Arc mobility on bouncing contacts

Author

Hetzmannseder, E. ; Rieder, W.

Author_Institution

Eaton Corp., Milwaukee, WI, USA

fYear

1996

fDate

16-20 Sept. 1996

Firstpage

87

Lastpage

91

Abstract

The arc mobility on eroded Ag/CdO and three different Ag/SnO/sub 2/-contacts during bounces simulated in a model switch was investigated with the aid of a two-dimensional optical arrangement. The high fictitious arc mobility observed on two of the Ag/SnO/sub 2/-materials investigated was caused by arc commutation inside the contact gap. Ag/CdO and another Ag/SnO/sub 2/-material showed both arc creeping and arc commutation-but only very close to the site of arc ignition. No continuous fast arc motion occurred in short bounce gaps (0.18 mm, corresponding to bounce values in modern contactors) whether or not a magnetic blast field has been applied. There was no correlation between the amount of contact erosion at make and the fictitious arc mobility observed on certain materials.

Keywords

arcs (electric); cadmium compounds; circuit-breaking arcs; commutation; electrical contacts; particle reinforced composites; silver; switches; tin compounds; wear; 0.18 mm; AgCdO; AgSnO/sub 2/; arc commutation; arc creeping; arc ignition; arc mobility; bounce gaps; bouncing contacts; contact erosion; contact gap; magnetic blast field; model switch; two-dimensional optical arrangement; Contactors; Contacts; IEC standards; Magnetic materials; Optical devices; Optical recording; Optical sensors; Optical switches; Testing; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Electrical Contacts, 1996. Proceedings of the Forty-Second IEEE Holm Conference on ??. Joint with the 18th International Conference on Electrical Contacts

Conference_Location

Chicago, IL, USA

Print_ISBN

0-7803-3578-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/HOLM.1996.557183

Filename

557183