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High Temperature Material Processes (An International Quarterly of High-Technology Plasma Processes)

An International Journal

ISSN for PRINT: 1093-3611

Institutional price:	$604.00
Issues per year:	4

Best Paper Award Selection - Editorial Board Site

2006, Volume10

168 pages

DOI: 10.1615/HighTempMatProc.v10.i1

Issue price - $155.00

MEASUREMENT OF DARCY AND FORCHHEIMER COEFFICIENTS FOR SILICA SAND BEADS

W. Bussiere
LAEPT CNRS UMR 6069 - Phys. Bat. 5 - Universite Blaise Pascal - 24, Avenue des Landais - 63177 Aubiere Cedex - France

D. Rochette
LAEPT CNRS UMR 6069 - IUT de Montlucon - Universite Blaise Pascal − Avenue Aristide Briand - 03100 Montluçon - France

T. Latchimy
LAEPT CNRS UMR 6069 - Phys. Bat. 5 - Universite Blaise Pascal - 24, Avenue des Landais - 63177 Aubiere Cedex - France

G. Velleaud
LAEPT CNRS UMR 6069 - IUT de Montlucon - Universite Blaise Pascal − Avenue Aristide Briand - 03100 Montluçon - France

P. Andre
LAEPT CNRS UMR 6069 - Phys. Bat. 5 - Universite Blaise Pascal - 24, Avenue des Landais - 63177 Aubiere Cedex - France

ABSTRACT

High Breaking Capacity fuses are widely used to withdraw the energy brought by an electric fault current. One of the main constituent elements of a HBC fuse is the arc quenching material, silica sand in our case. During the arc quenching by the fuse, a plasma is generated due to the fusion and the vaporization of the fuse element (Ag) and the silica sand (SiO₂). The plasma resulting from the dissociation of Ag and SiO₂ is surrounded by a fused silica viscous sheath itself surrounded by silica sand grains. In this study it is showed that the main silica sand morphometric properties - granulometry, porosity, Darcy and Forchheimer coefficients - strongly influence the fuse operation. The measurements of the Darcy and Forchheimer coefficients are described, and the results are given for silica sand beads and glass sphere beads. The influence of the morphometric properties is discussed taking into consideration already published data concerning pressure, temperature and electron density of the plasma generated during the fuse operation.