Enhancement of Arc Erosion Resistance in AgCuO Electrical Contact Materials through Rare Earth Element Doping: First-Principles and Experimental Studies.

Int J Mol Sci

State Key Laboratory of Reliability and Intelligence of Electrical Equipment, Electrical Engineering Department, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, China.

Published: August 2023

AI Article Synopsis

  • The study explored the stability and properties of undoped and rare earth element-doped CuO using density functional theory and practical experiments.
  • Experimental tests were conducted on AgCuO and variations with rare earth elements under electrical loads, analyzing the effects on arc erosion and contact performance.
  • Results indicated that rare earth doping, especially with Ce, enhances electrical conductivity, optimizes arc performance, and improves resistance to arc erosion in contact materials.

Article Abstract

To investigate the stability and electrical and physical properties of undoped CuO and CuO doped with rare earth elements, electronic structures and elastic constants were calculated using first-principles density functional theory. Additionally, experimental verification was carried out on AgCuO and AgCuO-X (La, Ce, Y) electrical contacts, which were prepared using sol-gel and powder metallurgy methods. The contacts were tested under an 18 V/15 A DC resistive load using the JF04D contact material testing system. Arc parameters were analyzed, and three-dimensional surface profilometry and scanning electron microscopy were used to study the altered erosion morphology of the electrically contacted materials; moreover, the potential mechanisms behind their arc erosion behavior were investigated in depth. The results demonstrate that the doping of rare earth elements can improve the electrical conductivity and physical properties of the contacts, optimize the arc parameters, and enhance their resistance to arc erosion. Notably, AgCuO-Ce exhibited the highest electrical conductivity and the least amount of material transfer; moreover, it had excellent arc time and energy parameters, resulting in the best resistance to arc erosion. This study provides a theoretical basis for the screening of doping elements to enhance the performance of AgCuO contact materials and offers new ideas and scientific references for this field.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10454918PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms241612627DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

arc erosion
16
rare earth
12
contact materials
8
physical properties
8
earth elements
8
arc parameters
8
electrical conductivity
8
resistance arc
8
arc
6
erosion
5

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!