Tungsten copper electrode erosion characteristics under high pulse current in water and air

According to the difference between electrode erosion rate and erosion mechanism of pulse discharge in water and that in air, a comparative study of tungsten copper electrode erosion characteristics was carried out under high pulse current. Under the uniform waveform of discharge current, using a high precision balance, the cathode erosion rate, anode erosion rate and total erosion rate of tungsten copper electrode were obtained, and the electrode surface was analyzed by ETD and SSD. The results show that the tungsten copper electrode erosion is more serious in water than in air under high pulse current, the erosion of the tungsten copper electrode is mainly caused by the evaporation of metal. Because the incompressibility of water is higher than air, pulse arc discharge in water is more focused, the current density is higher and the current duration time is longer in water than that in air of arc spot, the high temperature physical and electrochemistry reaction caused by pulse discharge in water, is the main cause which leads electrode erosion more serious in water than in air.