Study of the electrode gap influence on electrode erosion under the action of an electric arc

In this paper we present an experimental study concerning electrode erosion under the sole action of an electric arc. An experimental device allowing to generate electric arc current pulses of constant intensity has been realized. It allows also to ignite the arc for a given electrode gap up to 10 mm by means of a HV discharge. The influence of several parameters on the electrode erosion has then been studied. These parameters are: the nature of the contact material (Ag, AgSnO2, AgCdO, Cu, CuSnO2), the value of the electrode gap, the nature of the cover gas... Films realized with the help of a high speed framing camera have brought interesting elements of interpretation concerning the test erosion results