Extended Aging of Ag/W Circuit Breaker Contacts: Influence on Surface Structure, Electrical Properties, and UL Testing Performance

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• 作者：Haibo Yu ; M. Tumerkan Kesim ; Yu Sun…
• 关键词：aging ; circuit breaker contacts ; contact resistance ; electron microscopy ; UL testing
• 刊名：Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：January 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：25
• 期：1
• 页码：91-101
• 全文大小：3,474 KB
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• 作者单位：Haibo Yu (1)
  M. Tumerkan Kesim (1)
  Yu Sun (1)
  Jason Harmon (2)
  Jonathan Potter (2)
  S. Pamir Alpay (1)
  Mark Aindow (1)
  
  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Institute of Materials Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269-3136, USA
  2. GE Energy Management - Industrial Solutions, Plainville, CT, 06062, USA
  
• 刊物类别：Chemistry and Materials Science
• 刊物主题：Chemistry
  Characterization and Evaluation Materials
  Materials Science
  Tribology, Corrosion and Coatings
  Quality Control, Reliability, Safety and Risk
  Engineering Design
  
• 出版者：Springer New York
• ISSN：1544-1024

文摘

Samples of 120 V, 30 A commercial circuit breakers were subjected to various aging treatments and the resulting microstructures at the surfaces of the Ag/W contacts were studied using a combination of x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy techniques. Breakers aged naturally in a hot, humid climate were compared to those subjected to accelerated aging in dry and humid environments. The most extensive oxidation was observed for contacts from breakers subjected to accelerated humid aging; these contacts exhibited thick surface layers consisting of Ag₂O, Ag₂WO₄, Cu(OH)₂∙H₂O, and WO₃ phases. Far less surface degradation was observed for dry-aged contacts. Naturally aged contacts showed variations in degradation with more oxidation at the surface regions outside the physical contact area on the contact face. A correlation was found between the contact resistances measured from these samples following ASTM standard B 667-97 and the observed surface microstructures. To evaluate the effects of the surface oxides on breaker performance, humid-aged breakers were subjected to standardized UL overload/temperature-rise, endurance, and short-circuit testing following UL489. The contacts in these breakers exhibit similar microstructural and property changes to those observed previously for as-manufactured contacts after UL testing. These data illustrate the robust performance of this contact technology even after being subjected to aggressive artificial aging.