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

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