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Contact Protection
Contact protection methods are designed to mitigate the wear and degradation occurring during the normal use of contacts within an electromechanical switch, relay or contactor and thus avoid an excessive increase in contact resistance or switch failure. Contact wear A “contact” is a pair of electrodes (typically, one moving; one stationary) designed to control electricity. Electromechanical switches, relays, and contactors “turn power on” when the moving electrode makes contact with the stationary electrode to carry current. Conversely, they “turn power off” when the moving electrode breaks contact and the resulting arc plasma stops burning as the dielectric gap widens sufficiently to prevent current flow. Power relays and contactors have two primary life expectancy ratings: “mechanical life” is based on operating either without current or below the wetting current (i.e., “Dry”) and “electrical life” is based on operating above the wetting current (i.e., “W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Switch
In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of switch is an electromechanical device consisting of one or more sets of movable electrical contacts connected to external circuits. When a pair of contacts is touching current can pass between them, while when the contacts are separated no current can flow. Switches are made in many different configurations; they may have multiple sets of contacts controlled by the same knob or actuator, and the contacts may operate simultaneously, sequentially, or alternately. A switch may be operated manually, for example, a light switch or a keyboard button, or may function as a sensing element to sense the position of a machine part, liquid level, pressure, or temperature, such as a thermostat. Many specialized forms exist, such as the toggle swit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capacitor
In electrical engineering, a capacitor is a device that stores electrical energy by accumulating electric charges on two closely spaced surfaces that are insulated from each other. The capacitor was originally known as the condenser, a term still encountered in a few compound names, such as the '' condenser microphone''. It is a passive electronic component with two terminals. The utility of a capacitor depends on its capacitance. While some capacitance exists between any two electrical conductors in proximity in a circuit, a capacitor is a component designed specifically to add capacitance to some part of the circuit. The physical form and construction of practical capacitors vary widely and many types of capacitor are in common use. Most capacitors contain at least two electrical conductors, often in the form of metallic plates or surfaces separated by a dielectric medium. A conductor may be a foil, thin film, sintered bead of metal, or an electrolyte. The nonconductin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Switches
In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of switch is an electromechanical device consisting of one or more sets of movable electrical contacts connected to external circuits. When a pair of contacts is touching current can pass between them, while when the contacts are separated no current can flow. Switches are made in many different configurations; they may have multiple sets of contacts controlled by the same knob or actuator, and the contacts may operate simultaneously, sequentially, or alternately. A switch may be operated manually, for example, a light switch or a keyboard button, or may function as a sensing element to sense the position of a machine part, liquid level, pressure, or temperature, such as a thermostat. Many specialized forms exist, such as the toggle switc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wetting Voltage
In electrical and electronics engineering, wetting current is the minimum electric current needing to flow through a contact to break through the surface film resistance at a contact. It is typically far below the contact's nominal maximum current rating. A thin film of oxidation, or an otherwise passivated layer, tends to form in most environments, particularly those with high humidity, and, along with surface roughness, contributes to the contact resistance at an interface. Providing a sufficient amount of wetting current is a crucial step in designing circuits that use switches with low contact pressure. Failing to do this might result in switches remaining electrically "open" when pressed, due to contact oxidation. Capacitor discharge solution In some low voltage applications, where switching current is below the manufacturer's wetting current specification, a capacitor discharge method may be employed by placing a small capacitor across the switch contacts to boost the cu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contact Resistance
Electrical contact resistance (ECR, or simply contact resistance) is resistance to the flow of electric current caused by incomplete contact of the surfaces through which the current is flowing, and by films or oxide layers on the contacting surfaces. It occurs at electrical connections such as switches, connectors, breakers, contacts, and measurement probes. Contact resistance values are typically small (in the microohm to milliohm range). Contact resistance can cause significant voltage drops and heating in circuits with high current. Because contact resistance adds to the intrinsic resistance of the conductors, it can cause significant measurement errors when exact resistance values are needed. Contact resistance may vary with temperature. It may also vary with time (most often decreasing) in a process known as resistance creep. Electrical contact resistance is also called ''interface resistance'', ''transitional resistance'', or the ''correction term''. ''Parasitic resist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arc Suppression
Arc suppression is the reduction of the electric arc energy that occurs when current-carrying contacts are opened and closed. An electric arc is a man-made, continuous arc-discharge consisting of highly energized electrons and ions supported by an electric current of at least 100mA; not to be confused with an electric spark. Overview Every time an electrical power device (for example: heaters, lamps, motors, transformers or similar power loads) turns on or off, its switch, relay or contactor transitions either from a CLOSED to an OPEN state ("''BREAK''") or from an OPEN to a CLOSED state ("''MAKE''"), under load, an electrical arc occurs between the two contact points (electrodes) of the switch. The temperature of the resulting electric arc is very high (tens of thousands of degrees), causing the metal on the contact surfaces to melt, pool and migrate with the current. The high temperature of the arc causes Dissociation (chemistry), dissociation of the surrounding gas molecules c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Temperature Coefficient
A temperature coefficient describes the relative change of a physical property that is associated with a given change in temperature. For a property ''R'' that changes when the temperature changes by ''dT'', the temperature coefficient α is defined by the following equation: :\frac = \alpha\,dT Here α has the dimension of an inverse temperature and can be expressed e.g. in 1/K or K−1. If the temperature coefficient itself does not vary too much with temperature and \alpha\Delta T \ll 1, a linear approximation will be useful in estimating the value ''R'' of a property at a temperature ''T'', given its value ''R''0 at a reference temperature ''T''0: :R(T) = R(T_0)(1 + \alpha\Delta T), where Δ''T'' is the difference between ''T'' and ''T''0. For strongly temperature-dependent α, this approximation is only useful for small temperature differences Δ''T''. Temperature coefficients are specified for various applications, including electric and magnetic properties of materials a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varistor
A varistor (a.k.a. voltage-dependent resistor (VDR)) is a surge protecting electronic component with an electrical resistance that varies with the applied voltage. It has a nonlinear, non- ohmic current–voltage characteristic that is similar to that of a diode. Unlike a diode however, it has the same characteristic for both directions of traversing current. Traditionally, varistors were constructed by connecting two rectifiers, such as the copper-oxide or germanium-oxide rectifier in antiparallel configuration. At low voltage the varistor has a high electrical resistance which decreases as the voltage is raised. Modern varistors are primarily based on sintered ceramic metal-oxide materials which exhibit directional behavior only on a microscopic scale. This type is commonly known as the metal-oxide varistor (MOV). Varistors are used as control or compensation elements in circuits either to provide optimal operating conditions or to protect against excessive transient voltage ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Resistor
A resistor is a passive two-terminal electronic component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit element. In electronic circuits, resistors are used to reduce current flow, adjust signal levels, to divide voltages, bias active elements, and terminate transmission lines, among other uses. High-power resistors that can dissipate many watts of electrical power as heat may be used as part of motor controls, in power distribution systems, or as test loads for generators. Fixed resistors have resistances that only change slightly with temperature, time or operating voltage. Variable resistors can be used to adjust circuit elements (such as a volume control or a lamp dimmer), or as sensing devices for heat, light, humidity, force, or chemical activity. Resistors are common elements of electrical networks and electronic circuits and are ubiquitous in electronic equipment. Practical resistors as discrete components can be composed of various compounds and forms. Resisto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transient Voltage Suppressor
A surge protector, spike suppressor, surge suppressor, surge diverter, surge protection device (SPD), transient voltage suppressor (TVS) or transient voltage surge suppressor (TVSS) is an appliance or device intended to protect electrical devices in alternating current (AC) circuits from voltage spikes with very short duration measured in microseconds, which can arise from a variety of causes including lightning strikes in the vicinity. A surge protector limits the voltage supplied to the electrical devices to a certain threshold by short-circuiting current to ground or absorbing the spike when a transient occurs, thus avoiding damage to the devices connected to it. Key specifications that characterize this device are the clamping voltage, or the transient voltage at which the device starts functioning, the Joule rating, a measure of how much energy can be absorbed per surge, and the response time. Definitions The terms ''surge protection device'' (''SPD'') and ''transien ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
