Convection effect on an arc plasma evolution process in a two parallel contact system

A low voltage circuit breaker(LVCB) is an important piece of protection equipment which will switch off the fault current in a power system. The moving contact of a low voltage circuit breaker with a higher rated current consists of two parallel contacts. Therefore, the convection effect on the air arc evolution process in a two parallel contact system is analyzed. A threedimensional(3 D) magneto–hydro–dynamic(MHD) model of arc simulation is built. In this model, the anode consists of two parallel contacts and a bonding conductor. A nonlinear voltage–current density characteristic is employed to represent the near-anode and near-cathode voltage. The current density, arc voltage and currents through every contact are obtained. The influence of convection and conduction on the arc evolution process are quantitatively calculated. The displacements of the arc roots are obtained and the asymmetry of the arc root motion is analyzed. The arc evolution process of a two parallel contact system is preliminarily revealed.     

Properties of intermediate-frequency vacuum arc in sinusoidal curved contact and butt contact

In this report,two new contact structures of a vacuum interrupter with a sinusoidal curved surface are proposed to improve the capability by increasing the surface area.The experimental investigation of vacuum arc at intermediate frequency(360-800 Hz)was conducted and the results were compared with a butt contact with the same contact diameter(41 mm)and the same material.By analyzing the arc behavior,arc voltage characteristics,arc energy,current interrupting capacity,ablation of the anode contact and condensation of the arc products at a 3 mm gap,the differences in their vacuum arc characteristics were determined.The correlations of their arc energy with the amplitude and the frequency of the current were also achieved.Analysis suggests that the ruled curved contact has strong application potentiality because of its low arc energy,low arc voltage noise and arc voltage peak,light ablation on the surface of the anode contact and high interrupting capacity.     

磁驱动旋转电弧运动图像及弧电压脉动的实验研究

磁驱动旋转电弧产生扩散电弧等离子体过程中有许多有趣的物理现象。本文利用高速摄影技术研究了大气压条件下、非均匀磁场中、大尺度磁驱动旋转氩电弧的电弧结构；在一定的弧电流和外磁场条件下，电弧的平面形状表现为不断发展和增长的螺旋结构，电弧螺旋结构的破裂往往产生于阴极附近的等离子体射流。采用图像分析的方法计算了外部磁场作用下阳极斑点沿弧室内壁的移动频率，分析了磁驱动旋转电弧运动过程中的弧电压脉动现象。结合电弧图像分析和电弧电压脉动及其FFT分析得出：电弧电压的大幅波动与多层电弧螺旋结构破裂和重建相关，而电弧电压的小幅波动则是弧根小幅跳动引起电弧拉长和收缩的结果。     

Motion and Splitting of Vacuum Arc Column in Transverse Magnetic Field Contacts at Intermediate—Frequency

Arc motion and splitting of vacuum arc at intermediate frequency（400-800 Hz） were investigated under transverse magnetic field（TMF）.The experiment was performed on cup-type TMF contacts with contact diameter of 40 mm and a contact gap of 4 mm in a single-frequency circuit.With high-speed photography we characterized the arc appearance at different arc currents from 3.3 kA-rms to 10 kA-rms at intermediate frequencies.As arc current increases from3.3 kA-rms to 10 kA-rms the arc appearance changes obviously.When current value is 3.3 kArms（current frequency 400-800 Hz）,there is almost no splitting arc;when the current exceeds5 kA-rms（current frequency 400-800 Hz）,the arc rotates at a speed above 20 m/s,accompanied by an observable splitting arc.The splitting arc could be observed at different frequencies and the arc-voltage had no noises when splitting occurred.The motion direction and the velocity of arc column were studied.Finally,the formation of a split arc was discussed.     

阴极端面旋转弧根的数值分析

辅助电弧的阴极弧根在管状钨阴极端面旋转时，随着阴极弧根旋转频率的增加，在阴极端面形成一圈温度较高的区域；区域中各点的温度（除弧根处温度）趋于均匀，从而为主电弧的阴极弧根在这个区域中分裂成多弧根或形成扩散型弧根模式提供了必要的温度条件；弧根处的阴极端面温度随旋转频率的增加而下降并趋于一个稳定的值。本文利用三维热传导方程对此进行了分析。     

Simulation of Arc Rotation and Its Effects on Pressure of Expansion Volume in an Auto-Expansion SF6 Circuit Breaker

A 3D Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) arc model in conjunction with an arc move¬ment model is applied to simulate the arc rotation as well as to solve its effect on the pressure in an auto-expansion circuit breaker. The rotation of the arc driven by an external electromagnetic force is simulated in the case with 200 kA of the short circuit current and 16 ms of arc duration. The arc rotating process and the speed of arc rotation have been obtained in the simulation. A comparison of the pressure in the expansion volume with and without an external magnetic field has been carried out based on the calculation results of two cases. The results of the simulation reveal that the arc rotation, which causes more energy exchange between the arc and its surrounding gas, can evidently bring about the pressurization in the expansion volume, which would contribute to more effective arc quenching at current zero and further reducing operation power.     

Parametric Study on Arc Behavior of Magnetically Diffused Arc

A model coupling the plasma with a cathode body is applied in the simulation of the diffuse state of a magnetically rotating arc.Four parametric studies are performed:on the external axial magnetic field (AMF),on the cathode shape,on the total current and on the inlet gas velocity.The numerical results show that:the cathode attachment focuses in the center of the cathode tip with zero AMF and gradually shifts off the axis with the increase of AMF;a larger cathode conical angle corresponds to a cathode arc attachment farther away off axis;the maximum values of plasma temperature increase with the total current;the plasma column in front of the cathode tip expands more severely in the axial direction,with a higher inlet speed;the cathode arc attachment shrinks towards the tip as the inlet speed increases.The various results are supposed to be explained by the joint effect of coupled cathode surface heating and plasma rotating flow.     

Study of double-chamber air arc plasma torch and the application in solid-waste disposal

Arc plasma can be applied in hazardous solid waste disposal for higher temperature than common heating methods, but some practical issues exist in practical engineering application. In this study, an air arc plasma torch with double chambers and magnetic controlling is designed to realize wide variable power and long electrode life. The detailed characteristics and laws of the air arc are studied. The condition parameters of arc current(I), air flow rate(G) and the structure parameters of inlet area ratios and electrode diameters influence both the arc voltage and arc root positions. The arc rotating driven by magnetic field effectively lengthens the electrode life. The gasification process and product of organic wastes by air plasma are influenced largely by the waste compositions and the air flow rate. A furnace structure with more even atmosphere and longer residence time should be considered for better gasification. Oxygen-deficient environment is important to suppress NOxformation during the application of air plasma. Inorganic solid wastes can be melt by the air plasma and cooled down to form compact vitreous structures in which heavy metals can be locked and the leaching rates significantly decrease down.     

The Influence of Contact Space on Arc Commutation Process in Air Circuit Breaker

In this paper,a 3D magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) arc simulation model is applied to analyze the arc motion during current interruption in a certain air circuit breaker (ACB).The distributions of pressure,temperature,gas flow and current density of the arc plasma in the arc region are calculated,and the factors influencing the commutation process are analyzed according to the calculated results.Based on the airflow in the arc chamber,the causes of arc commutation asynchrony and the back commutation are investigated.It indicates that a reasonable contact space design is crucial to a successful arc commutation process.To verify the simulation results,the influence of contact space on arc voltage and arc commutation is tested.This research can provide methods and references to the optimization of ACB design.     

Investigation on Plasma Jet Flow Phenomena During DC Air Arc Motion in Bridge-Type Contacts

Arc plasma jet flow in the air was investigated under a bridge-type contacts in a DC 270 V resistive circuit.We characterized the arc plasma jet flow appearance at different currents by using high-speed photography,and two polished contacts were used to search for the relationship between roughness and plasma jet flow.Then,to make the nature of arc plasma jet flow phenomena clear,a simplified model based on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) theory was established and calculated.The simulated DC arc plasma was presented with the temperature distribution and the current density distribution.Furthermore,the calculated arc flow vclocity field showed that the circular vortex was an embodiment of the arc plasma jet flow progress.The combined action of volume force and contact surface was the main reason of the arc jet flow.     

Evolution simulation of lightning discharge based on a magnetohydrodynamics method

In order to solve the load problem for aircraft lightning strikes,lightning channel evolution is simulated under the key physical parameters for aircraft lightning current component C.A numerical model of the discharge channel is established,based on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) and performed by FLUENT software.With the aid of user-defined functions and a userdefined scalar,the Lorentz force,Joule heating and material parameters of an air thermal plasma are added.A three-dimensional lightning arc channel is simulated and the arc evolution in space is obtained.The results show that the temperature distribution of the lightning channel is symmetrical and that the hottest region occurs at the center of the lightning channel.The distributions of potential and current density are obtained,showing that the difference in electric potential or energy between two points tends to make the arc channel develop downwards.The arc channel comes into expansion on the anode surface due to stagnation of the thermal plasma and there exists impingement on the copper plate when the arc channel comes into contact with the anode plate.     

Study on volt-ampere characteristics of solar array arcs in LEO spacecraft

The primary and secondary arcs volt-ampere characteristics of low earth orbit solar arrays are studied in this research. Using three gallium-arsenide solar cell samples, the gap lengths of the solar cell are set to 1, 2, and 3 mm. First, the primary arc voltage characteristics of a solar array are analyzed. It is found that two steps are involved in the primary arc voltages, which are 116 and 22 V according to our experiment and are independent of the electrostatic discharge current and the gap lengths. By comparing with the arc pattern, we determined that current chopping may be the reason for the stepped arc voltage. Then, the characteristics of the secondary arc of the solar array are demonstrated. The study shows that the secondary arc voltage values increase with the gap length. In the case of the same cell with a fixed gap length, the voltage of the secondary arc increases with the string current. Finally, the relationship between the secondary arc voltage and the gap length is obtained which helps the string voltage and the gap length selection for system design.     

Investigation of cathode spot characteristics in vacuum under transverse magnetic field (TMF) contacts

With the continuous improvement of current levels in power systems,the demands on the breaking capacity requirements of vacuum circuit breakers are getting higher and higher.The breaking capacity of vacuum breakers is determined by cathode spots,which provide electrons and metal vapor to maintain the arc.In this paper,experiments were carried out on two kinds of transverse magnetic field (TMF) contacts in a demountable vacuum chamber,the behavior of the cathode spots was recorded by a high-speed charge-coupled device (CCD) video camera,and the characteristics of the cathode spots were analyzed through the image processing method.The phenomenon of cathode spot groups and the star-shaped pattern of the spots were both discovered in the experiment.The experimental results show that with the condition of TMF contacts the initial expansion speed of cathode spots is influenced by some parameters,such as the tested current,contact gap,the structure of the contact,the contact diameter,the number of slots,etc.In addition,the influence of the magnetic field on the formation of the cathode spot groups,the distribution,and the dynamic characteristics of the cathode spots were analyzed.It is concluded that the characteristics of the cathode spots are due to the effect of the magnetic field on the near-cathode plasma.The study of the characteristics of cathode spots in this paper would be helpful in the exploration of the physical process of vacuum arcs,and would be of guiding significance in optimizing the design of vacuum circuit breakers.     

核反应堆控制棒转动装置用轴承磨损寿命分析方法研究

为建立核反应堆控制棒转动装置用轴承磨损寿命分析方法,以优化现有以试验为主的转动装置用轴承磨损寿命分析手段,通过构建运行工况下的轴承力学分析模型得到滚道-滚动体接触力学特性,通过套圈控制理论,结合转动装置的运行特点,得到轴承滚动体与内外滚道间的运动特性,并基于Archard磨损模型构建转动装置运行工况下的轴承磨损分析模型,采用磨损迭代的方法得到轴承滚道与滚动体之间的磨损特性。研究结果表明,采用本文建立的轴承磨损寿命分析方法得到的轴承磨损寿命与试验结果符合较好,能够用于核反应堆控制棒转动装置用轴承磨损寿命分析。     

超临界水堆燃料棒流致振动简化模型

在超临界水堆中,当超临界水流过带有绕丝的燃料棒时可能诱发其发生振动,使得燃料包壳发生疲劳现象。带有的接触的非线性有限元模型使得计算量大大增加,而且其计算精度仍有待实验验证。本文针对超临界水堆流致振动实验,将绕丝的影响简化为弹簧,建立燃料棒流致振动的简化模型,并通过有限元模型对燃料棒的固有特性进行分析,验证了模型的正确性。最后,以功率谱对模型加载,求得了超临界水堆燃料棒的位移响应和1δ解。     

Simulation of arcs for DC relay considering different impacts

Recently DC relay has been concerned as a key component in DC power distribution,management and control systems like aircraft,new energy vehicle,IT and communication industries.Ordinarily,magnetic force and contact moving speed have great influence on arc behaviours in the breaking process.This paper focuses on the numerical investigation of arc during the contact opening process in a real 400V/20 A DC relay product coupling with an inductive load circuit.A 3D air arc model based on the magneto-hydrodynamic theory was built and calculated.A method coupling different computational software was used to take the nonlinear permanent magnet and contact opening process into consideration simultaneously.Arc behaviours under different magnetic field and contact opening speed were presented and discussed carefully.It has been found that the increase of the magnetic field is beneficial to the quick build-up of arc length and voltage.Arc breaking duration becomes shorter with the increase in contact opening speed from 63.5 rad s^-1 to 94.5 rad s^-1,such reduction is less significant with an increase of opening speed from 94.5 rad s^-l to 118.5 rad s^-1.     

Characteristics of Atmospheric Pressure Rotating Gliding Arc Plasmas

In this work,a novel direct current (DC) atmospheric pressure rotating gliding arc (RGA) plasma reactor has been developed for plasma-assisted chemical reactions.The influence of the gas composition and the gas flow rate on the arc dynamic behaviour and the formation of reactive species in the N2 and air gliding arc plasmas has been investigated by means of electrical signals,high speed photography,and optical emission spectroscopic diagnostics.Compared to conventional gliding arc reactors with knife-shaped electrodes which generally require a high flow rate (e.g.,10-20 L/min) to maintain a long arc length and reasonable plasma discharge zone,in this RGA system,a lower gas flow rate (e.g.,2 L/min) can also generate a larger effective plasma reaction zone with a longer arc length for chemical reactions.Two different motion patterns can be clearly observed in the N2 and air RGA plasmas.The time-resolved arc voltage signals show that three different arc dynamic modes,the arc restrike mode,takeover mode,and combined modes,can be clearly identified in the RGA plasmas.The occurrence of different motion and arc dynamic modes is strongly dependent on the composition of the working gas and gas flow rate.     

The characteristics of primary and secondary arcs on a solar array in low earth orbit

In this paper, the characteristics of the primary arc and secondary arc on a solar array in low earth orbit(LEO) are investigated. The vacuum plasma environment in LEO has been used to study the primary arc and secondary arc of a high-voltage solar array. Silicon solar cells with rigid substrate specimens are used for the experiment. The series-parallel spacing of the silicon solar cells is 1 mm. The string currents of the solar cells are 0.7 A, 1.5 A and 2 A. The primary arc and secondary arc are photographed by high-speed cameras. The differences between the primary arc and secondary arc are observed. The secondary arc can be observed before the primary arc is extinguished. The primary arc is a single arc when the string current is 0.7 A. Multiple arc columns are accompanied by higher arc current. Two arc columns of the primary arc can be observed at 1.5 A string current and 2 A string current. The multiple primary arc columns are related to higher bias voltage. The threshold for sustained arcing is near 145 V/0.7 A, 105 V/1.5 A and 100 V/2 A at 1 mm string gap. Moreover, the transition time of secondary arc formation is analyzed, and found to be about 10–13 μs. The string currents, string voltages and primary arc have no effect on the transition time of the secondary arc formation.     

Evaporation Erosion During the Relay Contact Breaking Process Based on a Simplified Arc Model

Evaporation erosion of the contacts is one of the fundamental failure mechanisms for relays.In this paper,the evaporation erosion characteristics are investigated for the copper contact pair breaking a resistive direct current (dc) 30 V/10 A circuit in the air.Molten pool simulation of thc contacts is coupled with the gas dynamics to cMculate the evaporation rate.A simplified arc model is constructed to obtain the contact voltage and current variations with time for the prediction of the current density and the heat flux distributions flowing from the arc into the contacts.The evaporation rate and mass variations with time during the breaking process are presented.Experiments are carried out to verify the simulation results.     

同步辐射X荧光分析海州香薷根中铜结合蛋白的微量元素

利用Sephadex G-50凝胶过滤从Cu处理海州香薷根中分离得到两个不同的铜结合蛋白。用同步辐射X荧光(SRXRF)分析了两个蛋白的微量元素,结果表明分子量较小的铜结合蛋白2与Cu络合能力要强于分子量较大的铜结合蛋白1。另外,Pb、Fe和Zn等金属元素可以与铜结合蛋白竞争结合。两个铜结合蛋白中S含量都很低,说明海州香薷根中铜结合蛋白可能并不以含硫量较高的金属硫蛋白(MTS)或植物络合肽(PCs)为主。实验证明SRXRF技术可以很好地用于凝胶过滤分离蛋白的元素分析。