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Title: Arc quenching in sulfur hexafluoride gas insulated structures. Quarterly report 3, December 16, 1977--March 15, 1978

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6077013

The basic goal of this project is to develop an arc-quenching system (AQS) to protect SF/sub 6/-filled underground cable from permanent damage when the cable is subjected to an arc while in regular service. The concept being pursued is to develop an arc quencher with normally very high impendance that can be electrically located between the current-carrying conductor in the cable and ground. When an arc ocurs, the arc quencher switches rapidly to a low-impedance mode and either diverts or force-commutates the current from the arcing fault. If done quickly enough, this will permit the cable to recover its full dielectric capability. During the first nine months of the program, the nature of arcs in SF/sub 6/ was studied, a laboratory-model arc quencher was constructed and tested, the various possible arc quencher configurations were listed, and AQS studies both analytically and with a hybrid computer model were studied. The complex set of quantitative results have not yet yielded a design baseline that is considered sufficiently practical, reliable, and economical for use in a power system. These analyses will be continued through the next quarter.

Research Organization:
Hughes Research Labs., Malibu, CA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
EC-77-C-03-1403
OSTI ID:
6077013
Report Number(s):
SAN-1403-3
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English