Effect of different vent configurations on the interruption performance of arc chamber

Gas flow in arc quenching chamber has an important effect on the interruption capability of low voltage circuit breakers. In this paper, based on a simplified model of arc chamber with a single break, which can be opened by the electro-dynamics repulsion force automatically, the effect of different vent configurations including middle vent and side vent on the interruption performance is investigated. First, the experiments are carried out to compare the different performance in the interruption process between middle vent type and side vent type. In addition, according to the experimental model, a 3-D magneto-hydrodynamic model was developed by adapting and modified the commercial computational fluid dynamics software FLUENT. The simulation results show the same trend in arc motion as explained in the experimental conclusions in theory.