Electrical contact resistance endurance of AgNi10 alloy under fretting wear: Experiment and numerical prediction

Fretting wear is an essential factor affecting electrical contact resistance (ECR) endurance. In this paper, fretting wear experiments are conducted on AgNi10 with various fretting amplitudes and normal forces. The relationship between the ECR endurance and wear volume is established. Based on the experimental results, a numerical approach is proposed to predict the ECR endurance under fretting wear conditions. A three-dimensional fretting wear model is established by utilizing the commercial software ABAQUS. The elastoplastic constitutive model of AgNi10 alloy is taken into consideration. The calculation of the wear profile and wear volume is based on an energy dissipation wear model through the UMESHMOTION subroutine. The ECR endurance is then predicted by using the wear volume from the simulation. The validation of the proposed numerical approach is conducted by comparing the numerical results of the wear profile, wear volume, and ECR endurance with the experimental data. It indicates that this combined experimental and numerical approach can provide accurate predictions on the ECR endurance under various fretting wear conditions.