Experimental research of arc behaviour characteristics in liquid metal current limiter based on self pinch effect

The arc behavior characteristics in the liquid metal current limiter (LMCL) based on self pinch effect was investigated. An experimental setup which had basic structural characteristic of LMCL was designed. According to the images obtained the high speed photography and the waveform of arc voltage and current recorded by the oscilloscope, the nature of arc initiation in liquid metal is revealed, and the influence of current on the self pinch process of pre arcing is analyzed. The morphological changes of arc with the variation of arc voltage in one channel are studied. The phenomenon of arc erosion on the electrodes is observed during the experiment. An improved method of electrode structure, which can avoid the erosion effectively, is proposed.The research work is a significant guide to the improvement of LMCL current limiting charateristics.