Study of Temperature Rise Characteristics and Voltammetry Characteristics of ZnO Varistor under 10/350μs Pulse Current

Abstract

To study the effect of 10/350μs pulse current on the electrical performance of ZnO varistor, a high-current impulse experimental study was conducted in this paper. Firstly, the varistor was subjected to different amplitude impulse discharge experiments, and the temperature change of the varistor after the impulse was recorded. Then, the temperature of the varistor at the moment of 1 second after the pulse impulse was suffered by the Asymptotic function, and the Levenberg-Marquardt optimization algorithm was calculated to compare the temperature rise of the varistor under different current amplitudes. Finally, the upward shift of voltammetry characteristics in the high-current region after the impulse was explained according to the double Schottky barrier model and the linear chain aging theory. The results show that the higher the pulse current amplitude is, the higher the temperature rise of the varistor is at the 1s moment. The highest voltammetry characteristic upshift is caused by the 6.4kA pulse current. The temperature rise and the voltammetry characteristic drift in the high-current region are positively correlated. The results of the study can provide a reference for manufacturers to produce ZnO varistors for direct lightning protection of buildings.