3-D Transient Modeling and Simulation of Coupled Vacuum Arc and Anode Molten Pool Deformation Under CuCr Alloy Contacts

During the breaking process of vacuum circuit breakers, the arc will cause the anode to heat up and melt. This will have a negative impact on the circuit breaker and reduce its life. In this study, a 3-D transient model is established to simulate the interaction between arc and anode. The process of electrode melting under arc heating and electrode evaporation affecting the arc is considered. In this study, an axial magnetic field (AMF) contact made of copper-chromium alloy with a diameter of 41mm was used. The gap distance is 10mm and the current has a root mean square (rms) value of 15kA. This study takes CuCr30material as the main research object. The simulation results show that the CuCr30electrode is heated up under the action of the arc and reaches the maximum value at 6.6ms, accompanied by an erosion depth of about$120~\mu $m. Moreover, the overall erosion region exhibits a hexagonal distribution under the influence of the arc plasma. The comparison between CuCr10, CuCr30, and CuCr50material electrodes shows that the higher the chromium content, the higher the anode temperature, but the lower the degree of erosion. The temperature rise of the electrode also affected the arc column, leading to an active anode phenomenon. Overall, the phenomena observed in the simulation are in good agreement with the experimental observations.