Measurement of Arc Temperature on an Ice Surface

Arc formation and surface flashover discharge on an ice-covered insulator are accompanied by the emission of light. Because of the presence of thermal ionization, arc temperature plays an important role in the understanding and modeling of arc propagation. This paper deals with measuring the temperature of the arc formed during flashovers on an ice sample using emission spectroscopic techniques. These techniques are known to provide a good understanding of the physics of ice surface discharge. A time-resolved spectrum of the emitted light from an arc formed on an ice surface, covering a wide range (300-800 nm) was studied using a triggered spectrometer. The excitation temperature of the arc column was determined using the intensities of the spectral lines and employing the Boltzmann method. The temperature of the electrons in the arc column for the setup was calculated to be about 2eV

Keywords:

Arc discharge , excitation temperature , emission spectroscopy , ice-covered insulator , Boltzmann method