Abstract
The influence of the metallic-phase arc discharge on contact performance was studied for breaking Ag contacts. Measured parameters were whole arc duration (metallic-phase plus gaseous-phase arc duration), metallic-phase arc duration, contact resistance, bridge energy, and electrode material mass change. The tests were carried out under the various conditions of air pressure and contact current. The experimental results showed that the contact resistance increased when the arc duration in the metallic-phase arc region grew, and it was high and almost became constant when the arc reached the transition border to the gaseous phase. The material loss and transfer is log-proportional to the accumulated metallic-phase arc duration, irrespective of the air pressure condition. The effect of whole arc duration was not clear in the material mass change when the air pressure was varied. From many test results, it is concluded that the material mass change mainly depends on the metallic-phase arc rather than the whole arc duration. This means that the metallic-phase arc duration affects the material loss and transfer and the constant resistance, while the gaseous-phase arc has little influence.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 79-85 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Electrical Contacts, Proceedings of the Annual Holm Conference on Electrical Contacts |
| Publication status | Published - 1989 Sept |
| Event | Proceedings of the Thirty Fifth Meeting of the IEEE Holm Conference on Electrical Contacts - Chicago, IL, USA Duration: 1989 Sept 18 → 1989 Sept 20 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering