Analysis and Optimization of Contact Material Ablation under the Cumulative Effect of the Number of Breakings of OLTC

Vacuum on-load tap-changers (OLTC) for converter transformers have a much higher number of breakings than conventional circuit breakers. Contact ablation after several breakings will affect the stability and life of the device. This paper establishes the electromagnetic thermal multi-physical field coupling model of the vacuum interrupter for OLTC based on the finite element analysis method. The thermal field distribution of normal and ablative contact materials during the breaking process was analyzed. The key parameters affecting the contact temperature under the cumulative number of breakings are analyzed and the optimized design is completed. The simulation results show that the contact surface reaches a maximum temperature of 1390 K at 8 ms. There is a significant increase in the area of the high-temperature area on the contact surface. The possibility of re-ignition of the interrupter is increased. Based on the judgment matrix method, the key influencing parameters of the contact temperature rise are analyzed. The final parameters are selected as follows: contact material—CuCr8 alloy, contact seat thickness—2 mm, contact thickness—10 mm, and contact diameter—40 mm.