Modeling and simulation of electric arc plasmas in low voltage circuit breakers

Summary form only given. The process of interruption of electrical current and arc plasma initiation and resulting pressurization have been modeled and simulated using a customized computational fluid dynamics code. The magnetofluiddynamic equations governing the electric arc plasma in a low voltage circuit breaker have been solved and the resulting arc movement in the interruption chamber has been coupled with the dynamics of the compressible flow of the gas. The resulting simulation code enables prediction of pressure, arc damage and arc flow in a circuit breaker during current interruption. Some examples of these simulations will be presented.