Resistance of pulsed arc discharge in air and SF/sub 6/

Summary form only given, as follows. The primary objective of this work is to propose a method for accurate prediction of the resistance of a high-current pulsed arc discharge. The nine theoretical and empirical formulas of arc resistance, which have been reported, are compared using the measured values of arc resistance for unipolar arc discharges in mixture gas (nitrogen and oxygen) and sulfur hexafluoride gas with various maximum currents. The arc resistance was obtained accurately by solving the circuit equation using measured values of the current and breakdown voltage. Each arc resistance equation was numerically evaluated and then normalized by the arc resistance at the time of maximum arc current.