Power contact arc suppression An investigation into the relative effectiveness of snubbers vs. an engineered electronic power contact arc suppressor

Abstract

Power contact arc suppression is specific to arcing in contacts that switch currents in excess of one ampere. To facilitate this discussion, a contact arc suppression figure-of-merit is introduced enabling a comparison of arc suppression effectiveness between electronic components and engineered solutions. This “Contact Arc Suppression Factor” (CASF), is the ratio of the arc energy without suppression over the residual arc energy with suppression. A CASF of 1 indicates no effect whereas a CASF of 1000 indicates a 99.9 percent reduction in arc energy. This paper concludes by summarizing the relevant key elements from this investigation that enabled the construction of power contact arc suppressors capable of suppressing arc currents well in the kilo ampere range irrespective of the type of load driven by operating voltages in the kilo volt range.