Electrical Breakdown Characteristic of Nanostructured W-Cu Contacts Materials

摘要

Nanostructured (NS) W-Cu composite powder was prepared by mechanical alloying (MA), and nanostructured bulk of W-Cu contact material was fabricated by hot press sintering in an electrical vacuum furnace. The microstructure, electric conductivity, hardness and break down voltage of NS W-Cu alloys were measured and compared to those of conventional W-Cu alloys prepared by powder metallurgy. The experimental results show that microstructural refinement and uniformity can improve the breakdown behavior and the electric arc stability of nanostructured W-Cu contacts materials. Also, the nanostructured W-Cu contact material shows the characteristic of spreading electric arcs, which is of benefit to electric arc erosion.