Effect of contact materials on the transient characteristics of vacuum arc plasma and anode erosion

In this study, the mechanisms of the anode phenomena and anode erosion with various contact materials were investigated. Arc parameters were calculated, and the anode temperature was predicted with a transient self-consistent model. The simulation results predicted a constricted arc column and obvious anode phenomena in Cu–Cr alloy contacts than in W–Cu alloy contacts.This observation could be the reason for the concentrated anode erosion in Cu–Cr alloys. For the contacts made by pure tungsten(W) and W–Cu alloy, the anode temperature increased rapidly because of the low specific heat of W. However, the maximum energy flux from the arc column to the anode surface was lower than in other cases. The simulation results were compared with experimental results.

Arc erosion behaviors of AgSnO_2 contact materials prepared with different SnO_2 particle sizes

To clarify the effect of SnO2 particle size on the arc erosion behavior of AgSnO2 contact material, Ag?4%SnO2 (mass fraction) contact materials with different sizes of SnO2 particles were fabricated by powder metallurgy. The microstructure of Ag?4%SnO2 contact materials was characterized, and the relative density, hardness and electrical conductivity were measured. The arc erosion of Ag?4%SnO2 contact materials was tested, the arc duration and mass loss before and after arc erosion were determined, the surface morphologies and compositions of Ag?4%SnO2 contact materials after arc erosion were characterized, and the arc erosion mechanism of AgSnO2 contact materials was discussed. The results show that fine SnO2 particle is beneficial for the improvement of the relative density and hardness, but decreases the electrical conductivity. With the decrease of SnO2 particle size, Ag?4%SnO2contact material presents shorter arc duration, less mass loss, larger erosion area and shallower arc erosion pits.

Influence of alloy components on arc erosion morphology of Ag/MeO electrical contact materials

Arc erosion morphologies of Ag/MeO（10） electrical contact materials after 50000 operations under direct current of 19 V and 20 A and resistive load conditions were investigated using scanning electron microscope（SEM） and a 3D optical profiler（3DOP）. The results indicated that 3DOP could supply clearer and more detailed arc erosion morphology information. Arc erosion resistance of Ag/SnO_2（10） electrical contact material was the best and that of Ag/CuO（10） was the worst. Arc erosion morphology of Ag/MeO（10） electrical contact materials mainly included three different types. Arc erosion morphologies of Ag/ZnO（10） and Ag/SnO_2（10） electrical contact materials were mainly liquid splash and evaporation, and those of Ag/CuO（10） and Ag/CdO（10） were mainly material transfer from anode to cathode. Arc erosion morphology of Ag/SnO_2（6）In_2O_3（4） electrical contact materials included both liquid splash, evaporation and material transfer. In addition, the formation process and mechanism on arc erosion morphology of Ag/MeO（10） electrical contact materials were discussed.

Microstructure and properties of Ag–Ti_3SiC_2 contact materials prepared by pressureless sintering

Ti3SiC2-reintbrced Ag-maJxix composites are expected to serve as eleclrical contacts. In this study, the wettability of Ag on a Ti3SiC2 subslxate was measured by the sessile drop melkod. The Ag-Ti3SiC2 composites were prepared from Ag mad Ti3SiC2 powder mix- tures by pressureless sintering. The effects of compacting pressure （100-800 MPa）, sintering temperature （850-950~C）, mad soaking time （0.5-2 h） on the microslxucture mad properties of the Ag-Ti3SiC2 composites were investigated. The experimental results indicated that Ti3SiC2 paxticulates were uniformly distxibuted in flae Ag matrix, wiflaout reactions at the interthces between flae two phases. The prepared Ag-10wt%Ti3SiC2 had a relative density of 95% mad an electrical resistivity of 2.76 x 10 3 m~）＇cm when compacted at 800 MPa mad sintered at 950~C for 1 h. The incorporation of Ti3SiC2 into Ag was found to improve its hardness without substantially compromising its electrical conductivity; INs behavior was attxibuted to the combination of ceramic and metallic properties of the Ti3SiC2 reinforcement, suggesting its potential application in electrical contacts.

Effects of silver powder particle size on the microstructure and properties of Ag-Yb_2O_3 electrical contact materials prepared by spark plasma sintering

mg-Yb203 electrical contact materials were fabricated by spark plasma sintefing （SPS）. The effects of silver powder particle size on the microstructure and properties of the samples were investigated. The surface morphologies of the sintered samples were examined by optical microscope （OM）, and the fracture morphologies were observed by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The physical and mechanical properties such as density, electrical resistivity, microhardness, and tensile strength were also tested. The results show that the silver powder particle size has evident effects on the sintered materials. Comparing with coarse silver powder （5 ktm）, homogeneous and fme microstmcture was obtained by fine silver powder （_〈0.5-1am）. At the same time, the electrical conductivity, microhardness, and tensile strength of the sin- tered samples with fine silver powder were higher than those of the samples with coarse silver powder. However, silver powder particle size has little influence on the relative densities, which of all samples （both by free and coarse silver powders） is more than 95%. The fracture characteristics are ductile.

Testing results analysis of contact materials’electrical contact performance

Because of the different ways in which contact materials work, the basic requirements for silver metal oxide contact materials are different. They are anti-welded and anti-erosion when closed, anti-erosion when broken, and arc easily moved and have smaller contact resistance. In this paper, La2O3 is used as a stable oxide in contact material to replace CdO. A new type of Ag/SnO2-La2O3-Bi2O3 contact material is first obtained through using powder metallurgical method. Then electrical contact material parameter tester is used to test the electrical contact performance of the contact material. Through experiments, the arcing voltage and current curves, arcing energy curves, fusion power curves while broken and contact resistance while closed were obtained. Analysis of the results showed that the addition of La2O3 makes the contact material have the following advantages: smaller electrical wear, smaller arc energy, smaller contact resistance and arc is more easily extinguished.

Study of the Material Transfer Characteristics and Surface Morphology Due to Arc Erosion of PtIr Contact Materials

By means of breaking tests on PtIr contact materials via a JF04C contact material testing machine, it was attempted to elucidate the characteristics of the various surface morphology and material transfer after the arc erosion process caused by break arc. The material transfer characteristics appeared in the experiments were concluded and analyzed. Meanwhile, the morphology of the anode and cathode surface were observed and analyzed by SEM.

Exposure Assessment of Sb2O3 in PET Food Contact Materials

This study was conducted to do exposure assessment of the possible migration of antimony trioxide （Sb203） from Polyethylene terephthalate （PET） food contact materials （FCM）. Consumption Factor （CF） and Food-type Distribution Factor （fT） were calculated from survey data with reference to the US FDA method. The most conservative migration conditions were obtained by testing Sb migration from PET FCM based on the Chinese national standard of GB/T 5009.101-2003[1].

The mechanisms of cracks formation of silver-based contact materials under arc and making pressure

The arc erosion experiments on five kinds of silver-based contact materials, AgZnO (10), AgSnO2 (8.5) In2O3 (4), AgCdO (12), AgNi(10), AgWC(12)C(3) were carried out according to different breaking times, breaking currents, and making pressures. Then based on the theoretical analysis and the photographs taken by scanning electronic mi-croscope with EDAX analyzer, the crack morphology was studied scientifically. Three types of cracks, which are cavity cracks, grain boundaries (or phase boundaries) slipping cracks, and thermal stress cracks, were put forward under arc and making pressure through establishing their physical models and discussing their formation mechanisms.

Influence of Metal Oxides on the Arc Erosion Behaviour of Silver Metal Oxides Electrical Contact Materials

In the present work investigations have been made to see the role of metal oxides on the performance of the silver metal oxides electrical contact materials. Silver metal oxide materials of three different compositions Ag-10CdO, Ag-7.6SnO2-2.3ln2O3 and Ag-10ZnO were prepared by internal oxidation process under identical processing conditions. These materials were tested for electrical conductivity, hardness, and erosion loss. Performing an accelerated test on the actual contactor assessed the electrical performance, involving erosion loss and temperature rise of the processed materials. The arc-eroded surface was characterized under scanning electron microscope. The study of the eroded surfaces of contacts indicates that the thermal stability of metal oxides depends on nature of silver-metal oxide interface and their mode of erosion. An attempt is made to correlate the surface features of the eroded contacts with the thermal stability of metal oxides.

Influence of operation number on arc erosion behavior of Ag/Ni electrical contact materials

Arc erosion behavior of Ag/Ni materials with different operation numbers was investigated by OM,3DOP and SEM.The results indicated that the arc erosion of Ag/10Ni electrical contact material fabricated by sintering−extrusion technology was more and more serious with the operation numbers increasing from 1000 to 40000.With the same operation numbers,the arc erosion on anode was more serious than that on cathode.Besides,the pores preferred to emerge around the arc effect spot during the first 10000 operations.And the morphology of the molten silver on cathode and anode was different due to the action of gravity and arc erosion.Furthermore,the relationships among arc energy,arc time,welding force,electric resistivity,temperature and mass change on contacts were discussed,which indicated that the mass loss on cathode was mainly caused by the fracture of molten bridge.

Research on arc erosion of silver-based alloy contact materials under low voltage,resistive load and small current at 400 Hz and 50 Hz

By using a self-developed IF power and a ASTM contact material experimental system of small-capacity and variable frequency,the value of arcing characteristics and the welding force of the silver-based contact material are acquired under low voltage,resistive load and small current at 400 Hz and 50 Hz. By means of an electricity-ray analytical balance,SEM and EDAX,the weighing values of the contact materials and the changes of AgCdO,AgNi,AgC and AgW contact material surface profile and micro-area constituent are obtained and analyzed. The arc erosion causes of silver-based alloy contact materials at 400 Hz and 50 Hz are also discussed.

Numerical investigation on interface enhancement mechanism of Ag-SnO_(2) contact materials with Cu additive

The electrical contact and mechanical performances of Ag-SnO_(2) contact materials are often improved by additives,especially Cu and its oxides.To reveal the improvement mechanism of metal additive,the effects of Cu nanoparticles on the interface strength and failure behavior of the Ag-SnO_(2) contact materials are investigated by numerical simulations and experiments.Three-dimensional representative volume element(RVE)models for the Ag-SnO_(2) materials without and with Cu nanoparticles are established,and the cohesive zone model is used to simulate the interface debonding process.The results show that the stress−strain relationships and failure modes predicted by the simulation agree well with the experimental ones.The adhesion strengths of the Ag/SnO_(2) and Ag/Cu interfaces are respectively predicted to be 100 and 450 MPa through the inverse method.It is found that the stress concentration around the SnO_(2) phase is the primary reason for the interface debonding,which leads to the failure of Ag-SnO_(2) contact material.The addition of Cu particles not only improves the interface strength,but also effectively suppresses the initiation and propagation of cracks.The results have an reference value for improving the processability of Ag based contact materials.

CONTACT MATERIALS FOR GaSb AND InSb: A PHASE DIAGRAM APPROACH

The development of well defined and thermally stable ohmic contacts for Ⅲ- Ⅴ semi-conductors like InSb and GaSb is still a challenging problem in semiconductor devicetechnology. As device processing usually includes the exposure to elevated tempera-tures, interface reactions often occur during metallization and further heat treatment.It is thus important to understand the respective phase equilibria of the involved el-ements. From the thermodynamic point of view, binary and ternary compounds inequilibrium with the respective compound semiconductor would be the best choice forcontact materials as these contacts will be stable even after long exposure to elevatedtemperatures. These possible candidates for contact materials may be directly obtainedfrom the phase diagrams.During the last years we investigated several phase diagrams of transition metals withGaSb and InSb. Experimental results in the systems Ga-Ni-Sb, Ga-Pd-Sb, Ga-Pt-Sb,In-Ni-Sb and In-Pd-Sb are summarized and are discussed in the context of contactchemistry.

Development of electron and hole selective contact materials for perovskite solar cells

Nowadays,both n-i-p and p-i-n perovskite solar cells（PSCs） device structures are reported to give high performance with photo conversion efficiencies（PCEs） above 20%.The efficiency of the PSCs is fundementally determined by the charge selective contact materials.Hence,by introducing proper contact materials with good charge selectivity,one could potentially reduce interfacial charge recombination as well as increase device performance.In the past few years,copious charge selective contact materials have been proposed.Significant improvements in the corresponding devices were observed and the reported PCEs were close to that of classic Spiro-OMeTAD.This mini-review summarizes the state-of-the-art progress of typical electron/hole selective contact materials for efficient perovskite solar cells and an outlook to their development is made.

Investigation on the arc erosion performance of Ag–Ta_(2)AlCcomposite under air conditions

The Ta_(2)AlC material is designed to enhance the performance of Ag-based electrical contact materials as areinforcement phase.With a work function of 6.7192 eV,Ta_(2)AlC demonstrated significantly higher values thanreinforcement phase materials such as SnO_(2),ZrO_(2),and the commonly used MAX phase materials.Consequently,the arcerosion performance of an Ag–Ta_(2)AlC composite was investigated under air conditions.Gas breakdown mainly occurreddue to electron avalanches,with the observation of a streamer breakdown mechanism in a strongly nonuniform field.Thearc exhibited concentrated erosion on the surface of the Ag–20 vol%Ta_(2)AlC material,resulting in a higher arc energy.Asthe volume fraction of the Ta_(2)AlC material increased to 30%and 40%,the eroded area became more dispersed.Inparticular,Ag–30 vol%Ta_(2)AlC displayed the lowest arc energy(3.395 kJ)and shortest arcing time(33.26 ms).Among thefour tested components,the Ag–30 vol%Ta_(2)AlC composite demonstrated superior arc erosion resistance.Oxides of Ag_(2)O,AgO,Ta_(2)O_(5),and Al_(2)O_(3)were formed through the interaction of ionized Ag and Ta_(2)AlC particles.By combining theelectromagnetic force and plasma flow force,sputtered particles and bulges were generated on the eroded surface.Theseresearch findings contribute to broadening the applications of Ag–MAX materials in the realm of electrical contacts.

Arc erosion of AgSnO_2 electrical contacts at different stages of a break operation

Arc erosion studies are conducted on AgSnO2 contact materials at different stages in the break operation. A resistive load arrangement is used with up to 42 V DC at 24 A and a constant contact opening velocity. The arc current is terminated at different stages as the arc is drawn between the contacts enabling a study of the arcing phenomena up to that point. Surface profiling of the contacts is conducted to determine the extent of erosion at the different stages as the arc is drawn. Spectral analysis is also conducted on the arc and then related to the extent of erosion. The results show that particular features occur at different stages as the arc is drawn. As the arc is initially established, it goes through an ＂Arc Generation＂ regime where the arc roots are small and immobile on both the anode and the cathode. Material transfer occurs mainly from anode to cathode. The spectral analysis indicates that Sn and O species dominate the arc followed by the Ag species. As the arc is drawn further and enters the ＂Arc Degeneration＂ regime, the anode undergoes significantly larger erosion than the cathode. Also, both contacts indicate that multiple arc roots have formed, which are highly mobile in the later stages of the discharge. The spectral analysis indicates that Ag and N species are in high concentrations compared to other species. The mechanisms of erosion and deposition are discussed in relation to the species within the arc discharge. For the complete break operation, it is found that the anode undergoes major erosion, and it is thought that the gaseous ions species do not dominate the arc under these conditions of short arcs and voltage 〈42 V to cause cathode erosion.

Arc erosion behavior of a nanocomposite W-Cu electrical contact material

The erosion behavior of a nanocomposite W-Cu material under arc breakdown was investigated. The arc erosion rates of the material were determined, and the eroded surfaces and arc erosion mechanisms were studied by scanning eleclion microscopy. It is concluded that the nanocomposite W-Cu electrical contact material shows a characteristic of spreading arcs. The arc breakdown of a commercially used W-Cu alloy was limited in a few areas, and its average arc erosion rate is twice as large as that of the former. Furthermore, it is also proved that the arc extinction ability and arc stability of the nanocomposite W-Cu material are excellent, and melting is the major failure modality in the make-and-break operation of arcs.

Material transfer behavior of AgTiB_2 contact under different contact forces and electrode gaps

To disclose the effect of contact force and electrode gap on the material transfer behavior of Ag-based contact material, arc-erosion tests of the Ag-4wt.%TiB2 contact material were performed for 5000 operations at 24 V/16 A under resistive load on an electric contact material testing system. The arc energy and arc duration were investigated, the surface morphologies of eroded anode and cathode were characterized, the mass changes after arc-erosion tests were determined, and the material transfer behavior was discussed as well. The results show that contact force has a significant effect on the arc energy, arc duration and erosion morphology, but has no impact on the material transfer mode. However, electrode gap not only influences the arc energy, arc duration and surface morphology, but also changes the material transfer mode. At 1 mm, the material transfers from anode to cathode. Nevertheless, an opposite mode presents at 4 mm, which is from cathode to anode.

Failure characteristics of Ag-SnO_2 contact material in AC level

The failure characteristics of the contact material Ag-SnO2 were investigated by X-ray diffraction（XRD）,scanning electron microscopy（SEM）,and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy（EDS）.Phase analysis showed that there were Ag,SnO2,and Sn on the contact surfaces at the time of failure under the load condition of 30 A and 220 V（AC）,which means that SnO2 decomposed in service.When the contacts were tested under airproof ambient condition,half-spherical bulges came into being on the contact surfaces,which resulted in early failure and dispersive characteristics.But half-spherical bulges were not found when the contacts were tested under open ambient condition.The temperature change of the contacts during the life testing under airproof ambient condition was different from that under open ambient condition.