Some considerations on silicone oil in high-current and energy-disconnecting mechanisms

Silicone oil is considered inflammable. The dissociation products generated by an electric arc under silicone oil form a highly explosive mixture with air. The arc energy required for dissociation to be 32 kJ per liter of gas mixture at standard pressure and temperature was calculated. The arc voltage gradient at a pressure of 50 atm and current density of 1 kA/mm(2) to be 0.5 kV/cm, resulting in an arc voltage of several kV, depending on the arc length was also calculated. In a multikiloampere arc, the resulting arc power is likely to cause a pressure of many atmospheres in a shock wave.