Circuit breaker with fluid injection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9312085-B2
Application number	US-201414303177-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 12, 2014
Priority date	Dec 13, 2011
Publication date	Apr 12, 2016
Grant date	Apr 12, 2016

Abstract

A circuit breaker including an ejection device including an arc-extinction medium for improved extinction of an arc formed during a breaker operation and an exhaust-cooling medium for improved cooling of exhaust gases in the circuit breaker. Thereby, the arc-extinction liquid includes an organofluorine compound having a boiling point T b at 1 bar higher than −60° C. and being selected from the group of: a fluoroether; a fluoroamine; a fluoroketone; and mixtures thereof.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A circuit breaker comprising at least one ejection device comprising an arc-extinction medium and/or exhaust-cooling medium for improving circuit breaker operation, and in particular for improving extinction of an arc formed during a breaker operation, wherein the arc-extinction medium and/or exhaust-cooling medium comprises an organofluorine compound having a boiling point T b at 1 bar higher than −60° C. and being selected from the group consisting of: a fluoroether; a fluoroamine; a fluoroketone; and mixtures thereof.

2. The circuit breaker according to claim 1 , wherein the organofluorine compound has a boiling point Tb at 1 bar higher than −20° C.

3. The circuit breaker according to claim 1 , wherein the arc-extinction medium and/or exhaust-cooling medium is at least partially present in liquid form, when it is contained in the ejection device.

4. The circuit breaker according to claim 3 , wherein the arc-extinction medium and/or exhaust-cooling medium is present in fully liquid form, when it is contained in the ejection device.

5. The circuit breaker according to claim 3 , wherein the arc-extinction medium and/or exhaust-cooling medium is present in the ejection device at least partially or fully in liquid form under operating conditions of the circuit breaker, in particular under operating temperatures and/or operating pressures of the circuit breaker.

6. The circuit breaker according to claim 1 , wherein the organofluorine compound comprises in addition at least one atom selected from the group consisting of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and iodine.

7. The circuit breaker according to claim 1 , wherein the arc-extinction medium and/or exhaust-cooling medium, in particular the arc-extinction liquid and/or exhaust-cooling liquid, further comprises at least one compound selected from the group consisting of: a fully fluorinated fluorocarbon, in particular C 2 F 6 and C 3 F 8 ; a hydrofluorocarbon; and mixtures thereof.

8. The circuit breaker according to claim 1 , wherein the fluoroether, the fluoroamine and the fluoroketone are fully fluorinated.

9. The circuit breaker according to claim 1 , wherein the arc-extinction medium and/or exhaust-cooling medium comprises a fluoroketone or a mixture of fluoroketones, in particular a fluoromonoketone.

10. The circuit breaker according to claim 9 , wherein the fluoroketone, in particular the fluoromonoketone, contains from 5 to 15 carbon atoms.

11. The circuit breaker according to claim 1 , wherein the ejection device is designed such that the arc-extinction medium and/or exhaust-cooling medium is ejected at a rate in a range from 0.1 ml/ms to 15 ml/ms.

12. The circuit breaker according to claim 1 , wherein the ejection device is designed such that the arc-extinction medium and/or exhaust-cooling medium is ejected during an ejection time shorter than 25 ms.

13. The circuit breaker according to claim 1 , wherein the circuit breaker further comprises outside the ejection device a dielectric insulation medium comprising an organofluorine compound selected from the group consisting of: a fluoroether; a fluoroamine; a fluoroketone; and mixtures thereof, which organofluorine compound is at least partially in gaseous state at operational conditions of the circuit breaker.

14. The circuit breaker according to claim 13 , wherein at least one background gas is present which is selected from the group consisting of: CO 2 , N 2 , O 2 , SF 6 , CF 4 , a noble gas, in particular argon, and mixtures thereof.

15. The circuit breaker according to claim 1 , wherein the ejection device comprises a compartment in which the arc-extinction medium and/or exhaust-cooling medium is contained and which has at least one ejection orifice through which the arc-extinction medium is to be ejected.

16. The circuit breaker according to claim 15 , wherein the ejection orifice opens out directly into an arcing zone of the circuit breaker.

17. The circuit breaker according to claim 15 , wherein the ejection orifice opens out into an injection zone of the circuit breaker, in which injection zone the pressure is lower than in an arcing zone when an arc is present.

18. The circuit breaker according to claim 15 , wherein the ejection orifice opens out into a heating volume and/or a compression chamber of the circuit breaker for improving extinction of an arc formed during a breaker operation.

19. The circuit breaker according to claim 15 , wherein the ejection orifice opens out into an exhaust volume of the circuit breaker for improving exhaust-cooling during a breaker operation.

20. The circuit breaker according to claim 15 , wherein the ejection orifice is a valve which only opens when a predetermined threshold pressure is reached in the compartment.

21. The circuit breaker according to claim 15 , further comprising a floating piston which is designed to transmit a compressing force onto the interior of the compartment during a breaker operation.

22. The circuit breaker according to claim 21 , wherein the ejection device connected to a moving part of the circuit breaker such that a movement of the moving part during a breaker operation is translated into a movement of the floating piston relative to the compartment for compressing the compartment.

23. The circuit breaker according to claim 21 , wherein the ejection device further comprises an auxiliary compartment which contains a compressible medium, in particular a gas, the compartment and the auxiliary compartment being separated from each other by the floating piston.

24. The circuit breaker according to claim 23 , further comprising a piston for compressing the interior of the auxiliary compartment, wherein a moving part of the circuit breaker causes a relative movement between the piston and the auxiliary compartment, in particular wherein the auxiliary compartment is connected to the moving part.

25. The circuit breaker according to claim 23 , wherein the compartment and the auxiliary compartment are arranged axially displaced from each other and/or are arranged coaxially, and/or wherein the circuit breaker comprises a housing comprising the compartment and the auxiliary compartment, said housing having a cylindrical shape.

26. The circuit breaker according to claim 23 , wherein an area of the piston for compressing the interior of the auxiliary compartment is smaller than an area of the floating piston.

27. The circuit breaker according to claim 21 , wherein the floating piston is designed such that its compressing force is increased when an arc is present, in particular wherein the increase is at least partially caused by an increase of the pressure in a or the heating volume or compression chamber or exhaust volume of the circuit breaker due to the heating by the arc.

28. The circuit breaker according to claim 27 , wherein the floating piston comprises a primary floating piston facing the heating volume or compression chamber or exhaust volume and a secondary floating piston facing the compartment, said primary floating piston and said secondary floating piston being rigidly connected to each other.

29. The circuit breaker according to claim 28 , wherein the primary floating piston has a larger area than the secondary floating piston.

30. The circuit breaker according to claim 1 , wherein the circuit breaker is a high voltage circuit breaker, a me

Assignees

• Pisu Francesco
• Galindo-Lozano Francia
• Mantilla Javier
• Buergler Mathias-Dominic
• Gariboldi Nicola
• Cossalter Oliver
• Stoller Patrick
• Grob Stephan
• Kotilainen Sami
• Abb Technology Ag

Inventors

• Pisu Francesco
• Galindo-Lozano Francia
• Mantilla Javier
• Buergler Mathias-Dominic
• Gariboldi Nicola
• Cossalter Oliver
• Stoller Patrick
• Grob Stephan
• Kotilainen Sami

Classifications

• H01H33/22 Primary

  Selection of fluids for arc-extinguishing · CPC title

• H01H33/901

  making use of the energy of the arc or an auxiliary arc · CPC title

• H01H33/60

  Switches wherein the means for extinguishing or preventing the arc do not include separate means for obtaining or increasing flow of arc-extinguishing fluid · CPC title

• H01H33/95

  the arc-extinguishing fluid being air or gas · CPC title

• H01H33/91

  the arc-extinguishing fluid being air or gas · CPC title