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Importance of Designing a Relay Structure by Identifying the Cause of Ignition in Kimchi Refrigerators

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Abstract

Kimchi refrigerators are popular electronic products used by over 90% of Korean households. However, in recent years, because fires frequently occur in kimchi refrigerators used for more than 15 years, it is urgent to determine the cause and prepare countermeasures. In particular, fires often occur in kimchi refrigerators produced from 2001 to 2004 by a specific manufacturer. In this study, the relay structure was identified as the cause of the problem as it directly influenced the fire. Because the relay’s compressor-driven contact point was directed to the bottom at the electrode’s direction, the arc generated at the contact point when the compressor is turned on or off deteriorated the relay’s insulator. In addition, the metal carbide of the contact point generated by the arc further facilitated the insulator’s deterioration. The continuous deterioration caused a tracking phenomenon and expanded into a fire. From the results, problems in the design of the relay contacts were confirmed, and countermeasures were suggested.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the grant funded by Korea Electrical Safety Corporation (Grant No. 2020-01-01).

Funding

This work was supported by the grant funded by Korea Electrical Safety Corporation (Grant No. 2020–01-01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, 567, Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea

    Young Ho Ko

  2. On-Site Response Team, Jeonju Deokjin Fire Station, 611, Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea

    Won Sang Choi

  3. Safety Research Department, Electrical Safety Research Institute, 111, Anjeon-ro, Iseo-myeon,, Wanju-gun, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea

    Jinyoung Park, Sung Jun Hong, Kwang Muk Park & Sun Bae Bang

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  1. Jinyoung Park
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  2. Young Ho Ko
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  3. Won Sang Choi
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  4. Sung Jun Hong
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  5. Kwang Muk Park
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Contributions

Conceptualization: JP; Project administration: JP; Formal analysis: JP; Investigation: WSC, SJH, KMP; Validation: YHK, SBB; Writing—original draft preparation: JP; Resources: JP, WSC, SJH, KMP; Supervision: SBB.

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Correspondence to Jinyoung Park.

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Park, J., Ko, Y.H., Choi, W.S. et al. Importance of Designing a Relay Structure by Identifying the Cause of Ignition in Kimchi Refrigerators. J. Electr. Eng. Technol. 16, 3289–3298 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42835-021-00798-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42835-021-00798-2

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