Capacitor switching capability of vacuum interrupter with CuW contact material

The authors carried out shunt capacitor switching tests on 24 kV model vacuum interrupters with contact materials CuW and CuCr. The restriking probability of the contact material CuW is lower than that of CuCr. The contact material CuW is also an excellent candidate for shunt capacitor switching except for its high current interruption ability. The restriking probability of a 24 kV, 25 kA vacuum interrupter with contact material CuW is calculated as 10/sup -5/, which is practically zero. >