Method for measuring electrical arc current intensity in sulphur hexa:fluoride switching device

摘要

The process involves placing a fluorescent optical fibre (14) inside the switching device (1) at a spot where the fibre can receive the light emitted by the arc without being damaged, and connecting the optical fibre to an opto-electronic convertor (16). A series of arcs are actuated for set values of arc current and the output of the opto-electronic convertor (16) is sampled so as to obtain a database containing the values from the opto-electronic convertor (16) as a function of arc current and arc duration. When an arc occurs in the switch the opto-electronic signal is collected and the arc current is deduced by a comparative program using the data in the database. The arc current (I) is regulated by an inductance (20) and measured by means of a transformer (21). The values measured by the devices (16,21) are digitised and sent to a computer driving a tracing machine.