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In situ observation and understanding of the arc erosion behavior of electrical contact materials

  • Chao Zhang was born in 1993. He received the BSc and PhD degrees from Harbin Institute of Technology, China, in 2016 and 2021, respectively. He is currently a research assistant with the School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology. His current research interest is the electrical contact behaviors of interconnectivity issues.

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    Wanbin Ren was born in 1977. He received the MSc and PhD degrees from the Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China, in 2003 and 2006, respectively. He is currently a Professor with the School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology. His current research interests include electrical contact theory and measurement techniques for electrical contact materials.

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    Zhe Zheng was born in 1997. He received the BSc degree from the Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China, in 2018. He is currently a PhD candidate in School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology. His research interest is the evaluation method of arc erosion for electrical contact materials.

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    Jian Liu was born in 1974. He received the MSc and PhD degrees from the Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China, in 2002 and 2009, respectively. He is currently a Professor with the School of Instrumentation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology. His current research interests include 3D micro measurement technology and instrument.

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    Xiujie Liu was born in 1974. She received her MA and PhD degrees from the Harbin Institute of Technology and Shanghai International Studies University in 1999 and 2009, respectively. She is currently an Associate Professor with the School of International Studies, Harbin Institute of Technology. Her current research interests include Applied Linguistics and EAP.

Published/Copyright: August 18, 2023
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Abstract

Arc erosion studies are carried out on electrical contact materials in the switching current experiment. A test rig is developed to capture the 2-D image and the 3-D profile of eroded silver tin oxide electrical contact material in situ. Image processing algorithms are specially presented to accurately recognize the features of erosion region. The initial small patch of erosion traces gradually evolves into the deep crater with the increment of switching cycle enabling a study of the arc erosion behavior. 2-D image, 3-D profile, and micro surface morphologies of the eroded contacts are analyzed and then related to the extent of erosion. The results show that the evolution process of central erosion region could be divided into the enlargement in breadth of contact surface and the extension in depth of contact profile. The end result of arc erosion is the net loss of contact material, which would lead to the substantial reduction of contact force and potential electrical contact instability.


Corresponding author: Wanbin Ren, School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150001, China, E-mail:

Funding source: The National Natural Science Foundation of China

Award Identifier / Grant number: 51377029

Funding source: The National Natural Science Foundation of China

Award Identifier / Grant number: 51777039

Funding source: China Postdoctoral Science Foundation

Award Identifier / Grant number: 2023M730849

Funding source: Heilongjiang Postdoctoral Science Foundation

Award Identifier / Grant number: LBH-Z22189

About the authors

Chao Zhang

Chao Zhang was born in 1993. He received the BSc and PhD degrees from Harbin Institute of Technology, China, in 2016 and 2021, respectively. He is currently a research assistant with the School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology. His current research interest is the electrical contact behaviors of interconnectivity issues.

Wanbin Ren

Wanbin Ren was born in 1977. He received the MSc and PhD degrees from the Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China, in 2003 and 2006, respectively. He is currently a Professor with the School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology. His current research interests include electrical contact theory and measurement techniques for electrical contact materials.

Zhe Zheng

Zhe Zheng was born in 1997. He received the BSc degree from the Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China, in 2018. He is currently a PhD candidate in School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology. His research interest is the evaluation method of arc erosion for electrical contact materials.

Jian Liu

Jian Liu was born in 1974. He received the MSc and PhD degrees from the Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China, in 2002 and 2009, respectively. He is currently a Professor with the School of Instrumentation Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology. His current research interests include 3D micro measurement technology and instrument.

Xiujie Liu

Xiujie Liu was born in 1974. She received her MA and PhD degrees from the Harbin Institute of Technology and Shanghai International Studies University in 1999 and 2009, respectively. She is currently an Associate Professor with the School of International Studies, Harbin Institute of Technology. Her current research interests include Applied Linguistics and EAP.

  1. Research ethics: Written informed consent for publication of this paper was obtained from the Harbin Institute of Technology and all authors.

  2. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

  3. Competing interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

  4. Research funding: The authors express their gratitude for the kind support provided by The National Natural Science Foundation of China (Contract Number 51377029 and 51777039), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Contract Number 2023M730849) and Heilongjiang Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Contract Number LBH-Z22189).

  5. Data availability: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Published Online: 2023-08-18
Published in Print: 2023-11-27

© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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