Experimental method to obtain a volumetric representation of the arc splitting process in MCCB

Abstract

The study of the arc interruption in low voltage circuit breakers has been a topic of interest by many researchers. This phenomenon is a consequence of high current flowing into a circuit breaker, the circuit is forced to open and an electrical arc appears between the contacts when they separate from each other. This electrical arc is formed by electromagnetic plasma, consequence of different phenomena interacting to achieve their extinction in a very short time. The phenomena have been studied in the past, leading to the design of different experiments to study the interruption process of the electrical arc. This work will present a method to illustrate the movement of the arc based on experimental results at high current interruptions in a volumetric perspective. This new way to represent the arc will help the engineers to evaluate the behavior of the arc inside of the arc chamber; this will provide a better way to estimate the displacement and expulsion of the arc from the arc chamber.