Gaseous Switching Arc and Extension to Pulsed Plasma

Abstract

This paper reviews the research works of our group in the field of gaseous switching arc and extension to pulsed plasma. On the one hand, towards the major demands from the power industries, such as the development of ultra-high voltage power transmission and the renewable energy integrations like wind power and photovoltaics, we have been focusing on the challenges in gaseous switching arc interruption in both low voltage switchgears and high voltage SFs-insulated switchgears as well as low voltage DC fault diagnosis problems caused by the poor electrical contact and insulation aging. We have not only paid attention to the fundamental physics of arc plasma, but also to the development of MHD arc modelling in aid for new products design and optimizations. On the other hand, combining the characteristics of high voltage, high current and fast pulsed discharges, we have extended the research of arc plasma to pulsed plasma, especially in some emerging inter-disciplines, such as electrothermal plasma to simulate the ELM transient high heat load in tokamak, LIBS technologies for nuclear power maintenance, and underwater pulsed discharge to generate shockwaves for dynamic reservoir fracturing in unconventional oil and gas exploitation.