Experimental investigation on the fusion of thin wire elements exposed in air and silicon oxide granules environments

The use of fusible elements for the protection of the low voltage installations, medium voltage distribution network and a wide variety of other applications against fault currents is mandatory by any regulation. The investigation and analysis of the processes during circuit braking, with the involved arcing phenomena, is required to improve existing knowledge. Furthermore, the reliability and long lasting operation of the fuse elements themselves are very important issues due to their operating characteristics in nominal or excess currents. This work presents measurements of the voltage, current density, magnetic pressure and I²t during the fusion process on thin wire elements exposed in air and silicon oxide granules. The results are analyzed and interpretation of the related phenomena is presented. The results could be found useful in the development of new improved fusion models useful for the development of more advance fuselinks.