Molecular dynamics simulation of arc ablation on Mo or W doped CuCr contact materials

To improve the ablation resistance of the contact material in vacuum circuit breakers (VCBs), molecular dynamics (MD) was used to simulate the microscopic arc ablation process. Reinforced CuCr alloys doped with elements Mo or W were designed using ablative mass as the characteristic parameter for ablation resistance. The results demonstrate that Mo or W doping can improve the ablation resistance of the alloys to some extent, and the doped alloys have better ablation resistance than CuCr₅₀. Moreover, Mo or W-doped CuCr alloys with an original Cu content of 70–80 at%, which have less ablative mass than CuCr₅₀, are most suitable for improving the contacts’ ablation resistance.