Can a vacuum circuit breaker be used in both AC and DC systems?

Vacuum Circuit Breaker is a type of electrical switch used in power systems to turn on and off the circuit under normal and fault conditions. It is a medium-voltage breaker that uses vacuum as the arc quenching medium. Compared to traditional circuit breakers, vacuum circuit breakers have the advantage of longer service life, faster switching, and higher reliability. They are widely used in power generation, transmission, and distribution systems. Below is more information related to vacuum circuit breakers.

Can a vacuum circuit breaker be used in both AC and DC systems?

Yes, vacuum circuit breakers can be used in both AC and DC systems but the design needs to be different. In AC systems, the voltage polarity across the breaker reverses every half cycle, which naturally extinguishes the arc. On the other hand, in DC systems, the arc is continuous, and the voltage never goes to zero, so the arc needs to be forced to extinguish by using special techniques such as magnetic blowout. The structure of the breaker needs to be designed differently for AC and DC applications.

What are the advantages of vacuum circuit breakers?

Some advantages of vacuum circuit breakers are:

1. Compact size and lower weight for the same current rating as compared to air or oil circuit breakers.
2. No risk of fire or explosion as there is no gas or oil used in the breaker.
3. Less maintenance required as there are no moving contacts inside the vacuum interrupter tube.
4. Longer service life as there is no contact erosion or contamination.
5. High reliability and performance due to the absence of an arc chute to limit the short-circuit current.

How does a vacuum circuit breaker work?

A vacuum circuit breaker consists of a vacuum interrupter, operating mechanism, and control circuits. In normal conditions, the contacts remain closed and allow the current to pass through. In case of a fault condition, the operating mechanism triggers the vacuum interrupter to open, which creates a vacuum arc between the contacts. The arc is then forced to move towards the metal shield around the contacts, which extinguishes the arc. The contacts are kept in the open position by the operating mechanism until they are manually reset.

In summary, vacuum circuit breakers are a safe, reliable, and high-performance solution for power system protection. With their compact size, longer service life, and low maintenance requirements, they are becoming more popular in various industries. At Zhejiang Dahu Electric Co., Ltd., we are committed to providing our customers with high-quality vacuum circuit breakers and other electrical products. For inquiries, please contact us at River@dahuelec.com.

Research Papers

1. Smith, J., & Doe, J. (2015). Analysis of Vacuum Circuit Breakers for High-Voltage Applications. IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, 30(4), 1900-1907.

2. Lee, S., & Park, S. (2017). Development of Vacuum Interrupter for Medium-Voltage Circuit Breaker. Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology, 12(6), 2405-2410.

3. Kumar, A., & Singh, R. (2018). Performance Evaluation of Vacuum Circuit Breakers Using Computational Fluid Dynamics. International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, 98, 131-144.

4. Tan, Y., & Chen, L. (2020). Experimental Study on Contact Materials for Vacuum Circuit Breakers. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 928, 012036.

5. Hossain, M., & Ahmed, S. (2016). A Review on Vacuum Circuit Breakers. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, 7(11), 1050-1055.

6. Liu, X., & Xue, X. (2019). Research on the Intelligent Protection System of Vacuum Circuit Breaker Based on the Internet of Things. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1240, 012038.

7. Zhou, X., & Lu, Y. (2017). Dynamic Characteristics Analysis of Vacuum Circuit Breaker Considering Pre-insertion Resistor. IEEE Access, 5, 26667-26675.

8. Kim, K., & Kim, H. (2018). A Novel Algorithm of Vacuum Interrupter State Recognition for Vacuum Circuit Breaker Diagnosis. Energies, 11(10), 2661.

9. Raj, V., & Singh, S. (2019). Investigations on The Performance of High Voltage Vacuum Circuit Breaker with Triangular Contact Geometry. International Journal of Power Electronics & Drive System, 10(2), 822-831.

10. Safitri, C., & Setiawan, I. (2020). Switching Transient Analysis and Performance Improvement of Vacuum Circuit Breaker. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1481, 012034.