Effect of different electrode materials on the arc energy under arc discharge

The arc energy generated during the operation of a vacuum circuit breaker not only affects its work life, but also affects its breaking performance. The arc energy mainly depends on the fault current level and arc duration, but the electrode material will also affect the arc energy. To study the effect of different electrode materials on arc energy parameters, including arc current and arc temperature. In this paper, the arc test platform was built according to IEC 61482-1-1 and IEC 61482-1-2, and the arc test was carried out on four electrode materials under different test conditions. The results show that different electrode materials will lead to different arc currents, of which iron electrode produces the largest arc current and graphite electrode produces the smallest. The arc temperature measured by the sensor was also different. The arc temperature of copper and stainless steel was the highest and similar, and the iron electrode was the lowest. The results show that although stainless steel and copper are selected as electrode materials in IEC 61482-1-1 and IEC 61482-1-2, the two materials have little influence on the final results.