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ABSTRACT
Knowledge of air-water vapor mixtures thermal plasmas thermodynamic properties is important to estimate the performances of electrical arc cutting in this gas by a circuit breaker. In this paper, air-water vapor mixtures thermal plasmas thermodynamic properties are calculated in a temperature range from 5000K to 30000K. The calculations are carried out by supposing local thermodynamic equilibrium at pressure of 1; 5 and 10 atm. The obtained results show the influence of the water vapor initial proportion but also that of the pressure on these plasmas thermodynamic properties.
KEYWORDS: Mixture; plasma composition; thermal plasma; thermodynamic properties; circuit breakers.
(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)
INTRODUCTION
The electrical current breaking in some circuit breakers is obtained by separating electrodes in the air or in the compressed air. This electrodes separation generates an electrical arc which interacts with surrounding gas and creates plasma of this gas. Circuit breakers were the subject of several theoretical and experimental studies (André, et al., 2004; André, 1996; André, 1997, PP. 475-493; Abbaoui, et al., 1992; Andanson, et al., 1979; André, 1997, PP. 1339-1359). Some studies on the electrical arc have shown the influence of the insulator vapors (Koalaga, 1991; Cheminat, et al., 1986; Cheminat, 1989; Abbaoui, et al., 1993), the metals (Andanson, et al., 1979; Ouajji, et al., 1986; Andanson, et al., 1984) and the hydrogen (Koalaga, et al., 1991; Cheminat, et al., 1986; Cheminat, 1989; Abbaoui, et al., 1993) on the engendered plasmas characteristics. The objective of this study is to determine the influence of water vapor on air plasma characteristics for electrical current breaking, specifically on its thermodynamic properties. Several studies on plasmas thermodynamic properties were made (Maouhoub, 1997; André, et al., 2002; Aubreton, et al., 2004; Bussière, et al., 2001; Ghorui, et al., 2008; Hannachi, 2007; André, 1995) but in our knowledge, there are not yet works on the air-water vapor mixture plasma thermodynamic properties.
A bibliographical research shows that only the transport properties of water and argon mixture plasma (Petr, 2008; Hrabovsky, et al., 2006) and those of pure water plasma (Aubreton, et al., 2008; Hrabovsky, et al., 1993) were already studied. So we undertake in this study the calculation of air-water vapor mixtures thermal plasmas thermodynamic properties. The mixture can be naturally formed because of air...