Estimation of High Frequency Arc Conductance in High Voltage Aircraft Systems Using Modified Mayr Model

Higher on-board power generation is a promising solution to tackle greenhouse gas emissions generated by the aviation industry. With the increasing level of operating voltages to meet power generation demand and the higher system frequencies to optimize weight, arc faults may become a serious threat to the aircraft power systems. Furthermore, the low-pressure ambient environment at higher altitudes and system operating conditions would introduce additional technical challenges. To better understand the nature of electric arcs at aeronautical conditions, this paper investigates 1 kHz, 1.1 kA AC arcs for a range of electrode gap lengths between 2.5 and 40 mm under pressures of 0.2, 0.6 and 1.0 bar absolute. The resultant arc conductance shows higher values at lower gaps with lower conductance during negative half cycles than their preceding positive ones. A modified Mayr model was used to demonstrate good agreement between simulated and experimentally obtained waveforms for arcs produced at pressures below 1.0 bar.