Evolution of contact performance of industry electrical connector based on reliability accelerated testing

Abstract

The evolution of contact performance of electrical connectors, as an expression of service performance, played a significant role in various electronic equipment or system. However, very few methods had been used to detect the evolution of contact performance effectively and accurately. Hence, in this research, reliability accelerated testing was conducted to investigate the evolution of contact performance of electrical connectors. To detect the evolution of contact performance, contact resistance and friction and wear of the connector were measured using a DC resistance tester and an electron microscope respectively. Also, the effect of external conditions such as ambient temperature, mating speed, mating cycles was statistically investigated, and evolution curves were developed for contact resistance and abrasion loss. The obtained results revealed the temperature and mating speed affected the contact performance of electrical connectors. The increment of temperature reduced the shear strength of material and increased the thickness of oxide film. Increased mating speed greatly increased the probability of fracture of micro-protrusion due to collision, the wear form of connector had realized transition from low-speed adhesive wear to high-speed peeling wear. In addition, when the connector was mated about 3000 cycles, the contact performance of the connector would be greatly decreased.