A Study on Capacitive Current Switching Capability by Flashover Characteristics between Contacts of Circuit Breakers

@@@@ @ @ @ @
Mitsuru Toyoda Hirokuni Aoyagi @ @ Member Hitoshi Mizoguchi
Member Member
(Toshiba Corporation,mitsuru.toyoda@toshiba.co.jp) (Toshiba Corporation, hirokuni.aoyagi@glb.toshiba.co.jp ) (Toshiba Corporation, hitoshi2.mizoguchi@glb.toshiba.co.jp)

Keywords: Capacitive current switching, TD3, Flashover between contacts, arc contacts Nozzle, Significant number of interruption

Capacitive current switching will be done in a field after certain number of large current interruption. The switching capability is still expected to be at a certain level. Both JEC2300 and IEC62271-100 requires specific capacitive switching capability after 3 times of TD3 (60% of rated short breaking current). Authors investigate flashover characteristics between contacts of circuit breaker for new, after 3 times of TD3 and after significant number of large current interruption. Flashover characteristics are obtained for several different strokes and different polarity. An example of the obtained data is shown in Fig.1.

By electric field calculation using new and measured arcing contact shape after current interruption, flashover characteristics concerning electric field are obtained as shown in Table.1. The deterioration of flashover characteristics expressed by 50% electric field strength, decreases by 10 to 20 % after 3 times of TD3 and 10 to 30 % after significant number of interruption. The deterioration of flashover characteristics can be evaluated by negative polarity because the flashover electric field itself for negative polarity is lower than that of negative polarity. Then the deterioration on flashover characteristics caused by TD3 and by significant number of large current interruption can be evaluated as 10% and 20% vice versa.
Table 1 Flashover characteristics for new, after TD3 and after large current interruption

Gas pressure 0.5MPa Accumulated probability on flashover(%) Apply voltage switching impulse

S=30.5% S=31.9%
@@@@@@@@ Q X DQ New ` d STV SOW RQX RSR R O DU SWW |

stroke i j
R P DX SVX RWW RQU \ RRP R R DR SUU R S DV SRX RUR RTS R U DP \ RST RTT

for After TD3 positive B polarity

50

Stroke s=29.2%

S=34.7%

After large current interrupti on C a^` C^ A O

. W X . V Q O RXV | RQP

| . V O O

. W P . U W O RWV | RRU

| . V P O

. W R . W P RVU RRV RSQ RRX RSP |

New `

RXW RTS RPR

SPR RSS RRO

S=33.3%

for After TD3 negativ B e polarity After large

50

current interrupti on C B^ C ^ ` A

O O

. W X . V X O

| . W P

O O

. W R . W O O

| . W V

O O

. X O . X P

| |

Flashover voltage(kV)

Fig.1 Flashover between contacts for new condition