Time-resolved ablation performance of polymers as wall materials for switching applications

Experimental setup for investigating the time-resolved ablation performance of polymers - functioning as wall materials for low voltage switching applications, was designed in this work. The test rig allows for chopping/bypassing a fault current up to the magnitude of 2.7 kA generated by a RLC damped circuit, in step of 1 millisecond. An updated test chamber allowing for characterizing the pressure built-up during the polymer ablation was introduced as well. Characterization of the testing system was first performed in respect of the injected energy and pressure generated versus arcing time; polymeric material performances as regards mass loss, pressure attributed to gassing species as well as injected energy, versus resolved arcing durations, were thereafter investigated and compared.