Erosion control of Ag CdO contactor contacts using electronics

Author

Davies, T.S. ; Nouri, H. ; Jenkins, T. ; Patton, D.

Author_Institution

Fac. of Eng., Univ. of the West of England, Bristol, UK

fYear

1996

fDate

16-20 Sept. 1996

Firstpage

92

Lastpage

97

Abstract

The erosion of contactor contacts is controlled by means of an electronic circuit. The electronic circuit controls the velocity of the moving contact through the break cycle and the instant at which the contacts part relative to ac mains voltage. The control circuit limits the current through the coil for a set period. A set of tests are carried out for a current of 10 A and an operating voltage of 240 volts ac for conditions with and without the control circuit. An inspection of the SEM photographs indicate that contacts used with the controlled circuit suffer less damage than those used in uncontrolled tests.

Keywords

cadmium compounds; circuit-breaking arcs; contactors; electrical contacts; particle reinforced composites; scanning electron microscopy; silver; wear; 10 A; 240 V; AgCdO; SEM photographs; break cycle; contactor; electrical contacts; erosion control; moving contact velocity; operating voltage; Anodes; Circuit testing; Coils; Contacts; Electrodes; Electronic circuits; Electrons; Resistors; Velocity control; Voltage control;

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.1996.557184

Filename

557184