Dynamic modeling of circuit breaker transient recovery voltage

Abstract

This paper, dynamic modeling and simulation of circuit breaker (CB) transient recovery voltage (TRV) with and without damper winding under fault condition was achieved using MatLab simulation software. The results show that the breaking of 12kV CB without the inclusion of damper winding under fault condition established TRV capable of causing restriking voltage setup across the contacts thereby making arc extinction uneasy. More so, with the inclusion of damper winding; when the damper value is greater than the critical value of R, its response shows a geometric increase in the number of arc current cycles. When the damper value is equal to the critical value of R, it was observed that the oscillation vanished and the Transient Recovery Voltage reduced drastically with natural frequency current to zero. Also, when the damper value is less than the critical value of R, it was observed that Transient Recovery Voltage vanished completely (zero relationship between voltage and time). However, the inclusion of damper winding with a value equal or less than the critical value of R is imperative and most effective for circuit breaker arc current cycles extinction.