Fretting wear and reliability assessment of gold-plated electrical connectors

Gold-plated electrical connectors are widely used in power electronic systems to provide high-quality and high-reliability connections. Many studies exist on reliability of gold-plated connector in vibratory environments. Wire-spring and hyperboloid type are however less study. Amplitude is the most basic characteristic of fretting (contact wear), which causes degradation in contact performance and, hence, reliability. Electrical contact resistance (ECR) can be used as an index of contact performance and, in this study; its variations with fretting cycles are investigated. Instantaneous ECR as a function of instantaneous contact position is determined. Surface characterization of the fretted zone is also studied. Based on these analyses, both a contact performance degradation mechanism and degradation equivalent circuit model is proposed. As connector lifetimes follow a Weibull distribution and the Pouf (physics of failure) model, connectors under multiple stresses yielded a generalized Eyeing relationship. Subsequent testing and analyses estimated the reliability of the connectors under fretting conditions.