AND

ARC INTERRUPTION
PRESENTER RADHE SHYAM (2014103117)
WHAT IS AN ARC ?
During opening ofcurrentcarrying contacts in a circuit breaker
the medium in between opening contacts become highly ionized
through which the interrupting current gets low resistive path and
continues to flow through this path even the contacts are
physically separated. During the flowing of current from one
contact to other the path becomes so heated that it glows. This is
calledarc.
ARC VOLTAGE

The voltage that appears across the contacts during arcing period is
called the Arc Voltage.
Its value is low except for the period the fault current is at or near
zero current point.
 ARCING QUENCHING

The process of cooling, stretching, or spreading out

the arc within the spark gap so as to prevent the
previously ionized path from reigniting on
reapplication of voltage.
 ARC INTERRUPTION

Arc interruption is a process where we interrupt path of arc with the purpose
to extinguish it.
There are two methods of ARC INTERRUPTION
1.High Resistance Interruption
2.Current Zero Interruption
 High Resistance Interruption
In high interruption method we can increase the electrical resistance many
times to such a high value that it forces the current to reach to zero and
thus restricting the possibility of arc being restruck .
The arc resistance can be increased by various methods like lengthening
or cooling of the arc etc.
When current is interrupted the energy associated with its magnetic field
appears in the from of electrostatic energy. So a high voltage appears
across the contact of the CB and the gap between the contacts is large
then the arc will strike again.
So this method is not suitable for a large current interruption.
This is suitable for low power ac and dc CB.
 Current Zero Interruption

This method is applicable only in case of ac CB.

The current is interrupted only on zero current ,current is not
allowed to rise again after a zero current occurs.
There are two theories to explain the zero current interruption
of the arc-
1.Recovery rate theory (Slepains Theory)
2. Energy balance theory (Cassies theory)
Recovery rate
theory

By this theory the arc is interrupted if

ions are removed from the gap at a rate
faster than the rate of ionization .
In this method ,the rate at which the
gap recovers its dielectric strength is
compared with the rate at which the
restricking voltage across the gap rises.
RESTRICKING VOLTAGE-
It may be defined as the voltage
that appears across thebreakingcontact
at the instant of arc extinction.
Energy Balanced
Theory

At the current zero moment power is

zero because restricking voltage is
zero.
When the arc is finally extinguished ,
the power becomes zero then the gap
is fully de-ionized.
The energy appears in the from of
heat.
If the rate of removal of heat is faster
than the rate of heat generation the
arc is extinguished . otherwise the
space breaks down again resulting in
the arc for another half cycle.