In this study a comparison between the wear patterns of electrical connectors resulting from two different test types, namely fretting corrosion test and vibration test, is conducted. In both tests, the excitation directions include the mating direction as well as the orthogonal directions corresponding to the mating direction. Different measurement techniques are used to identify similarities and differences between the wear resulting from these test types. The results show fundamentally different critical directions with regard to wear for the respective test types. Furthermore, it is shown that the induced movement of the fretting tests lead to a higher degree of wear than the vibration tests. Also, it is not adequately possible to establish a direct relationship between the induced movement and the excitation amplitude caused by the attached wires since there is a superposition of several movements in the case of real applications.
SOME PARTICULAR ASPECTS OF THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY CONNECTORS
