The anode surface temperature of CuCr contacts at the limit of current interruption

Author

Watanabe, K. ; Sato, J. ; Kagenaga, K. ; Somei, H. ; Homma, M. ; Kaneko, E. ; Takahashi, H.

Author_Institution

Toshiba Corp., Tokyo, Japan

Volume

1

fYear

1996

fDate

21-26 Jul 1996

Firstpage

291

Abstract

This paper estimates vacuum interrupter anode surface temperature at the current interruption limit by measuring the melting time of a contact material after current interruption and simulating the anode surface temperature. As a result, the minimum anode surface temperature of CuCr (50/50) contact material was about 1750 K. The authors also calculated the metal vapor density between electrodes with a simplified model. The calculation results showed that the critical vapor density was about 3×10²⁰ atoms/m³. This vapor density is equivalent to an averaged pressure of 8 Pa, which is close to the value of the Pachen minimum

Keywords

anodes; chromium alloys; circuit-breaking arcs; copper alloys; electric breakdown; electrical contacts; insulation testing; melting; switchgear testing; vacuum arcs; vacuum breakdown; vacuum circuit breakers; vacuum interrupters; 1750 K; 8 Pa; CuCr; CuCr contacts; Pachen minimum; anode surface temperature; circuit breakers; contact material melting; current interruption limit; electrodes; metal vapor density; simplified model; vacuum interrupter; Anodes; Area measurement; Cameras; Current measurement; Density measurement; Electrodes; Magnetic field measurement; Temperature measurement; Time measurement; Wavelength measurement;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Discharges and Electrical Insulation in Vacuum, 1996. Proceedings. ISDEIV., XVIIth International Symposium on

Conference_Location

Berkeley, CA

Print_ISBN

0-7803-2906-6

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/DEIV.1996.545368

Filename

545368