Comparison of Spring Models for Dynamic Analysis of a High Voltage Circuit Breaker with a Spring Operating Mechanism#

Abstract

Because the performance of a circuit breaker mainly depends on the spring operating mechanism, an analysis of the spring operating mechanism is required for advanced designs. The spring, especially the closing spring, stores deformation energy from compression and then accelerates the load rapidly within the circuit breaker. To carry out a kinematic and dynamic analysis of circuit breakers, an accurate modeling of spring behavior is required. In this paper, the static stiffness of the spring was captured by using a material testing machine. Sine-wave excitation tests, which were based on several amplitudes, were performed to find out the spring's characteristics. The test results were then used to model the spring in a computer simulation. Three types of spring models—a linear spring model, a modal spring model, and a nodal spring model—were made and compared to experimental results. Numerical results were also compared to experimental results. Numerical accuracy was verified as well as the efficiency of the experiment. In addition, a simple mechanism similar to the spring operating mechanism was designed to generate the release motion of the spring. A high-speed camera was used to capture the behavior of the spring. The release simulation results were compared to experimental results. Finally, a circuit breaker simulation was carried out to compare the performances of the spring models.