Abstract
New Ag/Ti2SnC (Ag/TSC) composites with uniform microstructure were prepared by powder metallurgy. The superior wettability between Ag and Ti2SnC was confirmed with a contact angle of 14°. Arc erosion properties of Ag/10wt%Ti2SnC (Ag/10TSC) and Ag/20wt%Ti2SnC (Ag/20TSC) contacts were investigated under 400 V/100 A/AC-3 and compared with Ag/CdO contact. The Ag/10TSC contact exhibited comparable arc erosion property to Ag/CdO contact. The fine arc erosion resistance was attributed to the good wettability between Ti2SnC and Ag, the good heat-conducting property of Ag/10TSC, and the slight decomposition of Ti2SnC that absorbed part of electric arc energy. The excessive Ti2SnC significantly decreased the thermal conducting property of the Ag/20TSC composite, resulting in the severe heat accumulation that decomposed Ti2SnC and deteriorated arc erosion property. The oxidation behavior of Ti2SnC under high electric arc temperature was also studied and then an arc erosion mechanism was proposed to get a comprehensive understanding on the arc erosion property of Ag/TSC composites.
Highlights
The electrical contact is a critical component in lowvoltage switching devices and widely used in a wide range of fields, such as modern electric apparatuses, motor vehicle, airplanes, and space shuttles
Our preliminary work has demonstrated that Ag/10wt%Ti3AlC2 composite owned the comparable arc erosion property to the Ag/CdO material [7]
The contact angle decreased from 65° to 27° at around 987 °C, inclined gradually from 27° to 20° in the 987–1020 °C temperature range, and became steady at a minimum value of 14° at 1025 °C
Summary
The electrical contact is a critical component in lowvoltage switching devices and widely used in a wide range of fields, such as modern electric apparatuses, motor vehicle, airplanes, and space shuttles. MAX phases, with the general formula Mn+1AXn (n = 1, 2, 3; M: early transition metal; A: IIIA or IVA group element; X: C or N), have attracted great attention to material scientists [6] These layered ternary compounds are regarded as promising and attractive materials in the field of structural, electrical, and thermal application, due to their unusual characteristics combining the properties of ceramics and metals. Ti2SnC is lightweight (6.1 g/cm3), relatively soft (~3.5 GPa), elastically stiff (~228 GPa in Young’s modulus), machinable, and a good heat conductor (43 W/(m·K)) It exhibits a set of superior properties, including high temperature stability, high damage tolerance, superior corrosion resistance, good oxidation resistance, and high thermal shock resistance [9,10,11]. The arc erosion mechanism of Ag/TSC was proposed
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