Modeling of Secondary Arc on High Voltage Solar Array in Space

Secondary arc on solar array in space is defined as an arc discharge short-circuiting adjacent solar cells. As operational voltage of spacecraft increases to 100V, there is more risk of secondary arc that can destroy solar array circuit. Secondary arc is categorized as vacuum arc, although its current is very low, even less than 1A. One-dimensional modeling is carried out to derive sets of parameters that satisfy the governing equations. Genetic Algorithm is used to find the optimal set of solutions. Even at a current less than 1A, the solutions exist though the arc voltage is higher than the experimental values by several ten volts.