Experimental investigation of anode activity between spiral slot contacts

When the vacuum switch breaks a large current, the strong arc energy causes a large amount of metal vapor to be sputtered from the anode, and the anode is obviously a latex. Vigorous anode activity may reduce the strength of the medium recovery at the time of current zero crossing and re-ignite the arc, which prevents the current from successfully breaking. Therefore, anode activity has an important impact on the arc interruption. In this paper, the experimental research on the anode activity of the spiral slot transverse magnetic contact was carried out. The equipment used in the experiment and the process of the experiment are introduced. The contact morphology after arc ablation was compared by scanning electron microscopy analysis. The anode ablation was analyzed in combination with the spraying of inter-electrode droplets and the arc energy during arcing. The influence of contact structure, contact material and contact diameter on anode melting and ablation was discussed. The results show that the increase of chromium content is beneficial to reduce the ablation of anode contacts in a certain range. At the same time, the increase of contact diameter reduces the arc energy density, which is also beneficial to reduce ablation.