Experimental investigation and numerical simulation of triggered vacuum arc behavior under TMF/RMF-AMF contact

Abstract

A series of triggering experiments was carried out to investigate the characteristics of vacuum arc controlled by TMF/RMF-AMF contacts. During all the experiments, the current ranged from 5–20 kA (rms) and both the arc appearance and behavior of cathode spots were captured by high-speed camera with corresponding arc current and arc voltage. A 3D steady magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) model was built to simulate and analyze the vacuum arc behavior under TMF/RMF-AMF contacts, and arc plasma parameters were calculated based on the above model. The experimental results showed that arc deflection was visible under both low and high current. Under high current, arc core formed, which meant the arc contracted significantly. In addition, the anode became much more active under high current. The behavior of the cathode spots showed that they split themselves into other new cathode spots. Under high current, the bulk of the spots rotated along a clockwise direction on a transverse magnetic field (TMF) plate, which caused much noise and oscillation in the arc voltage. The simulation results show that ions are likely to gather on the branches of the TMF plate on the anode plane, as a result of the effects between the electromagnetic force and pressure gradient of the arc plasma. The current contracts in the center of the TMF plate on the cathode which was due to the thin connecting rod there. The anode contraction of the current is caused by the Hall effect. Ions move along a clockwise direction on the TMF plate, which is driven by Ampere force. The current contraction resulted in significant melting in the center of the cathode surface while the other region suffered from uniform melting. The melting caused by the anode contraction is more significant than that of the cathode.