Abstract
This article presents the failure analysis on the contact surface of the electrical relay. The relay contacts are investigated by conducting field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The surface of movable and fixed contact is evaluated before and after failure. The topography of the contact surface is depicted by FESEM which exhibits the roughness with spheres and molten indications comprised of fractures and holes. The EDS facilitates to observe the element composition present at diverse surface conditions such as erosion and protuberance. The intensity of the element present on the surface is evaluated using XRD. The formation of oxides is identified from the peaks of XRD graph. The results have been compared with relay contacts before and after failure which demonstrates that continued usage of electromechanical relay suffers from mechanical destruction and the adulterations resulting in relay failure.
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This work is part of SRMIST Selective Excellence Research Initiative-2021: “DCFCEVB”.
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Mohandoss, T., Robert, F. Investigation of Relay Electrical Contact Failure Using SEM and Surface Composition Extraction with EDS and XRD. Iran J Sci Technol Trans Electr Eng 47, 803–812 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40998-022-00586-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40998-022-00586-2