刘志远

Date:

2025-04-30

Title of Paper:

Stepwise Behavior of Free Recovery Processes after Diffused Vacuum Arc Extinction

Journal:

IEEE Trans. Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation

Summary:

ABSTRACT
The objective of this paper is to gain insight into free recovery processes in vacuum
interrupters after diffused vacuum arcs extinction. A sub-microsecond voltage impulse, which
peaked at 90 kV with a rising time of 150 ns) (rate of rise 480 kV/μs), were electronically
controlled to apply upon a switching gap of a vacuum interrupter at a predetermined interval
after a power frequency current zero. Based on the breakdown voltages at different intervals
after arc extinction, we can obtain the free recovery behavior of the vacuum interrupter. The
contact materials under study included Cu, CuCr25 and CuCr50. The contacts were butttype,
and the contact diameters were 12 and 25 mm, respectively. The arc current peaked at
2.1 kA with a frequency of 50 Hz and the arcing time was ~9 ms. The results show the free
recovery behavior stepped from ~28 kV to ~70 kV at ~4 μs after arc extinction for the three
kinds of contact materials with the two contact diameters given. By calculation of the
dissipation of metal vapor density and ion density, we conclude that the decay of ions, rather
than metal vapor, may be the main reason for the stepwise behavior of the free recovery
process after diffused vacuum arcs extinction.

Co-author:

Zhenxing Wang, Yingsan Geng, and Zhiyuan Liu

Volume:

Vol. 19, No. 2; April 2012

Page Number:

pp.582-590

Translation or Not:

No

Date of Publication:

2012-04-02