Electrical Erosion Resistance of Graphene Reinforced Cu-W Circuit Breaker Contact Materials under 5 kA Arc

Authors

  • X. Wang Centre for Smart Grid, Department of Engineering, University of Exeter. EX4 4PY, UK
  • Y. Zhou Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GJ, UK
  • A. Connolly Department of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
  • S. Y. Matharage Centre for Smart Grid, Department of Engineering, University of Exeter. EX4 4PY, UK
  • M. Bissett Department of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
  • J. W. Spencer Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GJ, UK
  • J. D. Yan Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GJ, UK
  • I. Kinloch Department of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
  • Z. D. Wang Centre for Smart Grid, Department of Engineering, University of Exeter. EX4 4PY, UK

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14311/ppt.2023.3.150

Keywords:

Circuit breaker contact, Graphene-reinforced Cu-W composites, arc erosion, molecular dynamics simulation

Abstract

This work integrates experimental and MD simulation approaches to study the role of graphene in G-Cu-W composites. Arcing tests were conducted on G-Cu-W and Cu-W contact samples under a 5kA peak current. Experimental results show that adding graphene leads to a lower surface roughness of the sample following arcing. MD simulation results indicate that the G-Cu-W model exhibits a smoother surface and fewer lost metal atoms than the Cu-W model due to the protective effect of graphene layer.

References

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Published

2023-10-20

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 3 (2023)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2023 X. Wang, Y. Zhou, A. Connolly, S. Y. Matharage, M. Bissett, J. W. Spencer, J. D. Yan, I. Kinloch, Z. D. Wang

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