usually cleared
quickly, and power is restored in a very short time.
3) DC Line or Cable Faults: The most common DC faults are pole-to-ground
(line-to-ground) faults, while pole-to-pole short circuits are rare. To clear such
faults, the rectifier operation is temporarily changed into inverter mode,
allowing the fault energy to dissipate quickly, usually within 80 to 100
milliseconds. Temporary faults, like those caused by lightning strikes, can also
occur and are typically cleared within 200 milliseconds, restoring the system
soon after.
 Possible HVDC faults @ Continuation
4) DC Cable Damages and Short Circuits: Although rare, faults can
happen in underground DC cables used between the sending and
receiving ends. In such cases, the rectifier is blocked, the stored
energy is pumped back into the AC system, and power transmission is
disconnected until the faulted section is isolated and repaired.
5) DC Converter Station Faults: Faults at converter stations are
different from AC system faults. In DC systems, only line-to-ground
faults occur, and normally, there are no circuit breakers to interrupt
the current. Instead, the protection system blocks the rectifier and
dissipates the stored energy to clear the fault. DC faults are cleared
very quickly, usually within 100 milliseconds, and temporary faults
allow supply restoration in about 200 milliseconds.
❖ DC Fault; AC Fault; P-P or L-L Fault (also known as Bipolar
Fault); Line to Ground Fault(L-G) or Pole to ground(P-G); Pole
to Ground Fault(P-P-G); Overvoltage Fault; Overcurrent Fault;
Converter Station Faults; Converter Valve Fault.
 Possible HVDC faults @ Continuation
❖ The lighting characteristic of the DC line has specific characteristics.
The probability of both poles of the system being struck by lightning
at the same place at the same time is almost zero. Generally, the DC
line is struck by lightning for a short time, and the DC voltage will
rise in a short time under the effect of lightning. If the insulation of the
DC line cannot withstand the voltage at this time, the phenomenon of
flashover discharge of the DC line to the ground will appear.
❖ Meanwhile, if the insulation of the tower is damaged, ground
flashover will also occur. After a flashover occurs on transmission
lines, changes in voltage and current will be transmitted to both ends.
According to the traveling wave theory, the voltage and current at
both ends are the superposition of forward and backward waves.
If a(t) represents the forward wave, b(t) represents the backward
travelling wave, and Z represents the wave impedance, then the
instantaneous increment is as follows: