A study on electrical lifespan of VI by means of calculation of arc energy during arcing time in synthetic tests

This study focused on the evaluation of electrical lifespan of vacuum interrupter by means of calculation of arc energy during arcing time. The repetitive short circuit current breaking tests with synthetic test devices were conducted until the contact could not break the short circuit current in order to identify the limit of electrical life. As a result, the accumulative arc energy was calculated after tests. Moreover, arc energy in short circuit current breaking tests were calculated and compared with the results of synthetic tests.