Simulation and Finite Element Analysis of the Electrical Contact Characteristics of Closing Resistors Under Dynamic Closing Impacts

Yanyan Bao, Kang Liu, Xiao Wu (), Zicheng Qiu, Hailong Wang, Simeng Li, Xiaofei Wang and Guangdong Zhang
Additional contact information
Yanyan Bao: Electric Power Research Institute, State Grid Gansu Electric Power Company, Lanzhou 810008, China
Kang Liu: Electric Power Research Institute, State Grid Gansu Electric Power Company, Lanzhou 810008, China
Xiao Wu: State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Zicheng Qiu: State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Hailong Wang: Electric Power Research Institute, State Grid Gansu Electric Power Company, Lanzhou 810008, China
Simeng Li: State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Xiaofei Wang: Electric Power Research Institute, State Grid Gansu Electric Power Company, Lanzhou 810008, China
Guangdong Zhang: Electric Power Research Institute, State Grid Gansu Electric Power Company, Lanzhou 810008, China

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 17, 1-16

Abstract: Closing resistors in ultra-high-voltage (UHV) gas-insulated circuit breakers (GCBs) are critical components designed to suppress inrush currents and transient overvoltages during switching operations. However, in practical service, these resistors are subjected to repeated mechanical impacts and transient electrical stresses, leading to degradation of their electrical contact interfaces, fluctuating resistance values, and potential failure of the entire breaker assembly. Existing studies mostly simplify the closing resistor as a constant resistance element, neglecting the coupled electro-thermal–mechanical effects that occur during transient events. In this work, a comprehensive modeling framework is developed to investigate the dynamic electrical contact characteristics of a 750 kV GCB closing resistor under transient closing impacts. First, an electromagnetic transient model is built to calculate the combined inrush and power-frequency currents flowing through the resistor during its pre-insertion period. A full-scale mechanical test platform is then used to capture acceleration signals representing the mechanical shock imparted to the resistor stack. These measured signals are fed into a finite element model incorporating the Cooper–Mikic–Yovanovich (CMY) electrical contact correlation to simulate stress evolution, current density distribution, and temperature rise at the resistor interface. The simulation reveals pronounced skin effect and current crowding at resistor edges, leading to localized heating, while transient mechanical impacts cause contact pressure to fluctuate dynamically—resulting in a temporary decrease and subsequent recovery of contact resistance. These findings provide insight into the real-time behavior of closing resistors under operational conditions and offer a theoretical basis for design optimization and lifetime assessment of UHV GCBs.

Keywords: gas-insulated circuit breaker (GCB); closing resistor; electrical contact theory; finite element modeling; transient impact; electro-thermal-mechanical coupling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/17/4714/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/17/4714/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:17:p:4714-:d:1742327

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Cassie Shen

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().