PhD scholarship on Protection schemes for HVDC cable systems in multi-vendor HVDC grids

The position is part of the ADOreD (Accelerating the Deployment of Offshore wind using Dc technology) project. ADOreD is one of the largest industrial doctoral networks contributing to the decarbonization of electric power system via developing the most appropriate models and methods for a coordinated approach to offshore renewable connections. Six academic and 12 industrial beneficiaries will recruit and train 19 doctoral candidates performing research on topics spanning offshore wind, HVDC technology and grids and interactions between AC and DC systems. ADOReD is funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research & innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101073554. 

In accordance with MSCA Doctoral Networks, candidates must comply with mobility rule: you must not have resided or carried out your main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Belgium for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before your recruitment date. This may require that the candidate will have to move to another country during that period. 

HVDC grids are expected to grow organically from point-to-point and small multi-terminal systems. As a step in between point-to-point HVDC links and selectively protected HVDC grids, re-configurable HVDC links are considered. In such a situation, multiple point-to-point links or small multi-terminals can be re-configured according to the power flow needs, and they can be protected either using AC breakers or fault blocking (e.g., full-bridge) converters. Such types of operation may entail multiple switching and de-energization and re-energization transients of the cable. Furthermore, in the case of full-bridge converters, voltages with opposite polarity may be applied to the cable during fault clearing, e.g., when considering hybrid cable-overhead line systems. This PhD will (i) investigate the impact of these alternative HVDC system protection and operation strategies on the stresses as seen by the cable and, (ii), whenever deemed necessary propose operation methods or mitigation methods that avoid these stresses.