Analysis of arc existence in electrical contact gap for 42 V automotive DC components

Abstract

AbstractIn this paper, the existence of arc in an electrical contact gap is investigated. A 14 and 42 V DC electrical circuit for an automotive vehicle is considered and the factors which causes arc are identified. A plate–plate, cylinder–cylinder and cone–cone electrical contact are considered for which the closed-state resistance and open-state capacitance are acquired for Al, Cu, Fe, Ni, Au and Pt materials. The voltage, current and power characteristics curves of the electrical contact are obtained for the equivalent automotive DC system. The temperature and electric field of the electrical contact is also reported. The breakdown voltage and electric field for the micro-gaps of 0.5–10 µm are presented and the boundary for arcless operation of the electrical contact is identified. Arc existence is analyzed for four circuit conditions with various voltage and current levels. Simulations are executed using COMSOL Multiphysics Finite Element software tool and the results were related with calculated values. The results show that power has more influence on the arc existence in electrical contact. Electrical contact does not produce an arc due to voltage and electric field. The plate–plate electrical contact with Pt material performs better in terms of arcless switching. These electrical contacts would have an influential role in the design of an arcless, less weight, low cost, reliable electrical contact for next-generation automotive DC power system.