Multi-field Co-simulation on Contact Bounce Suppression for Fast Vacuum Switch

Phase control is an effective method to suppress the electromagnetic transient process with switch operation. For the closing operation of high voltage Vacuum Switch (VS), high speed closing with phase control can well reduce pre-breakdown arcing time and avoid inrush current, and closing arc erosion. However, high speed closing of moving contact of VS will aggravate closing bounce, and the short arc can easily cause ablation damage on the contact surface, and even welding. The mathematical model of the fast repulsion switch is established to suppress contact bounce of fast VS’. A multi-field co-simulation method of electric field, magnetic field and mechanical dynamics is proposed to achieve real-time transmission of data such as force and displacement, avoiding the error caused by the unidirectional transmission after the independent simulation between the multi-physical fields. The co-simulation method is used to analyze the influence of the capacitance of the energy storage capacitor and its charging voltage, the turns of coil, and the material of the metal plate on the contact bounce of the fast repulsion switch, and the reasonable parameters for suppressing the closing bounce are obtained. It can be obtained that properly reducing the voltage while increasing the capacitance of the energy storage capacitor and the turns of coil can effectively suppress the contact bounce. The multi-field co-simulation method can be applied to the mechanical parameters and thermal field analysis and optimization design of VSs.