Coupled simulations of electric arcs for switching devices with MpCCI and ANSYS

Electric arcs occur in various industrial applications from melting, welding, and lighting to switching devices. The discharge phenomenon is governed by the magneto-hydrodynamic equations, considering the Lorentz forces, Ohmic heating and radiation transport. The resulting arc is coupled with the dynamics of the compressible flow of the gas. This simulation procedure is well established in the swichting devices industry. In the present case a multi-physics framework solution MpCCI is applied to subdivide the complex problem in smaller problems. Each physic problem can be solved by a separate solver. Beside the highly coupled physics aspect the challenge still remains in the plasma modelling on one hand. The physical properties of the plasma are one of the keys in modelling the electric arc behavior. On the other hand the realistic simulation of the electric arc phenomenon from ignition to the cut-off stage leads to enormous computation times.