Effects of temperature on fretting corrosion behaviors of gold-plated copper alloy electrical contacts

• The fretting corrosion behavior of Au-plated copper alloy contacts is studied at various temperatures.
• A higher temperature delays the time before reaching failure and corresponds to a relatively low contact resistance.
• Contacts with higher temperature suffer a severe fluctuation in contact resistance.
• The dual role of the environmental temperature on fretting contact material is analyzed explicitly.

A series of tests on the fretting corrosion behaviors of gold-plated copper alloy electrical contacts in the temperature range of 25~125 °C have been carried out. The typical characteristics of the change in contact resistance average value and intermittent failure rate with fretting cycles are investigated. The results indicate that the vital role of gold coating is softening and lubricating contact surface. The contacts at higher temperature delay the time before reaching a threshold value (100 mΩ) of contact resistance. However, higher temperature aggravates oxidative wear of substrate copper alloy material after coating has worn out. Based on the change in contact resistance, surface analytical techniques and thermal equilibrium principle, the degradation mechanisms of contacts under different temperatures are proposed.