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Evacuated FM08 Fuses Carry a Sustained Arc in a Bus over 75 VDCThe FM08 style fuse is specified to interrupt an overcurrent of up to 300 A in a bus of up to 125 VDC, but this applies only when its barrel is filled with air. When placed into a space-grade vacuum, the FM08 style fuse exhausts its air within a year. Then, the probability of an enduring arc is high for all ratings when the bus is above 75 VDC, and the overcurrent is large. The arc endures until something else interrupts the current. The fuse can violently eject metal vapor or other material during the sustained arcing. The evacuated FM08 does not develop a sustained arc when interrupted in a bus of 38 VDC or less, at least when there is little inductance in the circuit. This is consistent with its successful use in many spacecraft having buses in the range 24 to 36 volts.
Document ID
19990079413
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Leidecker, Henning
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Slonaker, J.
(Unisys Corp. Lanham, MD United States)
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1999
Subject Category
Electronics And Electrical Engineering
Meeting Information
Meeting: Testing and Failure Analysis
Location: Santa Clara, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: November 14, 1999
End Date: November 18, 1999
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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