Surge load experiment design and results analysis of relay
Due to the transient overvoltage or overcurrent when relay's contacts switch different loads, the relay's contacts are damaged by transient arc erosion of electrical-over-stress, which influences the reliability of relay seriously. Firstly, according to the life test requirements of one type of electromagnetic relay with permanent magnets, the load circuit and the testing program are designed, which has characteristic of adjustable surge current time. Secondly, the contacts' breaking arc and closing bounce under 2A resistive load, 5A resistive load and surge load are analyzed. The influence of surge load on relay's electrical life is studied with increasing of test cycles. Finally, based on the testing data, the optimal design of relay has been modified and the results have been analyzed, which is helpful for improving the life of the relay.
Study on Switching Characteristics and Associated Degradation Mechanism of Contact Material Under Capacitive Load
Electrical lifetime and relative dynamic welding failure mechanisms of an electromechanical relay for a capacitive load are interesting topics in the area of switching devices and contact materials. In this paper, a silver tin oxide contact material has been tested with a capacitive load by using our designed novel model switch. The typical waveforms of contact current and contact voltage at making and breaking are presented. Furthermore, the variations in bounce energy, static contact force, dynamic contact force, arc energy, and contact resistance as a function of operation cycles are plotted and analyzed explicitly. In particular, the intermittent long-duration arcing phenomena during breaking are observed and explained with the variations in local contact asperities. Based on the collected sensitive parameters, an associated physical degradation mechanism of contact materials under the capacitive load is proposed.
School Principals and Education Law: What do they know, what do they need to know?
Principals now work in complex and challenging environments where uncertainty and change are the hallmarks of their roles and responsibilities. As such, the knowledge and capability demands on principals have expanded, including those related to education law. While these matters attracted some research interest a number of years ago, there has been little recent work in the area of principals and education law. This article reports on an exploratory study into aspects of the legal knowledge held by Tasmanian government school principals, particularly concerning non-sexual physical contact between teachers and students. The research was undertaken using a small-scale, mixed-methods research design, which required principals to respond to various legal scenarios. Three key findings emerged from the study. First, principals used two different levels of working knowledge about education law  one related to legal problems, and the other to legally-related routine activities. Second, on the particular topic of physical contact, some knowledge held by principals was not legally accurate. Third, for major legal issues, participants indicated that they acquired access to information from legal experts. The situation for routine legal matters was less clear, although in-service training and practical experience were identified as potential sources of knowledge. Participants recognised the importance of a sound knowledge of education law, especially for dealing with security and safety issues and preferred to access further information through in-service training. Notably, the findings of the study are broadly consistent with those from earlier Australian and international research, suggesting that much remains to be done in the area of principals’ education law knowledge.