Measurements and analysis of temperature rise at electrodes of a vacuum interrupter for high current applications

High current switching technology is required for protection of large superconducting coil in the field of nuclear fusion research. Temperature rise of the contacts and temperature distribution along the current feeding electrodes were measured. The contact diameter was 25 mm, and the tested material was Cu-Cr with different mixing ratios. Effect of a heat pipe was investigated as well. Measurements revealed that for the heat pipe installed case the temperature at the contact reached about 130 degreesC after the current conducting test of 2000 A for 120 min, while for non heat pipe case the temperature reached 185 degreesC.