Electric contact materials and their erosion in automotive DC relays

Author

Leung, Chi H. ; Lee, Anthony

Author_Institution

General Motors Res. Lab., Warren, MI, USA

fYear

1991

fDate

6-9 Oct. 1991

Firstpage

114

Lastpage

121

Abstract

Compares the contact resistance, welding, and erosion of three basic contact materials suitable in automotive DC relays for switching lamp, motor, and resistor loads. The three contact materials chosen have different material strengthening mechanisms so that their effects on the arc erosion process could be evaluated. They were a silver alloy (98Ag-2Cu), a metal-oxide composite (Ag-SnO/sub 2/ with WO/sub 3/ additive), and a metal-metal composite (Ag-20Ni). Contact resistance, welding, and DC transfer characteristics were compared in make-only, break-only, and normal make-and-break switching operations. The results were explained in terms of the arc erosion process and inherent material structures. All three types of contact material have their pros and cons in automotive applications.<>

Keywords

composite materials; contact resistance; copper alloys; electrical contacts; nickel alloys; relays; silver; silver alloys; tin compounds; wear; AgCu; AgNi; AgSnO/sub 2/; DC transfer characteristics; automotive DC relays; break-only switching; contact resistance; erosion; lamp loads; make-and-break switching operations; make-only switching; material strengthening mechanisms; material structures; motor loads; resistor loads; welding; Additives; Automotive applications; Automotive engineering; Contact resistance; DC motors; Lamps; Relays; Resistors; Silver; Welding;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Electrical Contacts, 1991. Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh IEEE Holm Conference on

Conference_Location

Chicago, IL, USA

Print_ISBN

0-7803-0231-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/HOLM.1991.170811

Filename

170811