ON THE CALCULATION OF CONDUCTIVITY OF ELECTRICAL CONTACT JOINTS WITH INTERMEDIATE LIQUID METALLIC MEDIUM

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Authors

V.V. IZMAILOV, Dr. Sc., A.A. MITYUREV, Cand. Sc.

Abstract

The results of a theoretical and experimental study of the contact interaction of solid contact parts of electrical devices through an intermediate liquid metal (LM) medium based on gallium and its eutectic alloys are presented. LM-media intended for fixed and sliding electrical contacts and having the following compositions (% by mass are indicated): GaIn (77.5 % Ga / 22.5 % In); GaInSn (62 % Ga / 25 % In / 13 % Sn). A formula for calculating the contact resistance of liquid metal contacts (LMC) is obtained, taking into account the parameters of the microgeometry of the rough surface of the contact parts and the nominal contact pressure for plastic and elastic contacts. A description is given of the design of an installation for studying the electrical conductivity of rough surfaces through an intermediate LM-medium. Comparison of the theoretical and experimental values of the electrical resistance of the LMC showed their satisfactory agreement.

Keywords

surface microgeometry, roughness parameters, electrical contact, liquid metal contact, electrical contact resistance.