Pulsed heating of high-current electrical contacts is studied in a wide temperature range up to the start of melting. The analysis involved the data of a large batch of experiments on current pulses of quasi-harmonic shape and duration, comparable with power frequency period, passing through electrodes. Numerical data processing yielded information on the variation of contact spot area with time, on the temperature distribution and, hence, the distribution of mechanical and electrical properties of the electrode material in the contact region.
|