Modelling of switching characteristics of hydrogen-nitrogen filled DC contactor under external magnetic field
2022-01-0885
03/29/2022
- Event
- Content
- With an increasing demand for hybrid and battery electric vehicles, it has become imperative to make the electrical switching process safe. In electric vehicles, this process is carried out by compact DC contactors which are designed to withstand years of use over millions of cycles. The quick disconnection is often enabled by an external magnetic field and pressurized hydrogen-nitrogen environment in the contactor. The disconnection process of these contactors leads to the formation of an arc which results from the breakdown of the gas inside the contactor chamber. The breakdown occurs in the inter-connection gap; however, the arc starts to move across the gap between the connectors due to the self-induced magnetic field. The interaction of arcs to the connector's body could lead to undesired metal vapours which could further decrease the creepage distance. In order to contain the arc, an external magnetic field could be applied to move the arc in a fashion that allows for its quick quenching. Previous research has shown the combination of the hydrogen-nitrogen mixture to be the most effective in the presence of the magnetic field [1]. In the current study, we investigate the breakdown characteristics during switching of the gas-filled DC contactors using the multi-physics simulation software VizSpark. The lifetime and the movement of the arc under the external magnetic field is simulated and validated using existing research literature [2]. [1] Shiba, Y., Morishita, Y., Kaneko, S., Okabe, S., Mizoguchi, H. and Yanabu, S. (2011), Study of DC circuit breaker of H2-N2 gas mixture for high voltage. Elect. Eng. Jpn., 174: 9-17. https://doi.org/10.1002/eej.21042 [2] D. Gonzalez, S. Gortschakow, R. Methling, S. Franke, S. Yu and F. Werner, "Switching Behavior of a Gas-Filled Model DC-Contactor Under Different Conditions," in IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, vol. 48, no. 7, pp. 2515-2522, July 2020, DOI: 10.1109/TPS.2020.3003525.
- Citation
- Ranjan, R., Thiruppathiraj, S., Karpatne, A., Breden, D. et al., "Modelling of switching characteristics of hydrogen-nitrogen filled DC contactor under external magnetic field ," SAE Technical Paper 2022-01-0885, 2022, .