Electrical and Optical Investigation of an Electric Arc in Hydrogen for short gaps

Hydrogen or mixtures containing hydrogen represent attractive gases for low-voltage switching devices because of increased arc quenching behaviour. However, fundamental electrical properties arcs in are still not well known. In this paper, first results a study DC pure at 1 bar between graphite electrodes presented low currents 8 and 16 A. The voltage current measured during contact separation. High-speed images the processed to determine length considering high dynamics with erratic elongations jumps electrode attachment. dependence on typical sheath approximately 23 V mean electric fields column 18.7 V/mm A 10.8 16A.