Analysis of dielectric breakdown of hot SF6 gas in a gas circuit breaker

Abstract

This paper presents the analysis of the dielectric characteristics of a hot SF6 gas in a gas circuit breaker. Hot gas flow is analyzed using the FVFLIC method considering the moving boundary, material properties of real SF6 gas, and arc plasma. In the arc model, the re-absorption of the emitted radiation is approximated with the boundary source layer where the re-absorbed radiation energy is input as an energy source term in the energy conservation equation. The breakdown criterion of a hot gas is predicted using the critical electric field as a function of temperature and pressure. To validate the simulation method, breakdown voltage for a 145kV 40kA circuit breaker was measured for various conditions. Consistent results between the simulation and experiment were confirmed.