Study of post-arc residual plasma dissipation process of vacuum circuit breakers based on a 2D particle-in-cell model

In order to get an insight into residual plasma radial motion during the post-arc stage,a twodimensional(2D)cylindrical particle-in-cell(PIC)model is developed.Firstly,influences of a virtual boundary condition on the residual plasma motion are studied.For purpose of validating this 2D cylindrical particle-in-cell model,a comparison between one-dimensional particle-in-cell model is also presented in this paper.Then a study about the influences of the rising rate of transient recovery voltage on the residual plasma radial motion is presented on the basis of the 2D PIC model.

New Generation of Outdoor Vacuum Circuit Breakers with Rated Voltage up to 40.5 kV

The article describes design peculiarities of the novel compact vacuum circuit breaker with rated voltage 40.5 kV. The design incorporates several novel technical solutions： polycarbonate support insulation, mono-stable magnetic actuator, labyrinth pulling insulator, core-type flexible contact and new compact vacuum interrupter （VI）. Phases are encapsulated into silicone rubber providing required creepage distance and excellent tracking resistance. These novelties along with extensive modeling of the mechanical and electrical fields followed by design optimization resulted in weight reduction of more than 50% compared with alternatives available in the market. And this is in spite of built in sensors measuring： phase currents, zero-sequence current, phase voltages.

Study on Restrike Phenomena for 40.5-kV Vacuum Circuit Breakers

When interrupting short circuit fault by 40.5-kV vacuum circuit breakers, it is significant to eliminate multiple restrike phenomena, which occur frequently and result in high overvoltage and even interruption failure. A synthetic circuit that can supply a DC recovery voltage after current zero was used to study multiple restrike phenomena in switching. Some key factors including breaking current, clearance between open contacts, electrode structure and contact material, which may affect restrike characteristics, were studied. Under various clearances, the statistical probability of restrike was obtained. As a result, the best scope of clearance between open contacts was found. The performance of CuCr50/50 and CuCr75/25 material were compared. Two kinds of electrode structures, namely 1/2 coil structure and cup-shaped axial magnetic structure, were tested. After a high-current interruption, conditioning effoct was realized and the probability of restrike decreased.

Development and Tests of ZW-126/D2000-40 Vacuum Circuit Breakers with Controlled Switching Technology

A ZW-126/D2000-40 type single-break vacuum circuit breaker(VCB)with controlled switching technology is designed and produced in this paper.The results of type tests based on IEC and GB standards are presented.A 126 kV singlebreak vacuum interrupter(VI)with 3/4 coil axial magnetic field(AMF)contacts is used in the VCB,which can interrupt short currents of 40 kA.The external insulation of the VI is provided by SF_(6) at 0.1 MPa.In order to match the 126 kV single-break VI and controlled switching device,a long-stroke electro-magnetic force actuator(EMFA)with 16 kN closing holding force and 3.5 m/s average opening speed is designed.Moreover,a position tracking controlled switching device based on closed-loop control using the technology of a fuzzy control algorithm and pulse width modulation is applied to the controlled switching device.This device is applied to control the coil current of EMFA and the electromagnetic force,so as to control the EMFA to follow the ideal position curve.The type tests of 126 kV VCB are all passed according to the IEC62271-100 and GB1984-2014,including dielectric tests,basic short-circuit tests,shortline fault tests,out-of-phase tests,etc.The strong capacitive current breaking capacity and mechanical strength of the VCB are proved by the capacitive current switching test of class C2,electrical endurance test of class E2 and mechanical endurance test of class M2.The electromagnetic compatibility(EMC)tests are passed according to the IEC61000-4.The controlled switching test of capacitive current was successful according to IEC62271-302 and GB/T30846-2014,and the controlled switching accuracy is less than±0.5 ms.The test results show that the VCB has excellent performance,which has broad application prospects in special occasions at a 126 kV voltage level,such as a switching capacitor and no-load transformer,etc.

Influence of the axial magnetic field on sheath development after current zero in a vacuum circuit breaker

After current zero,which is the moment when the vacuum circuit breaker interrupts a vacuum arc,sheath development is the first process in the dielectric recovery process.An axial magnetic field（AMF） is widely used in the vacuum circuit breaker when the high-current vacuum arc is interrupted.Therefore,it is very important to study the influence of different AMF amplitudes on the sheath development.The objective of this paper is to study the influence of different AMF amplitudes on the sheath development from a micro perspective.Thus,the particle in cell-Monte Carlo collisions（PIC-MCC） method was adopted to develop the sheath development model.We compared the simulation results with the experimental results and then validated the simulation.We also obtained the speed of the sheath development and the energy density of the ions under different AMF amplitudes.The results showed mat the larger the AMF amplitudes are,the faster the sheath develops and the lower the ion energy density is,meaning the breakdown is correspondingly more difficult.

The influence of weak transverse magnetic field on plasma dissipation process in the post-arc phase in a vacuum interrupter

Transverse magnetic field(TMF)contacts and applying external TMF are often adopted for reducing the ablation of the contact surface,but TMF will also affect the breaking performance of the vacuum interrupters.In this work,we investigated the influence of weak TMF on the expansion of the plasma in the post-arc phase with one-dimensional implicit particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision model,and we added an external circuit to the model to ensure the correctness of the calculation results.We simulated multiple magnetic field strengths(<30 mT),compared the plasma expansion process with the TMF strengths of 0 mT and 10 mT,and discussed the influence of metal vapor density on the insulation performance recovery of the vacuum interrupter.From the results,applying TMF with strength below 5 mT has little effect on the expansion of the plasma,and the TMF can increase the plasma density which improve the flow capacity of vacuum circuit breakers when the magnetic field above 10 mT,which is because the particles become more difficult to leave the discharge area under the force of the magnetic field.In general,we find that weak external TMF may adversely affect the breaking performance of the vacuum circuit breakers.

Vacuum Switching Technology for Future of Power Systems

Even though switching in vacuum is a technology with almost 100 years of history,its recent develop-ments are still changing the future of power transmission and distribution systems.First,current switch-ing in vacuum is an eco-friendly technology compared to switching in SF 6 gas,which is the strongest greenhouse gas according to the Kyoto Protocol.Vacuum,an eco-friendly natural medium,is promising for reducing the usage of SF 6 gas in current switching in transmission voltage.Second,switching in vacuum achieves faster current interruption than existing alternating current(AC)switching technolo-gies.A vacuum circuit breaker(VCB)that uses an electromagnetic repulsion actuator is able to achieve a theoretical limit of AC interruption,which can interrupt a short-circuit current in the first half-cycle of a fault current,compared to the more common three cycles for existing current switching technologies.This can thus greatly enhance the transient stability of power networks in the presence of short-circuit faults,especially for ultra-and extra-high-voltage power transmission lines.Third,based on fast vacuum switching technology,various brilliant applications emerge,which are benefiting the power systems.They include the applications in the fields of direct current(DC)circuit breakers(CBs),fault current lim-iting,power quality improvement,generator CBs,and so forth.Fast vacuum switching technology is promising for controlled switching technology in power systems because it has low variation in terms of opening and closing times.With this controlled switching,vacuum switching technology may change the“gene”of power systems,by which power switching transients will become smoother.

Investigation of cathode spot characteristics in vacuum under transverse magnetic field (TMF) contacts

With the continuous improvement of current levels in power systems, the demands on the breaking capacity requirements of vacuum circuit breakers are getting higher and higher. The breaking capacity of vacuum breakers is determined by cathode spots, which provide electrons and metal vapor to maintain the arc. In this paper, experiments were carried out on two kinds of transverse magnetic field（TMF） contacts in a demountable vacuum chamber, the behavior of the cathode spots was recorded by a high-speed charge-coupled device（CCD） video camera, and the characteristics of the cathode spots were analyzed through the image processing method. The phenomenon of cathode spot groups and the star-shaped pattern of the spots were both discovered in the experiment. The experimental results show that with the condition of TMF contacts the initial expansion speed of cathode spots is influenced by some parameters, such as the tested current, contact gap, the structure of the contact, the contact diameter, the number of slots, etc. In addition, the influence of the magnetic field on the formation of the cathode spot groups, the distribution, and the dynamic characteristics of the cathode spots were analyzed. It is concluded that the characteristics of the cathode spots are due to the effect of the magnetic field on the near-cathode plasma. The study of the characteristics of cathode spots in this paper would be helpful in the exploration of the physical process of vacuum arcs, and would be of guiding significance in optimizing the design of vacuum circuit breakers.

Study on TRV of circuit breaker in two substation operational ways and its countermeasure

To verify a vacuum breaker's feasibility,when a transformer substation chooses a vacuum circuit breaker,it takes two different actual operational ways to cut off a transformer.This paper,using the power system computer aided design/electro magnetic transient in DC system(PSCAD/EMTDC)software,simulates the substation system and studies transient recovery voltage(TRV)caused by the two different ways which can cut off a with load transformer or a no-load transformer.Simulation and calculation results show that TRV indexes of the first way are much higher than that of the second one,and their TRV indexes are both in a permissible range.The breaker is proved to be available.Besides,this paper proves that paralleling resistance has a good effect when the indexes exceed the standard.The resistance value depends on specific circumstances.

A gravity heat pipe for high voltage vacuum interrupter

To enhance nominal current of high voltage vacuum circuit breakers （VCBs）, a gravity heat pipe was proposed to replace stationary conducting rod of a high voltage vacuum interrupter. The heat pipe is composed of two coaxis tubes： the external tube is made of oxygen-free copper and the inner tube is made of stainless steel. The bottom end of the inner stainless steel tube is connected to the external copper tube by holes. Transient and static thermal performance of the heat pipe was measured, and the thermal resistance of it was compared with that of a solid copper rod with the same dimensions. Experimental results showed that thermal resistance of the heat pipe was about 1/3 of that of the copper rod, and it decreased slightly with the rising of the input heat flux. 3D thermal simulation on a 126 kV/2000 A single break VCB was done to compare the thermal performance between the proposed gravity heat pipe and the copper rod serving as the stationary conducting rod of the vacuum interrupter. Simulation results revealed that in the heat pipe case, the maximum temperature between contacts was 67 ℃ lower than that in the copper rod case.