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→6.1.2 High Electrical Loads
*Break operation <br />Arc erosion during opening <br />Arc movement <br />Arc extinguishing <br />Mechanical wear
<figure id="fig:Name">[[File:Typical application ranges for contact materials.jpg|right|thumb|Typical application ranges for contact materials in power engineering switching devices as a function of switching current and voltage]]</figure>
The typical application ranges for different contact materials in devices for power engineering are illustrated in Figs. 6.3 and 6.4. In the lower load ranges mostly silver and fine grain silver (AgNi0.15) are used because of their high electrical and thermal conductivity. With increasing currents the more arc erosion resistant AgCu alloy materials are used. For the medium current range up to 100A Ag/Ni composite materials are advantageous because of their lower and consistent contact resistance and their favorable re-solidification properties. If higher welding and at the same time arc erosion resistance are required, such as for example in motor contactors for switching currents up to 5,000A, silver – metal oxide materials are superior. In protective switches (mainly circuit breakers) which are required to handle high short circuit energies,
asymmetrical contact pairings are used where the fixed contact is made from Ag/C materials and the moving ones consist, depending on the device
materials are tungsten based infiltration materials such as W/Cu.
Fig. 6.4: