Moving Arc Study and Plasma Diagnosis in the Case of Vacuum Interrupter with TMF Contacts

Electrical and optical investigations are focused for a vacuum circuit breaker study. The short circuit regime in the low voltage network is exactly reproduced by a specific test circuit. The analysis of the phenomena during the high current evolution and for the current zero (c.z) zone are done in the aim of increasing the breaking capability of this kind of equipment. The displacement speed of the arc column on the surface of the contact pieces in the case of transverse magnetic field (TMF) solution is correlated with the spatial and temporal plasma diagnostic. The post-arc current being the main element defining the quality of the short circuit interruption process, specific measurements are also performed. In order to a better understanding of the high current interruption process in vacuum, the experimentally studied phenomena are mathematically modeled.