The influence of the number of serial holes on energy dissipation for GaInSn liquid metal arcing process

Abstract High voltage DC circuit breakers require rapid dissipation of megajoules of energy during the breaking process. The use of gallium-indium-tin (GaInSn) liquid metal can quickly dissipate energy, but traditional single hole liquid metal energy dissipation devices have disadvantages such as low energy consumption efficiency, short service life, and high manufacturing costs. This paper proposes and designs liquid metal arc chamber structures with series connected double holes and series connected three holes to address the many shortcomings of single hole structures, and builds experimental and simulation platforms for liquid metal arc. Research has found that in terms of energy consumption efficiency, as the number of series connected holes increases, the energy consumption efficiency of liquid metal arc chambers is significantly improved, especially under high current amplitudes, where the energy consumption efficiency of porous structures is much higher than that of single hole structures. In terms of rapid response capability, the pre arc contraction time of porous structures is shorter than that of single hole structures, exhibiting faster response speed. In addition, porous structures have significant advantages in terms of service life and manufacturing cost in slowing down baffle erosion and reducing mechanical stress inside the combustion arc chamber.