Methodology for Testing Selected Parameters of Low-Current Vacuum Electric Arc

This article presents the author’s methodology for testing selected parameters of a low-current vacuum arc, implemented using an innovative test stand based on a vacuum discharge chamber with a contact system mounted inside. In order to verify the validity of the adopted research methodology, as well as the correctness of the operation of the developed laboratory bench, measurements and calculations were made, among other things, of the energy and burning time of the vacuum arc, depending on selected factors, such as pressure and the delay time of the contact opening, calculated from the “passage through zero” of the sinusoid of the current flowing through the system. The tests were performed at 230 V and a current of 5 A for two pressure values: p1 = 1.00 × 105 Pa (atmospheric pressure) and p2 = 4.00 × 10−3 Pa (high vacuum environment). It was found that the vacuum insulation technique allows a significant reduction in the value of the arc energy and the burning time of the arc. It was also observed that in the case of a high vacuum environment, the ignition of the vacuum arc occurs after a time equal to about 3 ms from the “passage through zero” of the current flowing through the system. Below this value, the phenomenon did not occur. The results obtained provide an opportunity for the design and manufacturing of vacuum switchgear, where there is the prospect of reducing the negative effects associated with the arc burning process in the contact gap.