11.

Phenomena generated by splitter plates on lowvoltage electric arc dynamics

ric DEBELLUT, Denis CAJAL, Francis GARY and Alain LAURENT
Laboratoire dlectrotechnique de Montluon
Avenue Aristide Briand, BP 2235
03101 Montluon Cedex, France
cajal@moniut.univ-bpclermont.fr, gary@moniut.univ-bpclermont.fr
It should be noticed that other global magnetic methods
were developed : the magnetic planimeter among others [4]. In
other respects, we compared the results and noted a good
agreement between two means of diagnostics using optical and
magnetic measurements [5]. Further, we should point out that
theses equipments are heavy to bring into operation. This is
one of the reasons laboratories are developing diagnostics
methods based on the arc modelling [6] [7]. Previous studies
[8, 9, 10] have investigated the influence of arcs runners on the
arc motion.

Abstract The breaking of an electric arc is obtained by its

lengthening, its splitting up and its cooling in the quenching
chamber made up of fins called splitters. However, the latter
sometimes have unwanted effects. The presented study deals with
the phenomena generated by their presence and their influence
on the arc behaviour. The arc is observed thanks to a tool called
magnetic camera based on the measurement of the magnetic
field outside the device. For a given time, the magnetic picture
allows the reconstitution of the average current line that
represents the arc. Several tests were carried out with a
quenching chamber consisting of iron splitters and prospective
peak currents varying from 1370A to 6300A. Two configurations
of positioning were studied. The first one consists in putting three
tilted splitters located at the same level ; the second one is made
up of four splitters, each with a shifted position compared to the
others. Other parameters are also analyzed : arc voltage, current
limiting, thermal stress, energy, break time. In general, the arc
enters the quenching chamber where it is split. However, for high
currents, it does not put out quickly after penetrating the
splitters but oscillates for a few moments in front of them.

In this paper, we aim to study the phenomena generated by

the presence of several splitters on the arc motion. Indeed, the
circuit breaker manufacturers lay out several splitters made of
magnetic materials in the quenching chamber. The splitters are
known for having current arc attraction and cooling properties.
However, splitters are sometimes suspected of having harmful
effects on the break. The arc may not penetrate the splitters
entirely but go round them; in this way they become an
obstacle to the arc. When the arc is in the splitters, a significant
fusion of the metal can also occur. When the metal solidifies, it
can short-circuit the splitters and involve a reduction of the arc
voltage.

Electric break arc; arc behaviour; splitter plates; magnetic

camera

I.

INTRODUCTION

II.

In order to know how an electric break arc behaves without

impeding it, the Laboratory has developed two diagnostics
methods for several years, both being based on magnetic
measurements outside the apparatus studied. These methods
are complementary and are jointly used. They are respectively
called inverse method and magnetic camera. The inverse
method uses the values of the magnetic induction measured at
about ten points, then an inverse numerical solution allows the
retracing of the arc dynamics. Thanks to the inverse method,
we showed particular arc motions when side walls made of
different materials were used [1].

A. Electric arc production system

The principle consists in establishing the discharge of a
battery of capacitors, initially loaded at a voltage U0, through
an inductance L by triggering a power thyristor. The system
produces a 50Hz half wave of current with a peak value which
can vary from 1000 to 7300A according to the value of U0.
B. Breaking system [2]
This device causes the opening of the electric circuit in
order to create the arc. The breaking system used is represented
on Fig.1.

For the magnetic camera, many more probes are placed but
only a singular value of the induction is processed. It is mainly
used when we want to focus on the analysis of the arc motion
in a limited area. Moreover, this means of diagnostics enabled
us to highlight a phenomenon unfavourable to the realisation of
the break in a circuit breaker : the re-strike during which
several arcs exist [2]. We also showed that this diagnostics
remained valid in presence of magnetic materials [3].

0-7803-7862-8/04/$20.00 (C) IEEE.

EXPERIMENTAL DEVICE

Two ceramics side walls, placed against both electrodes,

confine the arc during its rise. The ceramics used is made of
stumatite, a material known for having a neutral behaviour
towards the arc [11].
When the splitters are made of iron, the magnetic field
created by the arc is deformed. Iron being more permeable than

355

the air, the lines of field tend to be confined inside the splitters.
Hence, as the magnetic induction gradient is steered towards
the splitters, the electromagnetic force that the arc undergoes
propels it towards the quenching chamber.
splitter plate
cathode

anode

30

arc

quenching
chamber

125 mm

75

For the location of splitters in the quenching chamber two

configurations were selected. For the first one (Fig. 4a), the
three splitters were placed so that the electrode gap was
regularly shared. The bottom of the three splitters was
positioned at a height of 83.5mm. For the second one (Fig. 4b),
four splitters were laid out vertically in the breaking chamber.
Each splitter was 10 mm up compared to the immediately
below.

I
68.5 mm

40 mm

pre-chamber

I
braided lead

moving contact
current feed

1 2

1 : closed position
2 : open position

Figure 1. Experimental device, side view of arc chamber.

In industrial circuit breakers, the splitters have V-shaped

cuttings. This particular arrangement is supposed to increase
the magnitude and the range of the magnetic forces. Actually,
preliminary tests were carried out to compare the effects on
both full and cut splitter plate. With more than one full splitter,
the arc is stopped. This is why the splitters used for this study
are also cut in order to ease the insertion of the arc (Fig.2).
They are 1mm thick, 8mm wide, 120mm high (Fig.3).
assumed lines of induction
cut iron splitter
arc
F'
F=magnetic force

Figure 2. Lines of induction near a splitter.

Figure 4. Splitter and probe location (dimension in mm).

For each configuration, series of three consecutive tests

were carried out. Before each series, the electrodes, the splitters
and the contact were changed to have similar conditions for the
different tests. A series included only three consecutive shots
because after, the material was too deteriorated to undergo
other tests in such conditions.

10

Figure 3. Front view of a splitter (dimensions in mm).

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356

III.

THE MAGNETIC CAMERA [12]

IV.

An inverse numerical resolution was developed based on a

mathematical model taking into account the magnetic
contributions of threadlike segments of current, which
represent the various parts of the breaking system (current feed,
electrodes and arc). The arc dynamics may be displayed using
non-intrusive specific magnetic measurements.

EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

A. Description of the tests

For this study, the tests were carried out with a 400V initial
capacitor load voltage and a prospective peak current having
successively the values 1370A, 2520A, 4000A, 4600A and
6300A.
The signals, digitized with a 0.64s sampling period, are
recorded over an acquisition time of 10 ms.

96 probes are set so that they detect the magnetic

component according to the y-axis, the axis perpendicular to
plane (X, 0, Z) which is also the average evolution plane of the
arc.
In a previous paper [3], the detail of the principle of the
"magnetic camera" was presented. Simplifying the principle,
the Y-component by(t) is cancelled when the arc moves in
front of a considered probe. This singular point is called a
zero. However, in a breaking device, magnetic contributions
both of current feeds and of the arc bent must be taken into
account. The points where by(t) equals zero being known, the
aim is to find the shape of the corresponding electrical circuit
for a given moment. With a matrix-shaped set of probes , for a
given time, we can find the position of the zeros by
interpolation between sensors running on the same line or
column or diagonal line.
The arc is modelled by a succession of segments of current.
In these conditions, the problem consists in seeking the
minimum of the following criterion:

Figure 5. Arc model and voltage measurement.

C = by 2 (x Si , z Si , x 1 , z1 , , x N , z N )
i =1

B. Current and voltage measurement (Fig. 5)

The arc voltage measurement is carried out as close to the
electrodes as possible in order to minimize loop effects by
means of a differential probe whose attenuation factor is 100.

(1)

This quantity represents the quadratic error between

measured induction and calculated induction. (xSi,zSi) are the
co-ordinates of the zeros and x1,z1,,xN,zN the unknowns.

The splitters behave like as many additional electrodes

which produce voltage drops that are measured thanks to
differential probes whose attenuation factor is 50.

A solution is obtained by using an iterative method of

descent : gradient method or steepest slope method [13].

The total current is measured using a current sensor with a

constant coefficient equal to 10-3 V/A.

As we wanted to focus our analysis on the arc motion

inside a quenching chamber, this led us to place the probes just
in front the splitters (Fig. 4).

C. Splitter effects
In order to better characterize the influence of the splitters,
several parameters such as the maximum value of the current
Imax, the arc energy E, the break time darc and the thermal stress
value CT were taken into account. These criteria are generally
employed to appreciate the efficiency of the break. The study
of these parameters could be undertaken starting from the
analyses completed on more than 200 tests.

During the whole break time, the signals of the sensors

were recorded at a 1562.5 kHz sampling frequency and
quantized on 8 bits (256 levels).
With regard to the performance, the sampling period being
0.64 s, the equivalent speed can reach 1 562 500 images a
second. Moreover, as the probes are 5mm one from the others,
the arc can be detected up to a 7812.5m/s speed.

1) Current limiting effect

The maximum value of current Imax allows the calculation
of the current limiting which is expressed by the ratio between
the cut-off peak intensity and the prospective intensity
Ip(Fig. 6). This short-circuit current limiting has become a need
for electrical systems and system protection. Indeed, the very
high current switching-off using a low-volume circuit breaker
cannot be achieved without a significant reduction of energy
dissipated in the breaking device.

We must note that the positions of the arc roots on each of

the two faces of the splitters are also unknown, like the
positions of the anodic and cathodic roots. Fig. 5 represents the
choice of the sought polygonal line for each configuration of
the splitters. It should be noticed that a splitter can conduct a
current in the first configuration.

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357

The current limitation is obtained by the arc voltage

increase. However, the two principles to increase this voltage
consist in, on the one hand, lengthening the arc in the breaking
system and on the other hand, propelling it against splitter
plates in order to split it and thus generate additional voltage
drops.

40

Thermal stress
CT (kA 2 .s)

35
30
25

The combination of these principles makes it possible to

obtain a rather high arc voltage quickly, essential factor of the
current limitation.

15
10

I max
Ip

without splitter plates

configuration 1
configuration 2

20

0.9

Prospective current Ip (A)

0
0

2000

4000

6000

8000

0.8

Figure 7. Average thermal stress CT as a function of the prospective current

without splitter plates

configuration 1
configuration 2

0.7

Splitters induce a reduction of the thermal stress for

prospective peak current of 1370A, 2520A and 4000A. Beyond
these values, they have contrary effects with those wanted in
circuit breakers.

0.6

0.5

We can observe that configuration 2 (four splitters) gives

better results than configuration 1 (three splitters) regarding the
value of the thermal stress. This can be explained by the
positioning of the splitters in the quenching chamber. As a
matter of fact, their lower ends are shifted, the closer to the
cathode the splitter is, the higher the splitter is. The arc
lengthens more before it penetrates the splitters entirely. It
involves a reduction of the break time (see Fig. 8), producing a
lower thermal stress compared to configuration 1.

Prospective current Ip (A)

0.4
0

2000

4000

6000

8000

Figure 6. Average current limiting as a function of the prospective current.

This phenomenon is well illustrated by Fig. 6, where Imax is

the maximum value of the total current measured with a current
sensor. A better current limitation is noted in the presence of
splitter plates. Indeed, the arc, once entered the splitter plates,
involves an arc voltage increase implying a current reduction.

3) Arc energy
The arc energy represents the energy released in the
breaking volume of a circuit breaker (Fig. 9). This energy is
mainly dissipated into heat (hot gases, splitter plate heating). It
is expressed by the formula :

It must be noted that the higher the current is, the more
there is limiting device effect. With high currents, the arc
moves and lengthens more quickly in the breaking system
involving a faster voltage growth.
2) Thermal stress
The thermal stress, the electrical system is subjected to
during the short-circuit (Fig. 7), is a significant parameter for
the evaluation quality of the break. Actually, a good break is
characterized by a significant reduction of the peak current
together with a small break time, which also results in a low
thermal stress. This quantity is given by the following
equation :

E = u arc i arc dt

(4)

d arc

Break time

d arc ( ms)
7

CT =

2
i arc
dt

d arc

without splitter plates

configuration 1
configuration 2

(2)
4

Prospective current Ip (A)

2
0

2000

4000

6000

8000

Figure 8. Average break time darc as a function of the prospective current

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4000

4) Break time
The break time is defined as being the time which elapses
between the beginning of the arc and its complete
extinguishing (Fig. 8). The beginning of the arc is roughly
determined by the sudden growth of the arc voltage.

Energy
E (J)

3500

3000

With regard to the value of the break time, configuration 2

gives better results than configuration 1. The lengthening of darc
for configuration 1 is explained by the arc stagnation inside the
quenching chamber. Indeed, once in the splitters, the arc
remains sustained in the quenching chamber.

2500

without splitter plates

configuration 1
configuration 2

2000

1500

The arc production system is based on the discharge of a

battery of capacitors through an inductance. Thus the system
does not simulate perfectly an electrical supply network in
short-circuit mode. The supplied initial energy can be regarded
as constant for these tests. Although the arc voltage depends on
arc chamber design, generated arc voltages have roughly the
same magnitude, if Imax is more important without splitter plate
then the break time must be weaker. Furthermore, in ours
configurations, the number of splitter plates is weak, thus there
is not a sudden increasing of the voltage, therefore the current
does not decrease, and thus leads to an augmentation of the
break time.

1000

500

Prospective current Ip (A)

0
0

2000

4000

6000

8000

Figure 9. Average energy E as a function of the prospective current

Observing the results of Fig.9, we notice a high increase of

the arc energy for prospective currents of 4600A and 6300A,
induced by the presence of splitters. Indeed the arc, once into
the splitters, remains a few moments instead of quickly putting
out. For these tests with high currents, the arc greatly erodes
the splitters. The metal vapours and the emitted particles
increase the plasma conductivity that sustains the arc in the
splitters. Moreover, for high currents, the number of splitters
used (three or four) represents an insufficient metal mass to
allow a satisfactory cooling of the arc. Thus, with currents of
4600A and 6300A, the deion plates allow the splitting-up but
do not manage -while heating- to absorb enough of the energy
produced in the plasma column.

The objective of this part was the comparison of the two

configurations of splitters positioning. The configuration
without splitter plate was used as a reference but was not
compared with the others configurations. The presented study
relates to the comparison of quenching chambers in order to
know which configuration has a better influence on the arc
behaviour. Under these conditions, of the two configurations
chosen, configuration 2 gives better results (higher arc voltage,
weaker break time).
D. Analysis of the arc motion using the magnetic camera
In this part, the study is undertaken with the configuration
2. Several tests were carried out for prospective peak currents
of 1370A, 2520A, 4000A, 4600A and 6300A.

Photography Fig. 10 represents the splitters after tests with

prospective peak currents of 1370A and 6300A. With high
currents, the splitters are quickly damaged.

Fig. 11 and Fig. 12 display the arc dynamics using the

magnetic camera for tests carried out with two extreme current
values. Moments noted t1 and t2 correspond to the time
interval during which the analysis of the arc evolution was
performed by using the information delivered by the probes.

Ip = 1370A

We can notice that the number of probes is limited to 96

(Fig. 4), and they are placed in a so manner that, when the arc
reaches the top of the electrodes, data are too very few to
display arc dynamics on the top of the breaker, which
corresponds to what happens after the moment t2.

Ip = 6300A

In a previous study [2], we showed that the material used

for the splitter plates (iron or non magnetic material, such as
copper) has not a significant effect on the measurement of the
magnetic field.

Figure 10. Splitter plate erosion for low and high currents

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359

t1

t2

Figure 11. Arc current lines dynamics for a prospective current of 2520A and
four splitters

Figure 12. Arc current lines dynamics for a prospective current of 6300A and
four splitters

V. CONCLUSION
The objective of this work was the study of the phenomena
caused by the presence of deion plates on the arc dynamics.
These splitters intercalated on the arc course behave like as
many additional electrodes. The interest is double : it allows
the increase of the arc voltage by splitting it on the one hand,
and the arc cooling on the other hand.

In all the cases, the arc penetrates the splitters where it is

split and put out. However it should be noticed that the arc
stagnates at the bottom of the splitters before entering the
quenching chamber. We observe a correlation with the peaks of
the arc voltage when the arc enters each splitter plate.
For prospective peak currents lower than 4000A, these
stagnations are accentuated.

Nevertheless, it is advisable to be careful because we have

shown that splitters could impede the path of the arc. Two
types of splitter positioning were tested. Configuration 2 (four
splitters) seems the most powerful. Indeed, the arc goes further

For currents higher than 4000A, the arc enters the splitters
with more ease because of higher magnetic field.

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360

in the quenching chamber leading to a faster quenching of the

arc.
The study carried out in this paper showed that it is better to
keep configuration 2 with a greater number of iron splitters.
This would improve the break and allow the splitters to fulfil
their function of splitting-up and arc cooling.

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