Monte Carlo simulation of microparticle motion in vacuum gap

Abstract

AbstractBreakdown voltages of vacuum gaps become lower when the gaps are contaminated by metallic and ceramic microparticles. In this paper, the motion of the microparticles in the gap is simulated using Monte Carlo method in order to evaluate the effect of parameters upon motion and the removal time of the microparticles. As the parameters, we focused on the material of the microparticle, the frequency, the peak value of the applied voltage, the gap length, and the diameter of the lower and upper electrodes. It turned out that the maximum time needed to remove all microparticles could be expressed as multiple regression function. It is suggested that the reliability of the microparticle removal can be increased by spark conditioning with opening/closing operation.