Numerical Simulation and experimental verification for Contact Spot Temperature and Electrical Contact Resistance of Rivet contacts

The electrical contact resistance and contact spot temperature of rivet contacts have closely relationship with the reliability and electrical life of any electrical connections within the electrical engineering. In this paper, finite element model of sphere-flat type and sphere-sphere type rivet contacts are built by using COMSOL Multiphysics software. Furthermore, the transient process of electrical contact resistance and contact temperature of stationary contacts are simulated by taking account of film resistance on the contact surface. Moreover, a test rig and a test method have been described that make it possible tomeasure the electrical contact resistance and temperature within the rivet contact simultaneously. The integrated simulation model including the holders of the contacts and thermocouple elements are introduced in order to verify the experimental results. Finally, correlation between contact resistance and contact spot temperature with different contact force and current levels are investigated explicitly.