Micro/Nano-Mechanical Behavior and Microstructure Evolution of Eco-Friendly Ag/Ti2SnC Composite Electrical Contacts Under Multi-Field Coupled Erosion

doi:10.11900/0412.1961.2022.00520

Acta Metall Sin

2024, Vol. 60

Issue (12): 1731-1745 DOI: 10.11900/0412.1961.2022.00520

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Micro/Nano-Mechanical Behavior and Microstructure Evolution of Eco-Friendly Ag/Ti₂SnC Composite Electrical Contacts Under Multi-Field Coupled Erosion

DING Kuankuan¹, DING Jianxiang¹^,²(

), ZHANG Kaige¹, BAI Zhongchen³, ZHANG Peigen²(

), SUN Zhengming¹^,²

1 School of Materials Science and Engineering, Anhui University of Technology, Ma'anshan 243002, China
2 Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Metallic Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
3 Guizhou Province Key Laboratory for Photoelectronic Technology and Application, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China

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DING Kuankuan, DING Jianxiang, ZHANG Kaige, BAI Zhongchen, ZHANG Peigen, SUN Zhengming. Micro/Nano-Mechanical Behavior and Microstructure Evolution of Eco-Friendly Ag/Ti₂SnC Composite Electrical Contacts Under Multi-Field Coupled Erosion. Acta Metall Sin, 2024, 60(12): 1731-1745.

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Abstract

Silver (Ag)-matrix-composite electrical contact materials (ECMs) are widely used in railway, manufacturing, electric power distribution, and aerospace systems, owing to their excellent electrical and thermal conductivities and good mechanical and anti-erosion properties. In particular, they play a key role in low-voltage switches, which are vital in the global electrical economy. To date, substituting the toxic Ag/CdO ECMs has become a bottleneck in the development of low-voltage switches. Over the past decades, Ag/SnO₂, Ag/ZnO, Ag/Ni, and Ag/C have been exploited as substitutes for Ag/CdO ECMs, but their intrinsic defects make them unsuitable; therefore, there is still an urgent need to develop eco-friendly substitutes for CdO. Recently, MAX-phase materials, which combine attractively dual metal and ceramic properties, have shown potential in replacing CdO as a reinforcement for Ag-matrix composites. Moreover, arc erosion is a common cause of the premature failure of low-voltage switches in applications. To aid the further development of MAX-reinforced Ag-matrix-composite contacts, there is a need to understand the mechanism of arc erosion and degradation of the microstructural and mechanical properties of the composites. Nano-indentation is the most common and stable method of evaluating the micromechanical properties of materials. In this study, micro-/nano-indentation tests were performed along the cross-section of Ag/Ti₂SnC contacts (from the arc erosion layer to the near arc erosion layer and then to the matrix interior). The gradient variation of the microhardness, nanohardness, modulus, creep behavior, and plastic/elastic depth in different areas was analyzed and contrasted in the direction of the electrical arc erosion. The micromorphology and elemental composition were comprehensively analyzed, and the structural and compositional evolution of the Ti₂SnC reinforcement phase and Ag matrix were investigated. The relationship between the gradient structural change and micro-/nano-mechanical properties of the Ag/Ti₂SnC composites was analyzed. COMSOL simulations were employed to further demonstrate the physical characteristics of multi-field coupled erosion in the Ag/Ti₂SnC composites; based on these analyses, we propose an erosion mechanism for the composites. This study not only provides insights into the intrinsic relationship between the structure and properties of Ag/MAX composites under arc erosion but also paves the way for the future design and development of eco-friendly contact materials for low-voltage switches.

Key words: Ag/Ti₂SnC composites micro/nano-mechanical behavior microstructural evolution COMSOL simulation multi-field coupled erosion

Received: 13 October 2022

ZTFLH:

TM2

Fund: National Natural Science Foundation of China(52101064);National Natural Science Foundation of China(52171033);Jiangsu Planned Projects for Postdoctoral Research Funds(2020Z158);Open Project of Key Laboratory of Green Fabrication and Surface Technology of Advanced Metal Materials(GFST2020KF04)

Corresponding Authors: DING Jianxiang, associate professor, Tel: 18255504831, E-mail: jxding@ahut.edu.cn;
ZHANG Peigen, associate professor, Tel: 18251951269, E-mail: zhpeigen@seu.edu.cn

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	DING Kuankuan
	DING Jianxiang
	ZHANG Kaige
	BAI Zhongchen
	ZHANG Peigen
	SUN Zhengming

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https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/10.11900/0412.1961.2022.00520 OR https://www.ams.org.cn/EN/Y2024/V60/I12/1731

Fig.1 Schematics of micro-indentation (a) and nano-indentation (b) experiments

Fig.2 OM images (a1-a3), mass loss and eroded area ratio (b) of Ag/x%Ti₂SnC contacts
(a1) x = 10 (a2) x = 12 (a3) x = 15

Fig.3 OM images of Vickers micro-hardness indentation position from area α to area β of Ag/x%Ti₂SnC contacts with x = 10 (a, b1-b4), x = 12 (c1-c4), and x = 15 (d1-d4) (Numbers show the diagonal diameters of indentations) (b1, b2, c1, c2, d1, d2) indentations on Ti₂SnC reinforcing phases of area β (b1-d1) and area α (b2-d2) (b3, b4, c3, c4, d3, d4) indentations on Ag matrix of area β (b3-d3) and area α (b4-d4)

Table 1 Mean Vickers micro-hardnesses in area α and area β

Fig.4 Continuous Vickers micro-hardnesses of Ag matrix (a) and Ti₂SnC reinforcing phases (b) from area α to area β and their fitting curves (R²—fit degree of fitting curve)

Fig.5 OM images of Vickers micro-hardness indentation in area γ of Ag/x%Ti₂SnC contacts with x = 10 (a, b1-b4), x = 12 (c1-c4), and x = 15 (d1-d4) (Numbers show the diagonal diameters of indentations) (b1, b2, c1, c2, d1, d2) indentations on Ti₂SnC reinforcing phases (b1-d1) and dark aggregates (b2-d2) of area γ (b3, b4, c3, c4, d3, d4) indentations on Ag matrix near crack (b3-d3) and away from crack (b4-d4) of area γ

Table 2 Mean Vickers micro-hardnesses of area γ

Fig.6 SEM images of dark aggregates in area γ of Ag/x%Ti₂SnC contacts with x =10 (a), x = 12 (b), and x = 15 (c); and EDS analysis result of element constitute (d)

Fig.7 Nano-hardnesses (a), moduli (b), interface nano-hardnesses (c), and interface moduli (d) of Ag/x%Ti₂SnC contacts after arc erosion (ΔH—nano-hardness difference in area α and area β, ΔE—modulus difference in area α and area β)

Fig.8 Creep curves of area α (red lines) and area β (blue lines) in Ag/x%Ti₂SnC contact with x = 10 (a), x = 12 (b), and x = 15 (c) after arc erosion (Δh—displacement, t—hold time)

Fig.9 Calculation schematic of plastic deformation ratio ( $ξ$ ) and elastic deformation ratio (δ) based on the load-depth curve

Sample	Area	h_m / nm	h_f / nm	$ξ$ / %	δ / %
Ag/10%Ti₂SnC	α	776.16	645.75	83.20	16.80
	β	918.22	821.67	89.49	10.51
Ag/12%Ti₂SnC	α	715.80	613.86	85.76	14.24
	β	885.66	806.88	91.10	8.90
Ag/15%Ti₂SnC	α	702.04	625.84	89.15	10.85
	β	828.14	666.92	92.61	7.39

Table 3 Max indentation depth (h_m), springback depth (h_f),

ξ

, and δ of area α and area β in Ag/x%Ti₂SnC composites

Fig.10 SEM images of surface (a1-c1), area γ (a2-c2), area β (a3-c3), and area α (a4-c4)along the cross-section of Ag/x%Ti₂SnC contacts with x = 10 (a1-a4), x = 12 (b1-b4), and x = 15 (c1-c4) after arc erosion

Fig.11 SEM images and element mapping distributions of area α (a) and area β (b) in Ag/10%Ti₂SnC contact

Fig.12 Ti / Sn ratio linear fitting (a) and Ag / Sn ratio linear fitting (b) along area α to area β inAg/x%Ti₂SnC contacts

Fig.13 Steady-state simulations of voltage field distribution (a), temperature field distribution (b), isotherm (c), and thermal expansion displacement (d) of Ag/10%Ti₂SnC contacts under electrical arc discharging

Fig.14 Mechanism diagram of Ag/Ti₂SnC contacts under multi-field coupled erosion

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