Hannover 2010 – scientific programme
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P: Fachverband Plasmaphysik
P 11: Invited Talks Windisch, Manz, Loffhagen, Hauser
P 11.4: Invited Talk
Wednesday, March 10, 2010, 12:30–13:00, B 305
The numerical simulation of diffuse axial magnetic field vacuum arcs — •Andreas Hauser1, Werner Hartmann1, Andreas Lawall2, Roman Renz2, and Norbert Wenzel1 — 1Siemens AG, Corporate Technology, Erlangen, Germany — 2Siemens AG, Energy Distribution, Berlin, Germany
Vacuum interrupters are central components in medium voltage distribution networks. While having reached a high degree of maturity, the future demands on energy distribution networks require a considerable increase in switching capability due to higher energy densities.
As the arc determines the switching capability to a large extent, it is the understanding and interpretation of the arc, the plasma bulk and its interaction with the contact system, which enables new and more powerful designs. In contrast to gas insulated switchgear, where LTE plasma can be assumed, the physical processes in vacuum arcs during the switching process are still not fully understood.
Although experiments are indispensible, their benefit is limited as not all quantities of interest can be accessed. With the advances in physical modeling and the increase of computational resources the numerical simulation of realistic problems yields further insight.
We present a transient 3D vacuum arc model taking into account realistic external magnetic fields. Moreover, we show the very different scales in time and space of the physical processes observed experimentally and present in the underlying model, which eventually have to be captured and solved numerically.