Fretting corrosion of lubricated tin‐plated contacts

PurposeThe objective of this paper is to study the effect of a commercial lubricant, which contains a 50‐50 mixture of zinc diamyldithiocarbamate and petroleum oil, on the fretting corrosion of tin‐plated copper alloy contacts.Design/methodology/approachThe change in contact resistance as a function of fretting cycles was used to assess the effectiveness of the lubricant in preventing the fretting corrosion of tin‐plated contacts. The surface profile, surface roughness, extent of fretting damage and extent of oxidation of the contact zone were assessed by a laser scanning microscope and surface analytical techniques to correlate the change in contact resistance with fretting cycles.FindingsThe lubricant film provides a surface coverage of 6.76±1 mg/cm2 and it easily establishes metallic asperity contact between the mated tin‐plated contacts. The contact resistance of lubricated contacts remains stable for several thousand fretting cycles. Lubricated contacts reach a threshold value of 0.1 Ω around 100,000 cycles, whereas unlubricated contact reaches this value around 13,500 cycles itself. For lubricated contacts, the extent of mechanical wear of the tin coating is significantly reduced. As a result, they experience a lesser damage at the contact zone and exhibit a smoother profile. The formation of tin oxide is not appreciable and there is no oxide accumulation at the contact zone even at 380,000 cycles. The lubricant is very effective in delaying the fretting wear during the initial stages and in preventing the oxidation and accumulation of oxidation products at the contact zone in the later stages.Originality/valueMetallic dialkyldithiocarbamates are useful anti‐wear and extreme pressure additives for lubricating oils. Dithiocarbamates improve the antioxidant properties of the lubricants and are effective in reducing the wear and increasing the friction‐reducing and load‐carrying ability of the base stock. The use of molybdenum dithiocarbamate as a grease additive is found to be effective in reducing fretting corrosion of ball bearings under random rotary vibrating conditions. The effect of dithiocarbamate containing lubricant oils or greases on the fretting corrosion of electrical contacts has not far been studied. The paper explores the effect of a lubricant that contains a 50‐50 mixture of petroleum oil and zinc diamyldithiocarbamate on the fretting corrosion of tin‐plated contact.