Arc erosion reduction on electrical contacts using transverse current injection

Author

Parkansky, Naum ; Boxman, Raymond L. ; Goldsmith, Samuel ; Rosenberg, Yuri

Author_Institution

Fleishman Fac. of Eng., Tel Aviv Univ., Israel

Volume

25

Issue

4

fYear

1997

fDate

8/1/1997 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

543

Lastpage

547

Abstract

Electrical contact lifetime is often directly determined by arc erosion. A method for reducing are erosion was developed consisting of injecting from an external current source an additional electrical current flowing parallel to the contact surface. This method was examined in three are environments using the additional transverse electrical current with a density less than 1 A/mm²: 1) automobile ignition contacts; 2) pulsed air arc; and 3) low pressure (P=100 mTorr) arc in nitrogen, SEM and X-ray examination showed that application of a transverse current in a contact during arcing changed the phase composition and microstructure of the contact surface. Under optimal conditions, the microstructure which is formed is significantly more erosion resistant than without the transverse current injection

Keywords

X-ray chemical analysis; X-ray diffraction; arcs (electric); electrical contacts; plasma applications; plasma-wall interactions; scanning electron microscopy; wear; 100 mtorr; N₂; SEM; X-ray examination; arc erosion reduction; arcing; automobile ignition contacts; contact surface; electrical contacts; electrical current flow; external current source; low pressure arc; microstructure; optimal conditions; phase composition; pulsed air arc; transverse current injection; Automobiles; Circuit testing; Conducting materials; Contacts; Crystalline materials; Electrodes; Frequency; Ignition; Microstructure; Surface discharges;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0093-3813

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/27.640663

Filename

640663