High anti-arc erosion performance of the Al2O3 reinforced Cu@W composites for high voltage circuit-breaker contacts

Abstract

High voltage circuit-breakers with superior performance are demanded as the transmission distance extends and voltage rises, which are often subject to high current and voltage surges. Commercial circuit-breaker contacts are conventionally manufactured with CuW alloy by infiltration method, limiting their performance improvement in withstanding current (or voltage) and lifespan. In this paper, we optimize the microstructure and component of Al2O3 reinforced Cu@W80 composites (Al2O3/Cu@W80), which fabricates the Cu@W powder first by chemical coating and the composites by spark plasma sintering (SPS) method. The composites exhibit enhanced hardness (maximum value up to 273 HV) due to the addition of Al2O3 powder and a more homogeneous and refined tungsten phase compared to the CuW counterpart. Moreover, the dispersed Al2O3 particles with low work function become the preferred ablation phase and guide the electrical arcs, further improving the anti-arc erosion performance of Al2O3/Cu@W80. Our findings suggest that the Al2O3/Cu@W80 composite with optimized components could be potentially used as a candidate for high-voltage circuit-breaker contacts.