Modeling of dynamic characteristics for spring operating Gas Circuit Breaker

A dynamics simulator for a Gas Circuit Breaker (GCB) with spring operating mechanism was developed. The spring stores mechanical energy. When opening and closing instruction are entered in the GCB, the solenoid pushes the trigger, and mechanisms move so as to release the compression force of the spring at a high speed. A compact and light-weight mechanism is required for high-speed operation of the GCB. This means that the high-speed operation must be analytically investigated. We made a mechanical dynamics model of the whole GCB, including an FEM modal analysis. The dynamic simulator incorporates a solenoid electromagnetic field analysis and a gas pressure analysis of puffer chamber in the mechanical dynamics model. The operating characteristics of the GCB were analyzed with the simulator and measured in an operating experiment. The analytical results were in good agreement with the experimental results, and this proved that the simulator can be used to estimate the operating characteristics and appraise the stability of operation. The dynamics simulator can shorten the time it takes to design compact and light-weight GCB.