Electric Switching Laboratory

The Electrical Switching Laboratory enables testing of high-power switching apparatuses, testing parts under impulsive mechanical stresses, studies of arc plasmas in static and dynamic gaps as well as high speed photography of moving objects.

The lab provides a wide variety of test equipment, sensors and the associated data acquisition infrastructure. An in-house mechanical workshop allows for fast modifications of parts and fixtures.

Resources

A test rig for testing electromechanical switches, two high speed cameras up to 120,000fps, a 2kV-5mF capacitor bank, a 500V-32 mF capacitor bank, a laser sensor, accelerometers (50000 g), data acquisition with 40 MS/s, control using Labview and an NI system with several analog and digital I/O’s, power semiconductors for switching currents up to 10 kA, multi-channel compact optical spectrometer between 250-900 nm.