Dingge Yang

Modelling and simulation of anode activity in high-current vacuum arc

Anode activity is critical for the success or failure of vacuum interrupters when the arc current attains a certain limiting value. Anode vapour from anode activity will influence high-current vacuum arc (HCVA) characteristics, and further influence interrupting successfully or not. In order to investigate the interaction between the arc column and anode vapour, a transient two-dimensional anode activity (subjected to HCVA column) model is established in this paper. Based on this model, the anode thermal process under ideal heat flux density and heat flux density from the arc column are simulated, respectively. The simulation results show that for sinusoid current, anode surface temperature first increases rapidly, then decreases slowly. With the increase in the heat flux density to the anode, the anode surface temperature will increase. The maximal value of the anode surface temperature appears near 7 ms (50 Hz current waveform), which is also in agreement with other simulation results. Anode evaporation cools the anode surface, which leads to a more uniform anode surface temperature at the contact centre than that near the contact edge. When the anode is melted, the radial distribution of the anode surface temperature appears as an inflection point. The simulation results are also compared with the experimental results and the results of other researchers. Reasonable agreement is observed. According to the anode activity model, the anode boundary condition of the HCVA model with anode vapour can be defined.

Experimental Investigation of Anode Activities in High-Current Vacuum Arcs

It is well known that the melting of electrodes (mainly anode melting) in vacuum arc can increase the metal vapor density around current zero and even lead to interruption failure. In order to clarify the anode activities and their influence on arc appearance and interruption capacity, series experiments of cup-shaped axial magnetic field copper electrodes were conducted. Obvious anode melting was detected; the liquid copper flowed on the contact plate of anode and formed a clockwise swirl flow. The appearance of anode melting is likely to correlate to the transition of arc mode from high-current diffuse mode to high-current diffuse column mode. The melting of anode was severer than cathode and was influenced by the distribution of cathode spots. Various kinds of copper particles at macroscopic level can be seen in arc column. Even at the interruption limit, the majority of melted copper of anode sputtered out of gap in form of liquid droplets or was pressed into the cup of anode, the copper vapor evaporated into arc column only accounted for a few portion and no obvious anode jets was found due to large plasma pressure in arc column.

Modeling and simulation of anode melting pool flow under the action of high-current vacuum arc

In this paper, a transient magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of an anode melting pool (AMP) flow (AMPF) is established. Mass equation, momentum equations along axial, radial and azimuthal directions, energy equation, and current continuity equations are considered in the model. In the momentum equations, the influence of electromagnetic force, viscosity force and Marangoni force (anode surface shear stress) are included. Joule heating is also included in the energy equations. According to the MHD model of AMPF, the influence of different heat flux densities to melting pool flow velocities (including azimuthal, radial, and axial velocity), anode temperature, fraction of liquid, melting depth, melting radius, and anode vapor flux will be analyzed. In the AMP, the azimuthal velocity is dominant, whose value approximately approaches velocity magnitude, the radial velocity is much smaller than azimuthal velocity, and the axial velocity is the smallest one compared with radial and azimuthal velocity. According to...

Investigation of the swirl flow on anode surface in high-current vacuum arcs

The anode activities are critical for high-current vacuum arc characteristics, especially the interruption performance of vacuum interrupters. The serious anode melting and sputter of liquid droplets into arc column often lead to interruption failure. In our previous work, the obvious anode melting and swirl flow of melted anode metal were detected at the center of anode surface when arc current exceeded a critical value under axial magnetic field (AMF). It is found that the AMF has great influence on the anode swirl flow, no swirl flow is found on the butt plate anode without AMF, but obvious swirl flow can be found when a moderate AMF is applied. Meanwhile, the swirl flow direction reversed if the AMF direction also reversed. The electromagnetic forcej×Bin anode melting pool and the impact force of ions coming from cathode plasma jets which are inclined to the arc axis on anode surface were thought to be two main possible reasons. In order to discover the physics behind the anode swirl flow phenomenon, ...

Anode Activity in a High-Current Vacuum Arc: Three-Dimensional Modeling and Simulation

In this paper, a transient 3-D model of the anode activity in a high-current vacuum arc (HCVA) was established. The melting, flow, evaporation, and solidification of the anode material were included in this model. Based on this model, the thermal and flow process of the anode in an HCVA under axial magnetic fields was simulated and analyzed. Simulation results showed that the maximum anode temperature appeared near 7 ms. The maximum rotational velocity and melting radius appeared near 9 ms. This meant that the anode was still in the melting, flow, and evaporation status near current zero moment, which was easier to cause reignition of vacuum interruption. Through 3-D modeling and simulation, a more visualized anode process can be understood. In the future, unsymmetrical anode phenomena will be researched and analyzed by this 3-D model.

Investigation on the Inclination of Cathode Plasma Jets in High-Current Vacuum Arcs in Magnetic Field

The theoretical and experimental studies of cathode plasma jets in vacuum arc and the effect of magnetic field on them have been under way for several years. In this paper, different axial magnetic field electrodes were tested in a vacuum chamber, obvious individual cathode plasma jets were observed, and the cathode-jet inclination was also detected. Based on the numerical calculation of magnetic field in interelectrode region and the measurement of cathode-jet inclination in experimental results, it is proven that the inclination angle of composite magnetic field (the combination of the axial, the azimuthal, and the radial components) is consistent with the inclination angle of cathode plasma jets, which indicates that the cathode plasma jets in the arc column flow along the magnetic-field direction when the high-current vacuum arc is diffused or even constricted slightly. Meanwhile, it was also found that plasma jets far from the cathode surface mixed with each other and became ambiguous when the electrode gap increases to a certain distance.

Current constriction of high-current vacuum arc in vacuum interrupters

Compared with previous paper [L. Wang et al., J. Appl. Phys. 100, 113304 (2006)], higher-current vacuum arc is simulated and analyzed based on magnetohydrodynamics model, and current constriction phenomenon in arc column is mainly paid attention to and analyzed in this paper. According to simulation results, it can be found that significant current constriction only appears near anode regions for lower-current vacuum arc. However, with the increase of arc current, current constriction also appears near the cathode side, and with the further increase of arc current, current constriction near the cathode side can become more significant than that near the anode side. The current constriction near the cathode side can be mainly caused by very high current level. The increase of axial magnetic field (AMF) strength will inhibit current constriction in the whole arc column. For influence of AMF distribution, saddle-shaped distributed AMF can more efficiently inhibit current constriction of arc column than bell-shaped AMF. The phenomenon of current constriction near the cathode side has also been found by many experiments, which also can verify the correctness of simulation results.

Influence of Axial Magnetic Field on the Anode Liquid Swirl Flow in High-Current Vacuum Arcs

The anode melting in high-current vacuum arcs leads to the increase of metal vapor and liquid droplets around current zero and even the interruption failure. In our recent experiments of the cup-shaped axial magnetic field (AMF) contacts, an obvious clockwise swirl flow of the liquid copper was detected on the anode surface. However, if an additional external AMF which is reverse to the AMF generated by the contacts was introduced, the rotation direction of the liquid copper swirl flow on the anode surface could reverse to anticlockwise. These phenomena indicate that AMF has great influence on the performance of anode melting and its swirl flow.

Plasma backflow phenomenon in high-current vacuum arc

Based on the two-temperature magnetohydrodynamic model, a high-current vacuum arc (HCVA) in vacuum interrupters is simulated and analysed. The phenomenon of plasma backflow in arc column is found, which is ultimately ascribed to the strong magnetic pinch effect of HCVA. Due to plasma backflow, the maximal value of ion density at the cathode side is not located at the centre of the cathode side, but at the paraxial region of the cathode side, that is to say, ion density appears to sag at the centre of the cathode side (arc column seems to be divided into two parts). The sag of light intensity is also found by experiments.

Dynamic process of high-current vacuum arc with consideration of magnetic field delay: numerical simulation and comparisons with the experiments

Based on a two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic model, the dynamic process in a high-current vacuum arc (as in a high-power circuit breaker) was simulated and analysed. A half-wave of sinusoidal current was represented as a series of discrete steps, rather than as a continuous wave. The simulation was done at each step, i.e. at each of the discrete current values. In the simulation, the phase delay by which the axial magnetic field lags the current was taken into account. The curves which represent the variation of arc parameters (such as electron temperature) look sinusoidal, but the parameter values at a discrete moment in the second 1/4 cycle are smaller than those at the corresponding moment in the first 1/4 cycle (although the currents are equal at these two moments). This is perhaps mainly due to the magnetic field delay. In order to verify the correctness of the simulation, the simulation results were compared in part with the experimental results. It was seen from the experimental results that the arc column was darker but more uniform in the second 1/4 cycle than in the first 1/4 cycle, in agreement with the simulation results.