An important requirement for high-voltage vacuum circuit breaker（VCB） is that its moving contact must be able to move a long distance when it works

however this character limits the development of permanent magnet actuator（PMA） in high-voltage applications. This paper proposes a three-coil PMA. Compared with two existing PMAs via simulation

the three-coil PMA can accelerate breaking speed significantly

and can limit the impact velocity of the moving iron core at last stage of stroke. Besides

a control strategy of segmental conduction is presented to solve the overcurrent problem of this three-coil PMA and reduce the rigid-closing velocity

thus providing a buffer protection for the VCB contacts and reducing the impact. By using the control strategy

the contact bounce caused by overspeed of the moving contact

which often occurs in conventional bistable PMAs as fast closing

can be suppressed effectively

hence the contact’s life will be prolonged.