Preparation of Electrical Contact Materials by Cold Gas-Spray

This work shows the feasibility of cold gas-spray technique for the manufacturing of industrial electrical contact materials. Microstructure and mechanical properties of the material were investigated using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, hardness test and shearing test. Results show that the bonding strength of the material is determined by the hardness of substrates. High hardness results in low bonding strength. Bonding strength of AgSnO2 sprayed onto aluminum is the best, followed by copper and brass. The bonding strength of silver graphite is not as good as that of silver tin-oxide. The most appropriate particle size is 20 μm for a bulk particle according to the optimization.