Numerical and Experimental Investigation of an Improved Vacuum Interrupter Cup-Shaped Contact

The transverse magnetic field (TMF) contact has the advantages of small loop resistance, simple structure, and strong breaking ability. In order to make the arc mode more stable and reduce the metal droplets splashed in the radial direction, this paper proposed an improved cup-shaped TMF contact. The simulation of the magnetic field showed that this contact structure could effectively enhance the axial magnetic flux intensity, especially in the small gap distance. Therefore, the arc could keep in a more diffuse mode in the ignition and expansion stages. The experimental results showed that the improved cup-shaped TMF contact had more stable arc mode and less arc droplets compared with the traditional cup-shaped TMF contact. The arc characteristics of the improved TMF contact meet our anticipated goals. Based on these experimental results, a further research for contact parameters optimization is still in work.