Sliding Electrical Contact Model Considering Frictional and Joule Heating

Abstract

A theoretical model is developed to investigate the sliding electrical contact behavior with the consideration of the electrical-thermal–mechanical coupling effect. The interfacial electrical resistance and electrical constriction resistance are both involved. The Joule heating due to electrical contact resistance and the frictional energy dissipation are considered in the model for the assessment of the temperature rise at the contact interface. A singular integral equation for sliding electrical contact considering both frictional and Joule heat is developed and solved to obtain the contact pressure, current density, and temperature rise. Furthermore, a discrete fast Fourier transform-based boundary element method is applied to obtain the numerical solution of sliding electrical contact. Good agreement is achieved between theoretical and numerical results. After the validation, the effects of potential drop and sliding velocity on sliding electrical contact behavior are investigated. The results indicate that the proposed theoretical model can provide an exact prediction of multi-physics sliding electrical contact behavior.