Moving Arc Study and Plasma Diagnosis in Vacuum Interrupters With TMF Contacts

Electrical and optical investigations are focused on a vacuum circuit breaker study. The short-circuit regime in the low-voltage network is exactly reproduced by a specific test circuit. The analysis of the phenomena during the high-current evolution and on the current-zero zone is made for the purpose of increasing the breaking capability of this kind of equipment. The displacement speed of the arc column on the surface of the contact pieces in the case of the transverse magnetic field solution is correlated with the spatial and temporal plasma diagnostic. For post-arc current being an important element defining the quality of the short-circuit interruption process, specific measurements are also performed. For better understanding of the high-current interruption in vacuum, the experimentally studied phenomena are mathematically modeled.