The jointing stress analysis of one-shot seal-off high-voltage vacuum interrupters

The free shrinkage of ceramic or metal is restricted due to solidification of the solder. Hence the shrinkage stress arises and the jointing strength is reduced during the brazing of high-voltage vacuum interrupters （HVVIs）. The solder bound contour was gained by solved energy bound equation. The finite element model of weld beads was established with Surface Evolver software. Then the stress in two different cooling techniques （ natural cooling and force cooling） was calculated with ANSYS. Comparing the stress, a better cooling technique was selected for HVVIs. Its cooling time is shortened by 3 hours while the jointing stress doesn＇ t increase and the tensile strength of ceramic to metal seal is not decreased. The stress-rupture tests have validated the calculated results. More important, a method is found, by which the brazing technique could be improved in advance instead of blind experiments.

Arc Behaviours in Vacuum Interrupters with Axial Magnetic Field Electrodes

To improve the limiting current interruption capability and minimizing vacuum interrupter with axial magnetic field （AMF） electrodes, it is significant to investigate the vacuum arc behaviours between the contacts. AMF distributions of the slot type electrodes were studied by both numerical analysis and experiments. Furthermore, the behaviours of vacuum arcs for different parameters of the slot type AMF electrodes were investigated by using high-speed CCD camera. The influences of gap distance, contact diameter and phase shift time between AMF and arc current on the vacuum arc were investigated. The results provide a reference for research and development of vacuum interrupters with slot type or other types of AMF electrode.

Influence of Gap Distance on Vacuum Arc Characteristics of Cup Type AMF Electrode in Vacuum Interrupters

The greenhouse effect of SFe is a great concern today. The development of high voltage vacuum circuit breakers becomes more important. The vacuum circuit breaker has minimum pollution to the environment. The vacuum interrupter is the key part of a vacuum circuit breaker. The interrupting characteristics in vacuum and arc-controlling techniue are the main problems to be solved for a longer gap distance in developing high voltage vacuum interrupters. To understand the vacuum arc characteristics and provide effective technique to control vacuum arc in a long gap distance, the arc mode transition of a cup-type axial magnetic field electrode is observed by a high-speed charge coupled device （CGD） video camera under different gap distances while the arc voltage and arc current are recorded. The controlling ability of the axial magnetic field on vacuum arc obviously decreases when the gap distance is longer than 40 ram. The noise components and mean value of the arc voltage significantly increase. The effective method for controlling the vacuum arc characteristics is provided by long gap distances based on the test results. The test results can be used as a reference to develop high voltage and large capacity vacuum interrupters.

Investigation on X-Radiation for 126 kV Vacuum Interrupters

When subjected to high voltages between opened contacts, vacuum interrupters may emit X-rays. In order to ensure that these are of an acceptable level, vacuum interrupters should comply with the limits for X-ray emission and the test procedures to be carried out to verify this based on relevant standards and specifications. In this paper, a comprehensive experimental study has been performed for 126 kV vacuum interrupters used in a transmission system to understand the X-radiation level and its influence by three main parameters, namely applied power-frequency voltage, contact gap and power=frequency voltage conditioning. The radiation instrument is an FJ347 radiometer and the X-radiation dose was measured at the power-frequency test voltage. These tests demonstrated that the X-radiation emission level for a 126 kV vacuum interrupter did not exceed the following： 5 μSv per hour at a rated voltage of 126 kV and 150 μSv per hour at a power-frequency voltage of 230 kV at 1 m distance. The X-radiation dose increased with the applied power-frequency voltage increasing and decreased with the contact gap increasing. The X- radiation dose for 126 kV vacuum interrupters decreased by 57% after the conditioning procedure with a certain power-frequency voltage. During the conditioning procedure, the average value of the X-radiation dose was 4.49 mSv, which means if a professional conditions 180 interrupters per year, it will be safe at the 6.4 m distance.

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.

Design and Experimental Testing of a Moving Coil Actuator with Compensation Coil

Hydrogen-powered electric aircraft have attracted significant interests aiming to achieve decarbonization targets.Onboard DC electric networks are facing great challenges in DC fault protection requirements.Vacuum interrupters are widely used in low voltage and medium voltage power systems due to being environmentally friendly with low maintenance.In this paper a moving coil actuator with compensation coils for a vacuum interrupter,as part of a hybrid direct current circuit breaker,is designed and experimentally tested.Compensation coils are used to improve operating speed compared with original moving coil actuator.Comparisons between four possible connections of compensation coils and original moving coil actuator are carried out.Experimental results show comparisons between different connections of actuator coils in terms of opening time and coil current with a range of pre-charged capacitor voltages.Dynamic performance of each actuator connection is also compared.The actuator with compensation coils is shown to have a higher current rising rate and achieve faster opening speed,which is a critical requirement for electric aircraft network protection.The parallel connection actuator achieves the highest opening speed within 3.5 ms with capacitor voltage of 50 V.