This book provides a broad perspective of vacuum switchgear drawn from the author's many years of experience in this field. Allan Greenwood describes the development of the technology from the earliest beginnings to the most recent designs now on offer by leading companies around the world.


The book starts with a solid foundation in the physics of the vacuum arc, in vacuum breakdown and in the fundamentals of current interruptions in vacuum. For the user there is an exhaustive chapter on applications, which spans all devices from contactors through switches and reclosers to power circuit breakers. Maintenance is also addressed. There are four chapters on different aspects of design and another on testing, which should appeal to the designer. The chapter on manufacturing concentrates on the interrupter as its manufacture is so entirely different from that required for oil and gas-blast circuit breakers. The treatment is comprehensive so the book will be useful to users, designers and manufacturers alike, and to students who wish to become acquainted with the subject.