Effect of elevated temperature on fretting wear under electric contact

The elevated temperature can cause serious failure of electrical contact. The fretting wear behavior of two typical materials (aluminum and silver) and contacts at elevated temperatures (from RT to 300 °C) and normal loads (10 N) is addressed in this paper. The morphology and wear surface was analyses by 3D profile and SEM. The results show that elevated temperature significantly affected the contact resistance. Easily oxidized metal usually have higher ECR value under elevated temperature. Elevated temperature accelerated the formation of oxide film and lead to debris which oxidizes, forming an insulating layer. Metal with good ductility and resistant to oxidation shows lower ECR.