An Erosion-Resistant Lithium Additive Modified Ag-CdO

Author

Brugner, Frank S.

Author_Institution

Square D Company,Milwaukee, WI

Volume

2

Issue

1

fYear

1979

fDate

3/1/1979 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

120

Lastpage

123

Abstract

A new modified heterogeneous alloy composition is presented that has been proved to reduce the consumption of silver per operation in 600 VAC motor control gear. The new modified alloy is a powder-metallurgical heterogeneous type of Ag-CdO that preserves ali the typical properties found in conventional powder-metallurgical Ag-CdO. However, the new modified alloy has shown erosion rates in electrical endurance testing that are one-half that expected from conventional Ag-CdO. The new alloy is a lithium-modified Ag-CdO. The lithium content must be controlled in the range of 40-60 parts per million (ppm) by weight to achieve optimum electrical endurance with this contact material. Data derived from IEC, AC-3 tests for motor control gear are presented to support the above electrical endurance claims. A theoretical discussion of the mechanism of erosion reduction produced with this alloy is included.

Keywords

Cadmium alloys/compounds, devices; Contacts; Motor drives; Silver alloys/compounds, devices; Switches; Additives; Conducting materials; Contacts; Gears; Inorganic materials; Lithium; Motor drives; Powders; Silver; Testing;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Components, Hybrids, and Manufacturing Technology, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0148-6411

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TCHMT.1979.1135424

Filename

1135424