NRC Information No. 88-98: Electrical relay degradation caused by oxidation of contact surfaces

The NRC staff was recently informed by Clinton Power Station that a reactor scram on June 24, 1988, was caused by an electrical relay failure from oxide buildup on relay contact surfaces. Other information on relay failure from contact oxidation indicates that this problem may be more prevalent than previously thought. For example, a July 17, 1988, 10 CFR Part 21 report from Palo Verde, Unit 2, reported relay failures from contact oxidation that were due to the low current application of the relays. The relay contact surfaces in both of these examples are silver-nickel alloys, and both applications were for low current (i.e., milli-ampere current). Electrical relay contacts made of silver-nickel or silver-cadmium alloys will oxidize (tarnish) when used in low current applications because of the absence of contact surface sparking from the typical relay contact ''making and breaking'' functions. The sparking in the contact surfaces promotes a self-cleaning mechanism that reduces the tarnish buildup on the silver-nickel or silver-cadmium contacts. Discussions with one relay manufacturer revealed that the normal industry practice for low current circuit applications is either to use a contact surface material that will not oxidize or to compensate for the oxidation by increased maintenance activities to ensure reliability. The applied voltage may also influence contact oxidation