Gate Drive Controller for Low Voltage DC Hybrid Circuit Breaker

With the advent of direct current (DC) loads such as LED lighting, IT equipment, electric vehicles, and DC powers generated from renewable energy sources, low voltage DC (LVDC) distribution system is becoming a hot issue. One of the hurdles in the LVDC distribution system is arc flash at the contact points that occurs during the circuit is opening. Unlike alternating current, direct current has no zero points and sustains constantly. Therefore, there is a risk of electric fire due to continuous generating arcs when the load current is interrupted with an existing electrical contact type circuit breaker. Recently, the concept of a hybrid circuit breaker that takes advantage of traditional electrical contact type switch and the arcless semiconductor switch has been proposed, but how to cooperatively operate the two switches has become an issue. This paper analyzes the principle of a hybrid circuit breaker for blocking LVDC current and proposes a gate drive controller for it. Through 400V class LVDC cutoff test, the operation of the proposed hybrid circuit breaker is verified and the characteristics are analyzed.