Effect of doping on electrical arc characteristic of WCu electrical contact materials

The WCu electrical contact materials containing 0.3%B, 2.0%Nb and 1.5%Ce (mass fraction) were produced through powder metallurgy technology. The electrical arc characteristic of different doping elements on the electrical arc characteristics of WCu electrical contact materials and commercial WCu electrical contact alloys were researched by high-speed camera and arc erosion experiment. The results show that the evolution of arc discharge can be divided into arc forming, steady burning of arc and attenuation. Compared with the WCu alloys without doping elements, the WCu alloys with doping elements have the characters, such as longer time for arc formation, shorter time for arc stable burning and larger volume and lighter color of plasmas plumes. The arc is dispersed and stable, and the burning area on the sample surface is bigger. The anti-welding ability of the WCu alloys with doping elements is greatly improved. The best one is WCu-B alloys with anti-welding ability increased by about 30%.