Optical Diagnostics of Switching Arcs Near Current-zero: Speckle Imaging and Interferometry

Authors

  • P. C. Stoller ABB Switzerland Ltd., Segelhofstrasse 1K, 5405 Baden-Daettwil
  • J. Carstensen ABB Switzerland Ltd., Segelhofstrasse 1K, 5405 Baden-Daettwil
  • B. Galletti ABB Switzerland Ltd., Segelhofstrasse 1K, 5405 Baden-Daettwil
  • C. B. Doiron ABB Switzerland Ltd., Segelhofstrasse 1K, 5405 Baden-Daettwil
  • A. Sokolov ABB Switzerland Ltd., Segelhofstrasse 1K, 5405 Baden-Daettwil

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14311/ppt.2017.1.44

Keywords:

circuit breaker, current-zero, interferometry, imaging, density, temperature

Abstract

Optical diagnostics can be used to obtain spatially resolved measurements of the density, temperature, conductivity, and electron density of circuit breaker arcs embedded in transonic flows; these can be used to validate the results of simulations, the accuracy of which can currently be assessed in only a limited way. We compare speckle imaging and an interferometric approach. Both use a pulsed nanosecond laser. The speckle imaging setup does not require a reference beam, but only yields information about the gradient of the refractive index. Its accuracy is sensitive to the alignment of the optical components. Interferometry directly yields high resolution images of the index of refraction, from which the density can be calculated using the Gladstone-Dale relation. By using two laser beams, interferometry provides spatially resolved information about the electron density. Such measurements are a significant step towards more accurate CFD models.

References

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Published

2019-10-15

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2017)

Section

Articles

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