Title :
Make erosion on Ag/SnO2 and Ag/CdO contacts in commercial contactors
Author :
Rieder, W. ; Weichsler, V.
Author_Institution :
Tech. Univ. of Vienna, Austria
Abstract :
Contact bounce and make erosion of Ag/CdO and Ag/SnO2 contacts when stressed according to IEC duties AC 3 and AC 4 are studied. In order to keep the operating parameters constant, the tests were done with the same contactor, changing only the contact material. The erosion rates were investigated absolutely and with respect to arcing time, and thus the time intervals of bounces were monitored during the tests. Preliminary measurements showed that the bounce amplitudes of modern contactors are of the order of 0.1 mm. Under these conditions Ag/SnO2 suffered 2 to 3 times higher arc erosion losses at make than Ag/CdO did. The influence of various parameters is studied in order to obtain better insight into the erosion mechanism. Neither of the materials shows significant advantages favorable as far as bouncing is concerned. The bouncing behavior seemed to depend on the mechanical tolerances rather than on the material. Due to the similar bouncing behavior of the two materials the erodibility showed the same tendency as the erosion did
Keywords :
cadmium compounds; contactors; silver alloys; tin compounds; wear testing; AgCdO; AgSnO2; IEC duty AC 3; IEC duty AC 4; arcing time; bounce amplitudes; bouncing behavior; contact bounce; contact material; contactors; erodibility; erosion losses; erosion rates; make erosion; mechanical tolerances; Bridges; Contactors; IEC standards; Image sensors; Materials testing; Modems; Monitoring; Rough surfaces; Sensor arrays; Surface roughness;
Conference_Titel :
Electrical Contacts, 1990. Proceedings of the Thirty-Sixth IEEE Holm Conference on ... and the Fifteenth International Conference on Electrical Contacts
Conference_Location :
Montreal, Que.
DOI :
10.1109/HOLM.1990.113004
