Material transfer may change the effective contact distance and/or jam the contacts delaying or even preventing contact opening. These effects can be recorded in an actual relay by measuring the contact force and/or the contact voltage during each operation. Proper recording and evaluation during life tests of relays may indicate the reasons and even the mechanisms of contact failures.
Published in:
Components and Packaging Technologies, IEEE Transactions on
(Volume:27
,
Issue:
1
)
Date of Publication: March 2004