Arc-extinguish Characteristic Onsite Detection and Evaluation of Circuit Breaker

The arc-extinguish characteristics are the most important performance of the circuit breaker. However there is still no methods of onsite detection and evaluation. The current methods of detection and evaluation include the electrical life method and the dynamic resistance method. The electrical life method cannot reflect the abrupt change of the arc-extinguish characteristics. The dynamic resistance method cannot be carried out onsite. In this paper, a method of evaluating the arc-extinguish characteristics of a circuit breaker based on the detection of radiated electromagnetic waves is proposed, which can detect and evaluate the arc-extinguish characteristics of the circuit breaker. The basic principle of the method is introduced, and the simulation platform is established in the laboratory. The influence of breaking voltage, breaking speed and ablation degree on the radiation electromagnetic wave signal is studied. In addition, a case was presented.