Abstract:The de - icing devices are normally connected to the AC substation using the commutation inductance,instead of isolation transformers,which results in DC voltage coupling of the SCR converters to the AC networks under unipolar DC fault condition,thus causing significant neutral point voltage deviations,saturation of potential transducers ( PTs) and breakdown of fuses. The risk assessment of different de - icing methods is presented,and the mechanism of PT saturation and fuse breakdown are revealed. Based on the practical operation conditions,the protection and control strategies of the existing de - icing devices are analyzed and significantly enhanced. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy has been validated by the electromagnetic transient simulation results,and the operation risk under unipolar DC faults can be remarkably reduced,which can be widely applied in the practical applications of de - icing devices.