Optimal dimensional synthesis of the trigger mechanism of a high-voltage circuit breaker

The trigger mechanism used in high-voltage circuit breakers is a nonconventional multi-body system with topological change due to body collision. This article presents an efficient method for synthesizing the optimal dimensions of the mechanism to minimize both the trigger hook response time and the maximum impact stress. An effective strategy is introduced to solve this multi-objective optimization problem by creating a relation curve of one objective against the other for making a favorable decision. In addition, a developed bond graph model is used for simulating the dynamic response of the system, which greatly reduces the computational complexities of the sensitivity analysis of the design variables and the optimization procedure. The effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method is verified by performance test of a prototype mechanism fabricated based on the optimized dimensions.