Mechanisms Responsible for Arc Cooling in Different Gases in Turbulent Nozzle Flow

A high voltage gas blast circuit breaker relies on the high speed gas flow in a nozzle to remove the energy due to Ohmic heating at high current and to provide strong arc cooling during the current zero period to interrupt a fault current. The physical mechanisms that are responsible for the hugely different arc cooling capabilities of two gases (SF<sub>6</sub> and air) are studied in the present work and important gas material properties controlling the cooling strength identified.