Experimental study on PTFE ablation in high voltage circuit-breakers

Abstract

The average surface ablation of poly-tetra-fluro-ethylene (PTFE) nozzles in high voltage circuit-breakers was investigated experimentally by means of the specific ablation. Experiments were done with a test device in the current and arcing time range of 2–40 kArms and 5–17 ms, respectively. This allowed determining the dependences of the specific PTFE ablation on current and arcing time. Additionally, the specific PTFE nozzle ablation in commercial high voltage circuit-breakers was analysed in a broad range of current amplitudes and arcing times. For understanding the results more in detail, experiments with a small scale test device were performed. The different experiments yielded consistent values for the PTFE ablation. The ablation depends mainly on the total arc energy. The total ablation is given by the ablation of walls surrounding the arc and by the ablation in regions where plasma from the arc cools down. Different specific ablation values can be observed for the axial blown arc mode and the ablation controlled arc mode.