Title :
Effects of composition and age hardening on precious metal electrical contacts
Author :
Pope, L.E. ; Peebles, D.E.
Author_Institution :
Sandia Nat. Labs., Albuquerque, NM, USA
Abstract :
A pin-on-plate experimental configuration was used to evaluate two different palladium-alloy pins (ASTM B540 and ASTM B563) sliding on a gold-alloy plate (ASTM B541) age-hardened at two temperatures. For all combinations of test conditions except the higher-palladium-content alloy (ASTM B563), two stages of wear were observed: (1) a prow of Au alloy was formed on the palladium-alloy pin, and (2) work hardening and roughening of the wear track occurred with transfer and backtransfer of Au-alloy material. With the higher-palladium-alloy pin, a friction polymer was formed for laboratory air testing. Results of pin-on-plate tests for air, low partial pressures of O/sub 2/, and atmospheric pressure He are reported.<>
Keywords :
electrical contacts; environmental testing; gold alloys; palladium alloys; wear testing; ASTM B540; ASTM B541; ASTM B563; Au alloy plate; O/sub 2/ ambient; Pd alloy pins; age hardening; air; atmospheric pressure He; combinations of test conditions; composition effects; friction polymer; laboratory air testing; pin-on-plate experimental configuration; precious metal electrical contacts; stages of wear; wear track; work hardening; Contact resistance; Copper alloys; Electric resistance; Friction; Gold alloys; Laboratories; Materials testing; Palladium; Surface contamination; Surface resistance;
Conference_Titel :
Electrical Contacts, 1988., Proceedings of the Thirty Fourth Meeting of the IEEE Holm Conference on
Conference_Location :
San Francisco, CA, USA
DOI :
10.1109/HOLM.1988.16117
