Development of an application specific integrated circuit forreduction of contact bounce in three phase contactors

摘要

In this paper, a miniature control device capable of reducingcontact bounce in three phase contactors is presented. The device isimplemented using Alcatel-Mietec 2 μm integrated circuit technologyand operates by controlling the strength of the kinetic energy of thefield flux by timing the coil energisation periods. The deviceperformance is evaluated through a series of tests with line-to-linevoltages of 75 and 300 V and a gap length of 2 mm. Results demonstratethat, with the appropriate input settings to the control device, it ispossible to eliminate contact bounce substantially in all three phases.The mechanical characteristics of the contactor system determine therequired setting for zero bounce. The ability to vary the input dataresults in a device which can be tailored to application with any typeof switchgear. On completion of 5000 switching operations using thecontrol device, the active area of erosion on each of the contactsurfaces is reduced by a factor of up to 28% compared with contacts fromtests where no control device is used. Furthermore, comparisons withprevious studies indicate that the majority of the erosion that occurswith controlled switching is caused by arcing during the openingoperation. Hence, it can be concluded that the frequency and duration ofthe arcs which occur during closing are substantially reduced by the useof the control device