An experimental stand for studies of electric arc, electrode erosion and insulator degradation processes in high-current circuit breakers and some preliminary experimental data is described. The setup includes a discharge chamber, a capacitive energy storage with capacitance of 0.11 F, voltage up to 10 kV, and all necessary diagnostic techniques. The stand is designed for modeling current pulse with amplitude of 3–150 kA and duration of the first half period of 1.0–3.0 ms during the process of disconnecting the ring and the pin contacts. The arc is cooled by transverse gas blowing at pressure in the chamber of 0.5–3 MPa. Acquired experimental data can be used for verification of the modelling results of the heat transfer processes in the discharge chamber. At the stand, advanced composite materials based on carbon and iron-copper pseudoalloy are studied.