Experimental study of the conducting spots in aluminum contact interfaces

Author

Runde, Magne ; Hodne, Elin ; Tøtdal, Bård

Author_Institution

Norwegian Electr. Power Res. Inst., Trondheim, Norway

Volume

13

Issue

4

fYear

1990

fDate

12/1/1990 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1068

Lastpage

1073

Abstract

Experimental results from a study of contact spots in aluminum-aluminum interfaces that have passed heavy direct currents are reported. The size, shape and appearance of the spot fractures were found to be correlated to the surface roughness and to the recorded voltage and resistance characteristics. Rough contact surfaces caused irregularly shaped contact spots to develop, while high and unstable resistances were always associated with large contact spots. The latter observation indicates that the electrical conductivity of the contact spots has been reduced by the electrical stresses

Keywords

aluminium; crack detection; electrical conductivity of crystalline metals and alloys; electrical contacts; mechanical contact; surface topography; Al contact interfaces; Al-Al interfaces; conducting spots; contact spots; electrical conductivity; electrical resistance; electrical stresses; fracture shape; fracture size; irregularly shaped contact spots; rough contact surfaces; spot fractures; surface roughness; voltage; Aluminum; Conductivity; Contacts; Electric resistance; Rough surfaces; Shape; Surface cracks; Surface resistance; Surface roughness; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Components, Hybrids, and Manufacturing Technology, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0148-6411

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/33.62550

Filename

62550