Preparation and Anti⁃arc Erosion Property of Ag Matrix Electrical Contact Material Reinforced by Novel Ti_(2)Cd

Due to their outstanding electrical contact properties,Cd-containing silver-matrix electrical contact materials can meet the requirements of high stability and long life for military defense and aerospace applications.In order to further reduce the Cd content under the premise of meeting the high-performance requirements,in this study,high-purity intermediate Ti_(2)Cd powder of MAX phase(Ti_(2)CdC)was synthesized with a pressureless technique and then applied to reinforce the Ag matrix.The Cd content of the as-prepared Ag/Ti_(2)Cd composites was actually reduced by 38.31%compared with conventional Ag/CdO material.Based on the systematic study of the effect of heat treatment temperature on the physical phase,morphology,interface and comprehensive physical properties of Ag/Ti_(2)Cd composites,the preferred samples(heat treated at 400°C for 1 h)showed high density(97.77%),low resistivity(2.34μΩ·cm),moderate hardness(90.8HV),high tensile strength(189.9 MPa),and exhibited good electrical contact performance after 40000 cycles of arc discharging under severe conditions(DC 28 V/20 A).The results of microscopic morphological evolution,phase change and elemental distribution of the electrical contact surface show that the combination of high stability of Ti_(2)Cd reinforcing phase,good interfacial bonding with Ag matrix and improved melt pool viscosity in the primary stage of arc erosion,results in low and stable contact resistance(average value 13.20 mΩ)and welding force(average value 0.6 N),low fluctuation of static force(2.2-2.5 N).The decomposition and absorption energy of Ti_(2)Cd and the arc extinguishing effect of Cd vapor are the main reasons for the stable arcing energy and arcing time of electric contacts in the late stage of arc erosion.

OH and O radicals production in atmospheric pressure air/Ar/H_2O gliding arc discharge plasma jet

Atmospheric pressure air/Ar/H_2O gliding arc discharge plasma is produced by a pulsed dc power supply. An optical emission spectroscopic（OES） diagnostic technique is used for the characterization of plasmas and for identifications of OH and O radicals along with other species in the plasmas. The OES diagnostic technique reveals the excitation Tx？≈？5550–9000 K, rotational Tr？≈？1350–2700 K and gas Tg？≈？850–1600 K temperatures, and electron density n？（1.1-1.9） ′101 4 cm^（-3） e under different experimental conditions. The production and destruction of OH and O radicals are investigated as functions of applied voltage and air flow rate. Relative intensities of OH and O radicals indicate that their production rates are increased with increasing Ar content in the gas mixture and applied voltage. nereveals that the higher densities of OH and O radicals are produced in the discharge due to more effective electron impact dissociation of H_2O and O_2 molecules caused by higher kinetic energies as gained by electrons from the enhanced electric field as well as by enhanced n e.The productions of OH and O are decreasing with increasing air flow rate due to removal of Joule heat from the discharge region but enhanced air flow rate significantly modifies discharge maintenance properties. Besides, Tgsignificantly reduces with the enhanced air flow rate. This investigation reveals that Ar plays a significant role in the production of OH and O radicals.

Electrical arc contour cutting based on a compound arc breaking mechanism

Electrical arc contour cutting(EACC)is a novel high-efficiency material cutting process that applies arc plasma to perform efficient and economical contour cutting of difficult-to-cut materials.Compared to conventional electrical arc machining(EAM),this process can remove the allowance of open structures and plates in bulk mode,rather than entirely in the form of debris.Compared with existing contour cutting methods,EACC possesses the advantages of high cutting efficiency and a deep cutting depth.Particularly,a compound arc breaking mechanism(CABM),which integrates hydrodynamic force and mechanical motion,has been applied to control the discharge arc column in EACC,while also strengthening the debris expelling effect in the narrow discharge gap.The CABM implementation conditions were studied,based on arc column distortion images captured by a high-speed camera and simulation results of the flow field and debris distribution.A set of machining experiments was designed and conducted to optimize the performance of the proposed process.Finally,a SiC_(p)/Al metal matrix composite(MMC)space station workpiece was machined to verify the feasibility and efficiency of this process.