Countercurrent Breaking by Vacuum Interrupter Combined in Parallel with Vacuum Switch

Quit new approach for high currents equal 100kA and more is offered to consideration in this paper. The vacuum interrupter (VI) and the vacuum switch (TVG) differ considerably in velocity of electrical strength recovery, value of electrodes erosion, etc. It depends on difference in discharge types. To level these values it is offer in the paper to close the current I0 through TVG before the VI electrodes motion under it it's this value exceeds initial current on DeltaI (DeltaI-current, DeltaI/I0 ~5divide10middot10-2). Surplus DeltaI-current flows through VI but in opposite direction. In the process of electrodes moving apart, DeltaI-current in VI falls down to zero, with time constant tau = L/R, where L, R-inductance of circuit (VI-TVG) and resistance of TVG gap, correspondingly. It makes possible to fast recovery electrical strength of gap between contacts, to reduce considerably erosion of electrodes and voltage of DeltaI-current. On the final stage of the discharge of counter current battery recovery the vacuum strength of TVG gap. Such way of current breaking makes it possible to break direct currents effectively with high power. It is consequence of the combined opening switch technology based on vacuum interrupter and plasma erosion switch