Arc‐Induced Ablation Behavior of Gassing Materials Based on Molecular Dynamics

ABSTRACT Driven by the global “dual carbon” goals, the development of new clean energy technologies has brought opportunities for DC power equipment, and the pyrolysis mechanism of gassing materials in DC circuit breakers needs to be clarified. This study takes three high‐performance polyamide materials (PA46, PA66, and PA6) as the research objects, uses ReaxFF reactive force field molecular dynamics to simulate their pyrolysis processes and compares them, and validates the results with macroscopic material analysis techniques. The simulation analyzes the decomposition pathways of materials under arc discharge, the formation mechanisms of small‐molecule products, etc., revealing different bond‐breaking mechanisms. In terms of carbon residues, PA66 has the fewest three‐membered rings, while PA46 has the highest total carbon ring content. On the other hand, macroscopic experiments on carbon deposition and partial discharge indicate that, among the three gassing materials, PA66 exhibits relatively better insulation performance, PA46 shows the highest sensitivity to partial discharge, and PA6 falls in an intermediate position. This performance ranking is consistent with the amount of tar and coke generated in simulations. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of carbon ring formation and experimental results further verify the feasibility of studying microscopic mechanisms via simulations. The study provides a reliable method for screening gassing materials and offers insights for the innovative development of power equipment.