A Mixed-Lubrication Model of an Electrical Contact During Vibration

In many devices or applications, electrical contacts are exposed to vibrations or sliding conditions and are prone to the fretting-based degradation. Thus, lubricants are often employed in such contacts to reduce sliding wear and fretting corrosion. However, due to the non-conductive behavior of the lubricants with fluorocarbons and hydrocarbons, lubricants lead to a few adverse problems. Also, the fluid dynamics upon excitation, vibration or sliding causes extended breaks or gaps in between the conducting surfaces. In reality, this can be noticed during vibrations occurring as a result of earthquakes or technical personnel maintenance. Factors such as surface roughness and fluid viscosity will determine the time taken (in terms of seconds or even longer) for the two surfaces of the connectors to achieve a purely solid conductive contact. In this work, a coupled structural-fluid theoretical model is developed for evaluating such intermittent contact breaks/gaps when two metallic rough surfaces come in contact. The model is capable of predicting the increase in the fluid film as well as the contact resistance change with time due to the possible connector vibration. The experimentally observed rocking vibration mode seen in connectors and the time-dependent squeeze film lubrication effect are also considered.