Arc Motion in Low Voltage Circuit Breaker (LVCB) Experimental and Theoretical Approaches

J Quéméneur (1) , J. Lu (1) , Jean Jacques Gonzalez (2) , Pierre Freton (2)

1 LAPLACE - LAboratoire PLasma et Conversion d'Energie
2 LAPLACE-AEPPT - Arc Electrique et Procédés Plasmas Thermiques

This paper is related to the study of the arc motion in simple low voltage circuit breaker geometry.Experimental and theoretical approaches are investigated respectively by fast camera and by a magneto hydrodynamicmodel. Two theoretical methods have been developed to characterize the arc movement called MECM (Mean ElectricalConductivity Method) and GCRM (Global Current Resolution Method). The results obtained by the two models are ingood agreement with the experimental observations. The MECM allows obtaining faster results but the stagnation phasesare well represented with the GRCM and this last method is easier to implement in more complex geometry. The resultsshow also the importance of the exhaust description on the arc behavior.

Mots clés: Low voltage circuit breaker; Experiments; Plasma modelling; Arc motion

Domaines: Physique [physics]; Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]

J Quéméneur, J. Lu, Jean Jacques Gonzalez, Pierre Freton. Arc Motion in Low Voltage Circuit Breaker (LVCB) Experimental and Theoretical Approaches. Scientific & Academic Publishing, 2018, 8 (2), pp.35-45. ⟨10.5923/j.scit.20180802.02⟩. ⟨hal-02324102⟩