Abstract
The basic differences between SF6 and N2 arcs have been investigated over a wide range of arcing conditions. It has been found that the thermal size of a SF6 arc is smaller than that of a N2 arc when thermal conduction dominates the energy transport, although it is quite the contrary when radiation is the most important energy transport mechanism. Emphasis is given to the revelation of the relationship between the arc behaviour and the properties of the arcing medium. The relative importance of different energy and momentum transport mechanisms is determined and its influence on the characteristics of the arc is discussed. The dynamic behaviour of the arc is studied by using a step change of current. The results indicate that the overall characteristic times of a N2 arc are shorter than those of a corresponding SF6 arc, but the electrical conductance of the SF6 arc decays much faster than that of the N2 arc under the thermal-conduction-dominated free recovery.
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