Research on the energy consumption mechanism and characteristics of the gallium indium tin liquid metal arcing process

For high-voltage direct current(HVDC)power grid transmission with higher voltages,the energyconsuming branch of the DC circuit breaker is required to dissipate huge energies of more than megajoules in a short time in the case of a fault and short circuit.The requirements for huge volume and weight are difficult to meet with energy-consuming equipment based on ZnO.In this paper,a new energy consumption method is proposed based on gallium indium tin(GaInSn)liquid metal in the arcing process,and a test platform with adjustable short-circuit current is built.The mechanism triggering GaInSn liquid metal arcing energy consumption is studied.It is found that short-circuit current and channel aperture are the key parameters affecting the energy consumption of liquid metal arcing.The characteristics of GaInSn liquid metal energy consumption are investigated,and four stages of liquid metal energy consumption are found:oscillatory shrinkage,arc breakdown,arc burning phase change and arc extinction.The influence of short-circuit current and channel aperture on the energy consumption characteristics of GaInSn liquid metal is investigated.To further explore the physical mechanism of the above phenomena,a magneto-hydrodynamic model of energy consumption in the GaInSn liquid metal arcing process is established.The influence of short-circuit current and channel aperture on the temperature distribution of the liquid metal arc is analyzed.The mechanism of the effect of short-circuit current and channel aperture on peak arc temperature and the temperature diffusion rate is clarified.The research results provide theoretical support for this new liquid metal energy consumption mode DC circuit breaker.

Calculation of Nozzle Ablation During Arcing Period in an SF_6 Auto-Expansion Circuit Breaker

The nozzle ablation process is described as two phases of heat and ablation in the interruption for an SF6 circuit breaker in this paper. Their mathematical models are established with the Fourier heat conduction differential equation respectively. The masses of nozzle ablation with different arc durations and arc currents are calculated through the model of the nozzle abla- tion combined with an MHD （magneto-hydrodynamic） arc model. The time of the temperature rise on the inner surface of the nozzle under a given energy flux and of reaching the pyrolysis temperature under different energy fluxes is respectively analyzed. The relations between the mass of nozzle ablation and breaking current and arc duration are obtained. The result shows that the absorbing energy process before the nozzle ablation can be neglected under the condition of the energy flux entering into nozzle q 〉 10^9 W/m^2. The ablation is the severest during the high-current phase and the ablation mass increases rapidly with the breaking current and with arc duration respectively.

Properties of intermediate-frequency vacuum arc in sinusoidal curved contact and butt contact

In this report,two new contact structures of a vacuum interrupter with a sinusoidal curved surface are proposed to improve the capability by increasing the surface area.The experimental investigation of vacuum arc at intermediate frequency(360-800 Hz)was conducted and the results were compared with a butt contact with the same contact diameter(41 mm)and the same material.By analyzing the arc behavior,arc voltage characteristics,arc energy,current interrupting capacity,ablation of the anode contact and condensation of the arc products at a 3 mm gap,the differences in their vacuum arc characteristics were determined.The correlations of their arc energy with the amplitude and the frequency of the current were also achieved.Analysis suggests that the ruled curved contact has strong application potentiality because of its low arc energy,low arc voltage noise and arc voltage peak,light ablation on the surface of the anode contact and high interrupting capacity.

Erosion Characteristics of Oil-immersed On-load Tap Changer Contacts Under Varying Contact Speeds and Pressures

With the growing demand for precise voltage adjustment and reactive regulation,the frequent operation of on-load tap changers(OLTCs)in oil-immersed systems has led to increased erosion of switch contacts by arcs during the switching process.This erosion causes significant wear on the contacts,thereby reducing their lifespan.Therefore,the present study aims to investigate the behavior and mechanism of arc erosion on contact surfaces in oil-immersed OLTCs.To achieve this,a self-designed friction and wear test device for OLTC contacts was utilized to conduct experiments at various sliding speeds and contact pressures.Additionally,finite element analysis was employed to validate the experimental results regarding the influence of sliding speed on arc energy.The surface morphology of the contacts was observed using an optical microscope.The findings revealed that as the sliding speed increased,the arc energy,arc initiation rate,and contact resistance initially exhibited an upward trend,then decreased,and eventually increased again.The minimum values were observed at a sliding speed of 90 mm/s.Moreover,the arc energy,arc initiation rate,and contact resistance decreased gradually as the contact pressure increased.After reaching a contact pressure of 1.5 N,the variation in the arc energy stabilized.At lower contact pressures,arc erosion dominated the wear on the contact surface.However,at higher contact pressures,the wear transitioned from predominantly arc erosion to a combination of mechanical wear and arc erosion.In summary,experimental and analytical investigations provided insights into the effects of sliding speed and contact pressure on the behavior of arc erosion,contact resistance,and surface damage of OLTC contacts in oil-immersed systems.