Optimal Design of a Follow Current Disconnector for DC Arresters in Traction Vehicles

This paper dealt with the optimal design of a follow current disconnector for DC arresters used in electric traction vehicles. The disconnector separates the ground lead from an arrester to prevent a line-to-ground fault of an aged arrester and should not affect the operation and function such as the reference and the clamping voltage of the connected arrester. The designed disconnector is composed of a resistor, a spark gap, and a cartridge. The results showed that the sparkover voltage increased with the gap distance whereas the reference voltage was almost the same as that without the disconnector. The sparkover voltage was 3.95 kV when the gap distance was 0.5 mm. Regardless of the gap distance, the reference and the clamping voltage of the assembled disconnector with an arrester were measured to be the same as those of the arrester alone.