PIC Numerical Calculation of the Effect of Self-Voltage Sharing Configuration on the Post Arc Particle Transport Characteristics in High-Voltage Vacuum Interrupters

The uneven potential distribution of the multi-stage suspension shield in high-voltage vacuum interrupters has a significant impact on the breaking process, in order to investigate the effect of shield voltage equalization configuration on the post arc particle transport characteristics, this paper constructs a 126kV self-voltage sharing vacuum interrupter PIC (Particle In Cell) model. The influence of shield voltage equalization configuration on the macroscopic electrical parameters and microscopic particle movement process in the post arc stage of the 126kV vacuum interrupter with single-break and double-break is studied. The post arc current, post arc electric field, sheath development and particle transport dynamics were analyzed. The results show that for the 126kV single-break vacuum interrupter, the shield equalization configuration can reduce the post arc current, optimize the distribution of the post arc electric field and accelerate the development of the post arc sheath, among which the self-voltage sharing configuration using multi-stage suspension shield voltage equalization has the best effect. Secondly, for the 126kV double-break vacuum interrupter, the self-voltage sharing configuration can not only reduce the post arc current, accelerate the development of the sheath and improve the electric field distribution, but also make the development of the sheath of the two breaks more synchronized, which is more favorable for the post arc dielectric recovery process of the series vacuum interrupter. The research work in this paper has a certain guiding significance for the study of the development of high voltage level self-voltage sharing vacuum interrupters.