Frictional Characteristics and Electrical Conductivity of Electrical Sliding Contacts With Circular Grooved Porous Disk Under Lubricated Conditions

Abstract

Abstract In this study, porous materials were applied to the surface materials of electrical sliding contacts to produce long and stable operations. The proposed sliding contacts consist of a rotating circular grooved porous disk and a stationary rider having a spherical surface. We conducted the experimental analysis from two perspectives. The first perspective was to inspect the effect of the design parameters on the electrical conductivity and the frictional characteristics; this was done by performing tests under various loads applied on the sliding contacts. The second perspective was to investigate the durability and stability of the sliding contacts by using the tests for a long operating time under a constant applied load. Our experimental results proved that the porous disk generated a lower and a more stable contact voltage and frictional force than the conventional nonporous solid disk. This effect is significant when a large curvature radius of grooves is provided on the disk surface. These results are attributable to the reduction of the hydrodynamic fluid force by the porous material and the grooves; the porous material yields lower hydrodynamic pressure due to the seepage of the lubricant oil across the interface between the oil film and the porous matrix and the grooves enhance the reduction of the hydrodynamic effect because of oil leakage to the downstream region. These factors reduce the oil film thickness between the disk and rider and facilitate the metal contact, and thereby a porous grooved disk generates higher electrical conductivity than a conventional solid disk.