Abstract: The experimental platform for low-voltage AC series arc was made to collect the arc voltage and current under different resistance sizes. The primary objective of this platform has been to analyze the AC arc characteristics and the energy of semi-power frequency period arc discharge was calculated by using the law of conservation of energy, and the relationship between circuit resistance and semi-power frequency period arc electrical parameters and energy size was discussed. The results of the experiment indicate that the effective resistance of the unit arc became larger as the circuit resistance became larger, however, the effective current and the arc energy became smaller. The effective current of the stable arc per unit arc was greater than the effective current of the unstable arc per unit arc, and its effective resistance and arc energy were opposite. Ultimately, a functional relationship between the circuit resistance and the discharge energy of the unit arc was obtained, which was used to evaluate its ability to ignite flammable and explosive gases or vapors.

Key words: resistive load, low voltage arc fault, half-wave period arc, arc energy