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CE Sölver
Electric arcs and arc interruption
1. Introduction
Electric arcs are encountered in a variety of situations in the field of electrical engineering. In
some cases the arcs are unwelcome results of lightning strokes or insulation failures, but in
many cases the arcs are deliberately used, and their advantages exploited.
Overstress of the insulation system in an electric power network may lead to electrical
flashover and short-circuit in the system. At the location of the fault, the short-circuit current
will then normally flow through an electric arc. Such a high-current arc may severely damage
nearby equipment, and in addition the short-circuit current will affect the whole network. It is
a major task of the protection system to quickly deenergise the faulty part of the network.
Electric arcs are created every time the contacts of a switch or circuit-breaker are opened in
order to interrupt current – either a moderate load current or a much higher short-circuit
current. In high-voltage switches or circuit-breakers the arc is used as a conducting element
between the contacts which allows the current to continue to flow until a natural current zero
of the AC current is reached, where the arc is extinguished. The electric arc is – with the
exception of power semiconductors – the only known element that is able to change from a
conducting to a nonconducting state in a sufficiently short time.
Electric arcs are used for heating purposes in arc furnaces and arc welding equipment.
When the contacts of a circuit-breaker separate, the current through the contacts will continue
to flow, driven by the magnetic energy stored in the inductances of the power system. At the
CD Sölver Page 1
Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Electric Power Engineering 2002-02-06
EEK145 High Voltage Technology
last moment, just before the contacts separate, they touch each other only at a very small
surface area. The resulting high current density leads to strong heating, and the contact
material will melt and evaporate. This leads to a gas discharge – arc – between the parting
contacts in the surrounding medium that may be air, oil or SF6, depending on the type of
circuit breaker.
Cathode Anode
region region
Arc column
Anode
Cathode
Ie (Electrons)
I+ (Ions)
The fraction f of atoms that is ionized may be calculated by means of Saha’s equation:
f2
⋅ P = 3,16 ⋅ 10 − 7 ⋅ T 5/ 2 ⋅ exp( − eVi / kT )
1− f 2
Saha’s equation is shown graphically in Figure 3.2 for oxygen and nitrogen.
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Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Electric Power Engineering 2002-02-06
EEK145 High Voltage Technology
Degree of ionization
0.99667 1
0.8
Degree of ionization
0.6
F( 12.2 )
F( 15.5 )
0.4
0.2
2.31393e-019
0
4 4 4 4 4
0 5000 1 10 1.5 10 2 10 2.5 10 3 10
2000 T 26000
Temperature, K
Temperature, K
oxygen
nitrogen
Figure 3.2 Degree of thermal ionization for oxygen and nitrogen, at atmospheric pressure
Figure 3.2 indicates that the thermal ionization can be used to switch between a conducting
state (f close to 1) and a nonconducting state (f close to 0). Because of the relatively steep
slope of the function between the temperature and the degree of ionization, reduction of the
arc temperature by means of cooling with cold gas is an effective way to bring the arc column
from a conducting state to a non-conducting state. This principle is used in most circuit
breakers.
Although the arc column is strongly ionized, there is no space charge present. There is a
balance between the electron charges and the positive ion charges. The electrons have much
higher (three orders of magnitude) mobility than the positive ions. Therefore almost the entire
current flow is due to the electrons.
Due to the strong ionization, a high current arc is a relatively good electrical conductor. A
typical conductivity of the arc plasma is 10-100 S/cm, which is comparable to the
conductivity of e.g. carbon.
The total arc voltage, and also the voltage gradient along the arc, depends on the current
magnitude, the type of gas, and the pressure. When it is in thermal balance, the arc column
adjusts itself in such a way that the power supplied to the column (the ohmic heating) attains a
minimum value. If there is a disturbance from this situation, which tends to increase the
resistance of the arc, then the ohmic heating would increase, the temperature and diameter of
the arc would increase, and automatically counteract the disturbance. If, on the other hand,
there is a disturbance which tends to increase the temperature or diameter of the arc, then the
power losses would increase, and tend to bring the arc back to the original situation.
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Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Electric Power Engineering 2002-02-06
EEK145 High Voltage Technology
H(r)
Force R
r
r+dr
The resulting overpressure in the center of the arc column may be calculated, under the
assumption that the current density j is constant over the whole cross section of the arc. With
radius R the total current is
I = π ⋅ R2 ⋅ j
At a radius r, the magnetic field H(r) can be calculated by Ampere’s law
2 ⋅ π ⋅ r ⋅ H (r ) = π ⋅ r 2 ⋅ j
r
H (r ) = ⋅ j
2
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Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Electric Power Engineering 2002-02-06
EEK145 High Voltage Technology
Consider now a ring segment at radius r, and with thickness dr. The current that flows in this
ring, in interaction with the magnetic flux, will result in a mechanical force, that is in each
point of the ring directed towards the center.
The total current in the ring is
I ring = 2πr ⋅ dr ⋅ j
and the total force (per unit of length of the ring):
Fring = µ o ⋅ H (r ) ⋅ Iring = µ o ⋅ π ⋅ r 2 ⋅ dr ⋅ j 2
Finally the resulting overpressure P in the center of the arc column is obtained by integration:
R 2
r R
∫
P = dP = ∫ µ o ⋅ ⋅ j 2 ⋅ dr = µ o ⋅ j 2
2 4
0
µ ⋅ I2
P= o
4π 2 ⋅ R 2
Close to the electrodes, the arc diameter is often smaller than further away from the
electrodes. This means that there will be a gradient in current density, and therefore also a
gradient in the internal pressure. This pressure gradient will contribute to a transport of
plasma and metal vapour from the electrodes into the arc column.
Close to the cathode there will be an accumulation of positive ions, arriving from the arc
column. Due to this space charge, there will be high electric field strength close to the cathode
surface (the cathode drop). This high field strength is essential for efficient (field) emission of
electrons into the arc.
The anode mainly serves as a collector of electrons, arriving from the cathode. The electrons
will arrive at high speed, and deliver all their energy to the anode. The anode surface will
therefore be kept at a high temperature. Close to the anode there will be a lack of positive
ions, since they tend to drift away. The surplus of electrons leads to high electric field
strength close to the anode surface (the anode drop).
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Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Electric Power Engineering 2002-02-06
EEK145 High Voltage Technology
a: low frequency
b: medium frequency
c: high frequency
At current zero there is also the complexity of the polarity change, forcing the anode and
cathode to change places.
When the current continues to flow after current zero, it will be due to either of two reasons:
- Thermal reignition
If the arc plasma is still sufficiently ionized at current zero, and if the new cathode emits
a sufficient amount of electrons right from the beginning, then the current may pass more
or less continuously through zero. The arc channel will pass through a minimum in
temperature and stored energy, and then start to heat up again.
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Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Electric Power Engineering 2002-02-06
EEK145 High Voltage Technology
- Dielectric reignition
If the arc plasma at the moment of current zero is so cold that it is only weakly ionized,
then it may continue to cool down, and the current will be interrupted. The arc channel
will still be comparatively hot and may also contain space charges, and therefore the
dielectric withstand capability between the two contacts will be quite low. Due to the
voltage that appears between the electrodes there may be a flashover, a new arc will be
established, and the current starts to flow again.
Figure 5.1 Current-voltage characteristics for DC arcs in air, with copper electrodes
In case of a three phase short circuit, e.g. in a busbar system, there will often be only two arcs,
as illustrated in Figure 5.2. Each of these two arcs will conduct phase short circuit current.
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Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Electric Power Engineering 2002-02-06
EEK145 High Voltage Technology
Busbar
Pole A
arc
Pole B
arc
Pole C
Due to the high power – or rather energy – released by high current arcs, they can lead to
severe damage to adjacent equipment. A special problem is the pressure rise that will occur in
substation cubicles, GIS enclosures, or buildings as a result of internal arcs.
Short-circuit arcs e.g. in a busbar system will attempt to move, as a result of the force created
by the magnetic field of the connecting bars. The travel direction will be away from the
current source. In order to limit damage from traveling arcs, the busbars are often insulated
(coated), or split up into sections with intermediate walls with bushings.
open
contact
contact position
separation
arcing time
closed time
current
In most circuit-breaker designs the arc between the separating contacts will be subjected to a
strong gas blast in a nozzle. The flow of cold gas will keep the arc concentrated, and help to
cool it at current zero.
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Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Electric Power Engineering 2002-02-06
EEK145 High Voltage Technology
The input of power to the arc, and therefore the difficulty to interrupt the arc, is related to the
rate of decrease of the current towards zero, di/dt, and to the rate of rise of the recovery
voltage after current zero, du/dt.
Figure 6.3 Thermal interruption regime with post arc current. Times are in the microseconds
range
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Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Electric Power Engineering 2002-02-06
EEK145 High Voltage Technology
contact system now has to withstand the high voltage stress without electrical breakdown,
even though the contacts and the gas are still hot, as a result of the arc that has just been
extinguished.
Fig 6.4 shows the working principle of an autopuffer design. When interrupting small currents
(up to some kA) the circuit breaker operates as a pure puffer circuit breaker: gas is
compressed in the auxiliary puffer cylinder V2 and flows through volume V1 and the nozzle.
In the case of a short-circuit current, the pressure rise necessary for the extinguishing of the
arc is built up in the self-blast volume V1, through heating by the arc. A check valve between
the volumes V1 and V2 prevents the high pressure from escaping to the auxiliary puffer
cylinder. The pressure in V2 is relatively independent of the current. It is limited to a
moderate level by means of a spring-loaded valve (overpressure valve), which means that the
compression energy required from the operating mechanism is limited.
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Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Electric Power Engineering 2002-02-06
EEK145 High Voltage Technology
The principle for creation of an oscillating current is shown in Fig 6.5. I1 is the normal DC
current that is to be interrupted. The capacitor C is precharged, and an oscillating current I2
starts to flow when the auxiliary switch S is closed. In practical designs, additional circuit
components will be required in order to limit the rate of rise of the recovery voltage, and to
absorb the magnetic energy stored in the circuit inductances.
HVDC circuit breakers based on the oscillating current principle have been built, but are not
used in actual operation.
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