Arc Splitter In Circuit Breaker

An electric arc is the discharge of electric current through gas or air.

Arc splitter in circuit breaker.

Arc chute is used in low voltage circuit breakers or in air circuit breakers i e. In order to avoid that the arc has to be safely and effectively extinguished. The arc in the air circuit breaker runs in a mixture of nitrogen oxygen and copper vapour. A 3 d simulation model of air arc plasma in a low voltage circuit breaker considering the production of iron vapor from splitter plate erosion is developed.

These arc splitter plates are also called arc chutes where arc is formed into a series of arcs and at the same time energy extracted and cools it. When the current is greater than 100a these gases get dissociated into atoms which changes the characteristics of the arc on account of the associated change in its thermal conductivity. The conduction of electric charges through gas produces plasma which glows. Here is the image of the arc chute.

Axial blast air circuit breaker in the air blast circuit breaker the flow of air is longitudinal along the arc. The distributions of temperature and. Types of miniature circuit breakers mcb s. An arc fault circuit interrupter or afci breaker prevents fires by sensing when an electrical arc is about to occur and instantly disconnecting the damaged circuit before the arc builds enough heat to catch fire standard circuit breakers don t always trip in these instances because standard breakers are designed to respond to a sustained amount of heat not a quick surge.

A method used to increase the total arc voltage across the main contacts is to force the arc into an arc baffle or splitter structure. Electric arc produces heat that can melt the contacts of the breaker and even damage the circuit breaker itself. Acb for example a miniature circuit breaker mcb. A typical arc baffle structure in a small circuit breaker is shown in figure 5 9.

The splitters increase the length of the arc even further. Circuit breaker which features a unique and innovative patent pending arc quenching configuration that allows the breaker to safely handle high amperage and high dc voltage applications in a compact package. The thing that you are asking is known as arc chute. A common arc control scheme used in many circuit breaker designs i e.

Hence this arrangement achieves the arc extinction. Air blast circuit breaker may be a single blast or double blast.