RESEARCH ON SOLAR SINTERING FOR ELECTRICAL CONTACTS

Abstract

Solar sintering is a promising method based on clean energy that could be used for obtaining electrical contacts. As shown in this paper, in terms of thermal stability, it is better than other modern sintering technologies like microwave and spark plasma sintering that have applications in the electrical field. This paper analyzes the possibility to sinter the copper alloy in order to improve its properties without decreasing the electrical conductivity of the copper material. The compacted pellets of Cu-TiC-graphite were sintered in a solar furnace by heating and maintaining the pellets at a precise temperature in a controlled environment (Argon) at temperatures around 700-850°C for a maintain time of 20-30 minutes. This configuration was performed by using the MSSF Solar Furnace of the PROMES-CNRS facility in France. Initial tests have shown that electrical conductivity does not suffer a significant reduction while wear rate and friction coefficient are better or similar to those for pure copper

Keywords

• solar sintering, electrical contacts, copper alloys, thermal stability, clean energy