Modelling and simulation of nozzle ablation in high-voltage circuit-breakers

Abstract

In the present paper, a new approach to modelling the ablation phenomenon using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools coupled with a physical radiation model is proposed, implemented and validated for application in circuit-breaker arc studies. The present work shows that the principal characteristics of ablation-dominated arcs can be simulated effectively using CFD tools if the radiation incident at the wall boundaries can be predicted accurately.