Applying the vacuum switch in the more-electric aircraft intermediate frequency (IF 360~800 Hz) power system is a new application field, which can solve the difficulties caused by the increase of current frequency and the limited breaking ability of electrical appliances. The anode activity of the vacuum arc determines the post-arc state and interruption ability of the vacuum switchgear, especially at high current, and the anode can actively emit metal vapor, plasma and metal droplets. Because of the special environment of the vacuum chamber, it is difficult to directly measure the physical quantity of the post-arc state, such as arc pressure, by using the sensor, so non-contact measurement means is generally adopted. To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the post-arc characteristics of intermediate frequency vacuum arcs, the visual tracking techniques such as object detection and Intersection over Union Tracker were utilized to analyze arc images in this paper. The splatter trajectories of post-arc metal droplets were reconstructed in three dimensions. Based on the reconstruction, the spatial pressure gradient inside the arc was determined.
Firstly, an intermediate frequency vacuum arc experimental system was established, along with a dual high-speed camera stereoscopic arc imaging system. Secondly, the experimental results of the intermediate frequency vacuum arc were analyzed, revealing post-arc voltage oscillations and metal droplet ejection phenomena during interruption failure. Thirdly, utilizing visual tracking techniques such as Canny edge detection, connected component analysis, and IoU, along with the mapping relationship from arc plane to three-dimensional space, a method for analyzing the pressure gradient of the post-arc vacuum arc was developed. The detection and tracking performance of arc images were evaluated using metrics such as precision, recall, MOTA, and MOTP, achieving values of 91.69%, 84.28%, 87.19%, and 82.63%, respectively, indicating excellent visual tracking results. Finally, using the aforementioned theories and methods, a comprehensive analysis of the post-arc characteristics of the intermediate frequency vacuum arc was conducted.
The following conclusions can be drawn from the analysis: (1) According to experimental results, when post-arc breakdown occurs after the intermediate-frequency current crosses zero, the arc voltage exhibits high-frequency oscillations with a frequency of approximately 50 kHz. The voltage stabilizes within about 2 ms. During the post-arc period, dual-view arc images reveal substantial outward ejection of metal droplets. (2) By employing visual tracking algorithms and spatial mapping relations, the three-dimensional ejection process of metal droplets during the post-arc breakdown can be reconstructed. The acceleration in all three directions reaches the order of 10⁵ m/s², with ejection velocities on the order of 10 m/s. The pressure gradient within the arc chamber can reach 1.2 MPa/mm, and the time scale for droplets to travel from the contact edge to the inner wall of the arc chamber is milliseconds. (3) The vapor density of Cu on the surface of the metal droplets is 2.2×10¹⁹ m^-3. Throughout the ejection process of milliseconds scale, the metal droplets continuously evaporate, reducing the Cu mass fraction on the droplet surface from 65% to 10%. A significant amount of Cu vapor enters the arc chamber through diffusion and convection, weakening the dielectric recovery strength post-arc. During this period, post-arc breakdown and high-frequency voltage oscillations occur.