Title :
Diagnostics of the Cathode Sheath Expansion After Current Zero in a Vacuum Circuit Breaker
Author :
Schneider, Anton V. ; Popov, Sergey A. ; Batrakov, Alexander V. ; Sandolache, Gabriela ; Rowe, Stephen William
Author_Institution :
Inst. of High Current Electron., Russian Acad. of Sci., Tomsk, Russia
fDate :
6/1/2011 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Langmuir probes operating in the electron saturation current mode were used to detect the time of the arrival of the cathode sheath at the probe position. The probe current was measured just before and after current zero (CZ) followed the transient recovery voltage in a gap with copper electrodes. Probe measurements were accompanied with the detection of the postarc currents. Basic plasma parameters such as electron temperature and density were measured in the vicinity of the arcing gap. The data set allowed us to reconstruct the sheath dynamics after CZ.
Keywords :
Langmuir probes; cathodes; copper; electric current measurement; plasma density; plasma sheaths; plasma temperature; transients; vacuum arcs; vacuum circuit breakers; Langmuir probes; cathode sheath expansion diagnostics; copper electrode; current zero; electron saturation current mode; plasma parameter measurement; post-arc current detection; probe current; probe measurement; time of arrival detection; transient recovery voltage; vacuum circuit breaker; Cathodes; Current measurement; Plasma density; Plasma measurements; Probes; Temperature measurement; Electric breakdown; plasma sheaths; vacuum arc; vacuum circuit breaker (VCB);
Journal_Title :
Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TPS.2011.2134849
