Fundamental research of uniform vacuum arc control and its application to vacuum interrupter for high current interruption

The vacuum arc behavior and high current interruption ability of electrodes applied in the uniform vacuum arc control method are presented. The axial magnetic field distribution of this method is unlike that of the conventional AMF distribution. For extremely high interruption current, the arc of the conventional AMF electrode concentrates, causing local heating of the electrode, but the arc of this method diffuses over the whole contact area thus avoiding local heating. The relation among the electrode structure, the arc behavior and the magnetic field distribution between the electrodes is investigated, for applying this vacuum arc control method to the vacuum interrupter for the high current interruption. The vacuum interrupter applied this method can be made more compact and lighter than the conventional type.