The Design of a Fretting Contact Resistance Testing System

The testing system presented in this paper can simulate the connector fretting process by means of controlling the relative movements between mated contacting members of a connector, measuring dynamically the contact resistance during the fretting, and observing the fretting effect on electric contact performance. It extends the essential testing methods in the research of fretting electric contact failure. The system consists of a fretting stage, a load applying device, a contact resistance testing device and a computer with the controlling software console. It can test a maximum of 8 coupons at one time and adjust controlling parameters according to actual need. The fretting stage driven by piezoelectricity has the advantage of a high displacement resolution and speed response, no electromagnetic disturbance, no friction and low energy consumption. The contact resistance test system has the advantage of high resolution and acquisition speed via the DAQ card, which acquires the voltage with 18 bit and multicenter difference input and improves the measurement precision.