Electrode Erosion of a High Energy Impulse Spark Gap Switch

Abstract

Based on the principle of thermal conduction, three metal alloys (stainless steel, copper-tungsten and graphite) were chosen as the material of the high impulse current discharging switch. Experimental results indicate that the mass loss and surface erosion morphology of the electrode are related with the electrode material (conductivity σ, melting point Tm, density ρ and thermal capacity c) and the impulse transferred charge (or energy) per impulse for the same total impulse transferred charge. The experimental results indicate that the mass loss of stainless steel, copper-tungsten and graphite are 380.10 μg/C, 118.10 μg/C and 81.90 μg/C respectively under the condition of a total impulse transferred charge of 525 C and a transferred charge per impulse of 10.5 C. Under the same impulse transferred charge, the mass loss of copper-tungsten (118.10 μg/C) with the transferred charge per impulse at 10.5 C is far larger than the mass loss (38.61 μg/C) at a 1.48 C transferred charge per impulse. The electrode erosion mechanism under high energy impulse arcs is analyzed briefly and it is suggested that by selecting high conductive metal or metal alloy as the electrode material of a high energy impulse spark gap switch and setting high erosion resistance material at the top of the electrode, the mass loss of the electrode can be reduced and the life of the switch prolonged.