# Magnetic Sensor Array for Electric Arc Reconstruction in Circuit Breakers

## TL;DR

This paper presents a magnetic sensor array to reconstruct electric arcs in circuit breakers during short-circuit tests using noninvasive imaging techniques.

## Contribution

A novel noninvasive method using magnetic sensors and inverse problem solving to reconstruct electric arcs in circuit breakers is introduced.

## Key findings

- The sensing chain's temporal and spatial resolution was studied and implemented in a physical setup.
- A wire model and a simpler direct approach were used to evaluate electric current dynamics effectively.
- The proposed methods align with multi-physical simulations and experimental data.

## Abstract

Noninvasive imaging of circuit breakers under short-circuit testing is addressed by recording the magnetic field produced over an array of external sensors and by solving an inverse problem to identify the causing current distribution. The temporal and spatial resolution of the sensing chain are studied and implemented in a physical set-up. A wire model is adopted to describe electrical current distribution. Additionally, the simpler, more direct approach to evaluating the passage of electric current in front of sensors is proposed. The dynamics of suitable approximating models of the electric arc that forms across contacts is obtained and agrees with multi-physical simulations and with experimental time histories of current and voltage. The two methods are flexible and allow the analysis of different types of circuit breakers.