Untersuchung des Erosionsverhaltens von silberbasierten Kontaktwerkstoffen mittels FIB‐Techniken

Abstract

The understanding of the degradation mechanisms of contact materials is a key issue for the development of new materials with enhanced durability. This can be achieved through the investigation of the microstructure modification caused by electrical arcs on the surface of contacts. In this work, the erosion behaviour of pure silver and silver based composites as well as the characterization in two or three dimensions is presented. Single breaking operations were performed with direct current. Using white light interferometry, the size of the craters on the surface as well as the volume of eroded material has been measured. By means of dual beam techniques, the microstructural modifications in the crater have been investigated and reconstructed in three dimensions.