2012 Volume E95.C Issue 9 Pages 1522-1526
Break arcs are rotated by the radial magnetic field formed by a magnet embedded in the pipe-shaped cathode. The arcs are generated in switching a DC42V resistive circuit. The closed contact current varies from 5A to 21A. The curvature of the anode surface is varied to study the dependence of the arc length and the positions of the break arcs in the contact gap. The following results are obtained: (i) as current decreases, there is more difference in arc duration among different curvatures; (ii) as current decreases, the arc duration decreases with decrease o f the radius of curvature; (iii) in each contact curvature, the anode spots region is located nearer to the center axis than the cathode spots region; (iv) the arc length just before arc extinction is independent of the curvature of the contacts.