Spectroscopic observation of high breaking capacity fuse arcs

The complex nature of arcing phenomena In high breaking capacity fuses has made arc modelling and simulation extremely difficult. This paper describes an experimental spectroscopic technique to continuously investigate arc parameters, such as temperature, in this type of fuse. Arc probing was achieved by the use of an optical fibre and the spectroscopy consisted of the continuous acquisition of plasma emissions of radiation by an opto-electronic system. Using quantum-mechanics expressions for the computation of the results, the arc temperature was estimated to be about 20 000 K, which agrees with previous research. There was little variation of temperature with time. This information is of great value for those developing dynamic representations of fuse arcs