Effect of Direction of Motion on Fretting Corrosion Behaviour

The vibrations in the system cause the micro-motions along different directions between the mating members of the electric connectors resulting in the fretting wear, which in turn cause the failure of connector due to fretting corrosion. A lot of work is available on fretting corrosion due to sliding motion along the insertion direction axis. However, the study of influence of motion in the directions perpendicular to the insertion direction on the fretting corrosion is not yet available. The micro-motions in the directions other than the insertion direction can also be a critical factor. Moreover, the motions in different directions result in the pitching and yawing apart from the sliding between mating components of connector. The aim of this study is to compare the effect of relative motion along the three perpendicular axes on the fretting wear and corrosion behaviour so as to identify the influence of the direction of motion. For this purpose, the test apparatus has been modified to enable the motion along the perpendicular axes along with consideration of effect of connector housing and wire.