Calculation of Pressure in Interrupter of SF6 Circuit Breaker Using Lattice Boltzmann Method

At present, the simulation of arc in the circuit breakers is generally based on the equations of magneto-hydrodynamic. Numerical solution methods used to solve such equations mainly include the finite-element method and finite-difference methods. These methods have the drawbacks of a complex solving process and large computational time. In this study, the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) as a mesoscopic method is proposed to describe the arc and solve the flow field in the interrupter of the SF6 circuit breaker. The force terms, heat source terms, and boundary conditions of the circuit breaker arc are calculated. The variation and distribution of the pressure in the arc-extinguishing chamber during the breaking process are investigated by simulation. With the comparison of the simulation results of the pressure with the test, the effectiveness of the LBM method for simulating the breaking process of SF6 circuit breakers is verified.