The influence of the production technology of iron-copper composite alloy on its erosion properties in a high-current high-pressure arc

Abstract

The electrical erosion properties of material based on a pseudo-alloy of copper and iron CuFe (85/15%) obtained by layered cladding are compared with the erosion of CuW (25/75%) and CuFe (70/30%) obtained by conventional powder alloying. Erosion of electrodes has been measured for arcs in the range of current amplitudes from 50 to 150 kA at an air pressure from 20 Pa to 2 MPa. Specific erosion has been determined as a function of current and gas pressure. The specific erosion of the new material is ∼1 mg/C at the level of materials produced by conventional powder technology.