Dynamic response of electrical contact resistance (ECR) under structural vibration (Q6576341)

The authors examine the dynamic electrical contact resistance (ECR) response of an electrical connector under structural vibration using a nonlinear model of the overall system's structural dynamics combined with an analytical ECR model.\N\NThe electrodes' contact is modeled with a lower hemispherical electrode fixed on the bottom surface, while the upper electrode is flat and connected to a vibrating structure with given stiffness and damping coefficients. This structure performs a sinusoidal vibration with a predetermined frequency value.\N\NIn addition, the work takes in consideration the rise in temperature on electrodes due to frictional heat generation at the contact area.\N\NThe relevant equations are presented, which finally allow for the calculation of the ECR response under structural vibration.\N\NResults of the analytical simulation are presented and discussed. A structural vibration of 100 Hz with a surface displacement amplitude of 3 nm is applied to an electrical connector system, and the dynamic ECR response is analyzed with respect to structural stiffness and damping ratio. It appears that at the onset of structural vibration, the system exhibits a high-frequency response with large amplitude variation that decays with time. It is also observed that the magnitude of ECR fluctuation decreases with the structural stiffness and damping ratio. For the tested range of structural properties, the ECR fluctuation is more sensitive to stiffness than the damping ratio.