First‐Principles Calculations of Material Properties of CuCrZr Alloy Contacts

Abstract

CuCrZr alloy is widely used in vacuum circuit breaker contact materials and high‐speed railroad contact wires, etc. The study of the effect of different Cr and Zr contents on the performance of CuCrZr alloy is of great significance for the improvement of circuit breaker's breaking capacity, as well as the load and structural stability under harsh working conditions. In this paper, the mechanical properties, electronic density of states and thermodynamic properties of CuCrZr solid solution alloys randomly doped by different concentrations of Cr and Zr are comparatively analyzed using first‐principles calculations based on density functional theory. The results show that the alloys with different doping compositions have strong mechanical stability, electrical conductivity, and thermomechanical stability, and the reduction of the Cr/Zr doping concentration ratio can improve the toughness and ductility of the alloys, and the solid solution alloy with the composition of CuCr0.06Zr0.19 has the best machinability. The doping of Cr and Zr can improve the thermal stability of the alloy, Cr and Zr can be used as high‐temperature toughening elements for Cu. © 2024 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC.