Optical emission spectroscopy evaluation of exhaust gas temperatures after high current interruption in CO2/O2
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14311/ppt.2025.2.158Keywords:
high voltage circuit breaker, SF6 alternatives, optical emission spectroscopy, CuFAbstract
In high voltage gas circuit breakers, the pressure buildup necessary for arc extinguishing is partially generated by ablated PTFE nozzle material, which mixes with the insulating gas before being blown through the arcing zone during current interruption. When high short-circuit currents are interrupted, this mixture can retain elevated temperatures for milliseconds as it expands into the circuit breaker’s exhaust volume, and therefore needs to be effectively managed to ensure adequate insulation is maintained. From a circuit breaker design standpoint, this makes accurate knowledge of the exhaust temperature immediately after current zero essential. In this work, two optical emission spectroscopy based temperature determination methods were applied to study the temperature near the exhaust plane exit in a CO2/O2-filled model circuit breaker near current zero. The measured broadband spectra show strong continuum emission from soot particles, in addition to band emission from CuF molecules formed in the exhaust gas. Gray-body spectral fits were performed to estimate temperatures from the continuum emission, which is dominated by the high emissivity soot particles, while temperatures were also obtained via Boltzmann plot evaluation of the emission band intensity ratios. The two methods reveal a temperature mismatch that may suggest slower cooling of the larger soot particles in comparison to the rest of the exhaust gas mixture.
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