Cellular Automaton Simulation of Arc Erosion Resistance of Graphene-Reinforced Copper-Tungsten Alloy Contacts

With the development of new energy power systems such as higher voltage levels and longer transmission distances, higher requirements have been placed on the erosion resistance of CuW alloy electrical contact materials. Graphene (Gr) is widely used to enhance the performance of composite materials due to its excellent electrical and mechanical properties. In this paper, Gr-doped CuW alloy composite contact materials are established based on cellular automaton, and the temperature-dependent properties of each physical parameter of the contact materials and the movement of the boundary in the erosion process are also considered, so that the effects of Gr doping with different mass fractions and different distributions of Gr on the amount of loss and the erosion rate of the contact materials are studied, and the enhancement mechanism of Gr is investigated on mesoscopic scale. It is shown that with the increase of Gr mass fraction, the erosion resistance of the modified materials is gradually enhanced, in which CuW80Gr0.16wt% has the highest performance, the loss amount is reduced by 3.63<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">%</sup> and the erosion rate is reduced by 8.068% compared with that of CuW80, and the modified materials with perpendicular distribution of Gr are better than those with parallel distribution, and the enhancement mechanism of Gr on CuW composites is manifested in the fact that Gr can The enhancement mechanism of Gr on CuW composites is that Gr can delay the intrusion of arc heat from the interface, improve the efficiency of heat transfer to the interior of the material, and thus reduce the loss of material due to the aggregation of heat at the interface. The results of the study can provide theoretical basis and methodological support for the enhancement design of Gr-modified CuW contacts.