Break-Arc Erosion and Material Transfer Behavior of Pt–Ir and Pt–Ir–Y Electrical Contact Materials under Different Currents

In order to explore the influence of rare earth element Y on the electrical contact properties of Pt–Ir alloys, Pt–10Ir–Y and Pt–25Ir–Y were prepared via arc melting combined with thermal processing, and electrical contact experiments were carried out with a DC voltage of 24 V and current ranging from 5 A to 25 A. Comparative analyses were conducted to analyze the changes in the break arc duration and arc energy, as well as the contact resistance before and after the addition of Y. The arc erosion surface morphology was characterized, and the transfer behavior of the alloys was discussed. The results show that at 5 A and 25 A, adding Y improves the stability of the arc duration of the Pt–Ir alloy, but it increases the overall arcing energy and decreases the stability. The contact resistance of the Pt–Ir alloy shows a clear partitioning phenomenon; the partitioning phenomenon disappears after the addition of Y, and the contact resistance fluctuates around the average value. The material transfer direction of the Pt–Ir alloy is affected by the current change, while the material transfer direction of the Pt–Ir–Y alloy is always from cathode to anode. The research results provide a reference for the performance optimization of Pt–Ir alloys.