Experimental Investigations Into Low Current Steady State Arcs In A Dual-Airflow Model Interrupter

It is well-known that shock waves frequently occur inside the nozzle of the interrupter, and that they play important roles in the arc interruption. A model interrupter with two-dimensional dual-airflow nozzles was used for this experiment. The arc was ignited with 1.4 mil copper wire stretched between the electrodes which were spaced out 56 mm. The arc current of 60 to 230 A was achieved by adjusting the external resistance from 5.5 to 1.6 ohms. The arc tests have been conducted for investigating the air arc characteristics, and the effects of shock waves and nozzle pressure ratios on the arc voltage, the arc resistance, the arc power, and average electric field. The results of these tests have been analyzed to provide insights into the arc characteristics for gas circuit breakers. The average electric field is represented by the function of the arc current to show the negative E-I characteristic explicitly. The effects of shock waves and nozzle pressure ratios are shown to be significant for a circuit breaker performance.