General Electric Technology Gmbh

Jonathan Christopher Nicholls

Konstantin Vershinin

David Reginald Trainer

John Lewis Outram

Rajaseker Reddy Ginnareddy

Francisco Jose Moreno Munoz

Javier Francisco Chivite-Zabalza

Ikenna Bruce Efika

Francisco Jose Moreno Munzo

Fault protection of a voltage source converter is provided. An apparatus has a chain-link circuit in series with a director switch. The chain-link circuit includes cells including an energy storage element and cell switching elements connected with anti-parallel diodes. Each cell switching element has a cell switching element controller. The director switch includes director switch units, each having a director switching element and a director switch unit controller. Each cell switching element controller monitors for a fault current and turns-off its associated cell switching element and reports a fault event to a fault controller. Each director switch unit controller monitors for a fault current and reports a fault event to the fault controller but the director switch unit control keeps its associated director switching element turned-on. The fault controller monitors for reports of fault events to order the cell switching elements of at least some of the cells to turn-off.

Fault protection for voltage source converters

An apparatus and methods of breaking a circuit using a switch are disclosed. In an example, a variable voltage is applied across a switch, which comprises a series connection of switching elements which are individually controllable between a blocking state and a conductive state. The state of the switching elements is controlled such that at least a portion of switching elements are in the blocking state, and fewer switching elements are in the blocking state when the applied voltage magnitude is low than when the applied voltage magnitude is high.

Switch apparatus

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Stafford, United Kingdom

Jonathan Christopher Nicholls