Electrical life

The electrical life of V-Contact VSC contactors is defined in category AC3.

Interruption principle

The main contacts operate

inside the vacuum

interrupters (the level of

vacuum is extremely high:

13 x 10 -5 Pa).

On opening, there is rapid

separation of the fixed and

moving contacts in each

contactor interrupter.

Overheating of the contacts, generated at the moment they separate,

causes formation of metallic vapours which allow the electric arc

to be sustained up to the first passage through zero current.

On passage of zero current, cooling of the metallic vapours allows

recovery of high dielectric resistance able to withstand high values

of the return voltage.

For motor switching, the value of the chopped current is less than

0.5 A with extremely limited overvoltages.