On kinetics of reactions in HV circuit breakers after current zero

An analysis of six different definitions of the rate of reaction is made and it is shown that some of the definitions are not consistent with the mass action law. Kinetic equations are derived whose solution is the time dependence of the composition of an arbitrary closed gaseous system S in an ideal state for a given time dependence of temperature on the assumption that either the time dependence of pressure in S or the time dependence of the volume of S is given. Results are given of the computation of composition of a system of SF6 dissociation and ionization products at a temperature drop from 12 000 K to room temperature and a comparison is made of the time-dependent composition with equilibrium composition for pressures of 0.1, 0.5, 1 and 2 MPa.