Simulation of cathode spots crater formation on electrodes with micro-scale and nano-scale alloy materials in a vacuum arc

In the field of vacuum interrupting, an important research is to improve the erosion resistance properties of contacts. In this paper, a two-dimensional axisymmetric swirl model based on basic parameters has been proposed to describe the formation and development of cathode spots of micro-scale alloy and nano-scale alloy electrode in a vacuum arc. In this model, the peak ion density of the plasma cloud, the mean charge state in near-cathode region, the electron temperature, and the near-cathode voltage drop are adopted as external parameters. Ions and electrons originating from the plasma cloud, thermo-field (T-F) emission, vaporization of metal atoms, backing ions and back-diffused electrons are all taken into consideration. The morphology and temperature of cathode spots crater and the liquid metal velocity of pure copper electrode (Cu), copper-chromium (Cu-Cr) electrode and tungsten-copper (W-Cu) electrode under the conditions of micro-scale grains and nano-scale grains are compared, respectively. Simulation results show that the cathode spot crater of the Cu-Cr electrode is smaller than that of the pure copper electrode. Moreover, it can hold more current and inhibit the formation of new cathode spots nearby. Cathode spots appearing on tungsten grains are smaller in size and have a lower probability of forming liquid metal droplets than Cu-Cr electrodes. Contacts made of nano-scale grain alloys have stronger erosion resistance properties than that of micro-scale alloy contacts and can reduce the maximum temperature of the cathode. The simulation results are in good agreement with other researchers' results.