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.