Numerical simulation of vacuum arc under different axial magnetic fields

Based on the improved two-dimensional axisymmetric magnetohydrodynamic model, the vacuum arc characteristics under different distributed axial magnetic fields (AMFs) were analysed in this paper. First, a uniform cathode spot distribution was assumed, and the influences of the azimuthal self-magnetic field and different radially distributed AMFs on the vacuum arc characteristics were analysed. Then, in order to simulate the real situation, according to the experimental results of other researchers, a non-uniform distribution of cathode spots was considered in the simulation. The simulation results showed that the effect of the current density of the cathode side on the vacuum arc characteristics (such as distribution of axial current density at the anode side and heat flux density to the anode) was significant.