Everything You Need To Know About Current Limiting Reactors

In electrical industries, current limiting reactors play an important role in the transmission and distribution of voltage levels in the power stations without creating the situation of electric short circuit current. The produce of electric current depends upon the generating capacity and voltage at fault point and the total reactance between the generators and the fault point. 

Current limiting reactors are also known as current limiting reactance coils or series reactors which carry a massive inductive reactance for eliminating the fault conditions and allowing the potential exchange of power under normal conditions. It has become an important tool for various industrial power systems that results in eliminating the voltage disturbances and fault conditions in the entire transmission system. These reactors are manufactured up to a limit of 420Kv that is enough to withstand the high flow of current and fault current conditions for a specific period of time. 

Current limiting reactors are categorized into two parts such as dry types and oil immersed type, where dry-type reactors require large space and can be used up to 33kV. They get usually cooled through natural ventilation and sometimes by heat exchanger auxiliaries. Oil-immersed reactors, on the other hand, are used for voltages above 33kV and are known for high thermal capacity and higher safety from fault conditions.

• Smoothing reactors

• Damping reactors

• Tuning reactors

• Shunt reactors

• Current limiting reactors

• Neutral Earthing reactors

• Earthing transformer

• Arc suppression reactors

• Air core reactors

• Gapped iron core reactors

• Variable and fixed reactors

• Indoor and outdoor type of reactors

• Series reactors

• The main function of current limiting reactors is to manage the operation of power systems by reducing the flow of current into a short circuit in order to prevent the apparatus, efficiency, and functionality of the power systems from excessive heating and fault conditions.

• The next most important function of these reactors is to reduce the magnitude of voltage disturbances in the power systems by electric short circuit current.

• It also eliminates the mechanical stress on buses, insulators, circuit breakers, and all devices with high voltages, therefore, it is the most potent tool to limit and control the flow of current in various modes of applications. 

• They perform the function of maintaining a balance between the electric current in parallel circuits. 

• These reactors are responsible to reduce the stress imposed upon switching equipment during electric short circuit current.

• They navigate the fault conditions in power systems by limiting the flow of current that passes from feeders to other parts of the systems. 

There are many positive outcomes of current limiting reactors that include enhancing the longevity of equipment and apparatus of power systems, limiting the high rise of temperature, giving optimum protection from harmful UV radiations, and delivers high strength to withstand the high electric current circuit and other fault conditions.