Experimental investigation on the evolution of vacuum arc in the quench protection switch based on forced current zero

Abstract

In this paper, the evolution of vacuum arc under different conditions in the quench protection switch (QPS) based on forced current zero was investigated experimentally and analyzed quantitatively. Experiments were conducted with cup-shaped axial magnetic field (AMF) contacts in a demountable vacuum chamber. Images of the arc column were photographed through the observation window with a high-speed digital camera with exposure time of 2 μs. Arc appearance was analyzed quantitatively through digital image processing. Quantified arc appearance and arc voltage characteristics indicated that the high-current vacuum arc evolution in the QPS could be divided into four stages: arc formation stage, arc column merging stage, diffusing stage, and fast extinguishing stage. The influence of AMF on the evolution of high-current vacuum arc in the diffusing stage was also studied. Experiment results indicated that the vacuum arc at relatively low current had a simpler evolution process and the arc column merging had less correlation with voltage stability. It was found that the vacuum arc with a long gap distance developed faster and the time required to enter the stable burning state was shorter. In addition, the vacuum arc with long arcing time tended to constrict again, which is not beneficial to current interruption.