Simulation of the SF6 Arc Behavior by a Cylindrical Arc Model

The dependece of the arc characteristics on the background SF6 gas condition is studied in detail. High (ph) value of SF6 gas at a temperature of 2000 K plays an important role for the peculiar behaviors of the SF6 arcs. The simulation by the cylindrical arc model[1] shows that the temperature profile across the arc is steep in the current decreasing phase and becomes broad in the current increasing phase. The time evolution of the current and voltage of the SF6 gas arc is interpreted into a curve on a (1/R) (dR/dt)-(ei) plane. The simulation results by the cylindrical arc model are plotted on the (l/R)(dR/dt)-(ei) plane to compare them with the experimental results. The cylindrical arc model gives a better similarity to the actual arc than Mayr's model in the current decreasing phase.