Abstract
Numerical simulations of low-voltage circuit breakers require a coupled solution of gas flow, electromagnetism, electrical circuit, and other aspects. Including electrode motion is challenging because the computational grid is deformed and data is to be exchanged among dedicated solvers. A central issue is to keep them synchronized. This is addressed with a single framework that allows for a continuously morphing grid and accounting for the cumulative effects of mechanics, Lorentz force, and gas pressure. It is shown that gas pressure has negligible effect.
Highlights
Low-voltage circuit breakers are designed to carry electrical current in normal operation as well as safely interrupt short-circuit currents in case of failures
We note that a fraction of the current flows through the first splitter plate, and after t = 200 μs, we see that electrical current starts to flow through the second splitter plate
This contribution presents a self-consistent model for electrode motion in a virtual low-voltage circuit breaker
Summary
Low-voltage circuit breakers are designed to carry electrical current in normal operation as well as safely interrupt short-circuit currents in case of failures. In case of a fault, the contacts are opened by means of mechanical actuators and/or electromagnetic forces available due to fault current. In [1], the computational domain was deformed and remeshed to accommodate for the motion of the opening contact; the motion as well as current were not computed but followed input values obtained from experiment. Later, it was shown in [2, 3] that numerical simulations should include contact motion appropriately, especially if large contact gaps and contact motion are studied right in front of splitter plates. An earlier version of the same software framework was used in [5, 6] with an advanced plasma model; details on specifications of rigid body motion and electrical boundary conditions are not given
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