1、Designation: B539 02 (Reapproved 2013)Standard Test Methods forMeasuring Resistance of Electrical Connections (StaticContacts)1This standard is issued under the fixed designation B539; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or, in the case of revision
2、, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. Asuperscript epsilon () indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1. Scope1.1 These test methods cover equipment and techniques formeasuring the resistance of static electrical conne
3、ctions such aswire terminations or splices, friction connectors, solderedjoints, and wrapped-wire connections.1.2 Measurements under two distinct levels of electricalloading are described. These levels are: (1) dry circuit, (2) andrated current. One or both of these levels of loading may berequired
4、in specific cases.1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to become familiarwith all hazards including those identified in the appropriateMaterial Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for this
5、product/materialas provided by the manufacturer, to establish appropriatesafety and health practices, and determine the applicability ofregulatory limitations prior to use.2. Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2B542 Terminology Relating to Electrical Contacts and TheirUseE122 Practice for Calcul
6、ating Sample Size to Estimate, WithSpecified Precision, the Average for a Characteristic of aLot or Process3. Terminology3.1 Definitions:3.1.1 See Terminology B542 for definitions of contactresistance, film resistance, and constriction resistance.3.1.2 bulk resistance, nthe resistance a contact asse
7、mblywould have if it were solid metal of an identical geometry sothat the nominal contact area offered zero resistance. Whenmeasuring contact resistance one attempts to include as littlebulk resistance as possible in the measurement, by placingmeasuring probes as close to the contact interface as pr
8、actical.3.1.3 connection resistance, nthe resistance from the ter-mination point on one end of a device containing staticcontacts, through the contacts to the termination point on theother end of the device. The termination point is the location ona terminal of a device where a wire or printed circu
9、it pathelectrically connects to the terminal. This resistance is thevalue of resistance displayed by the device in a circuitapplication.3.1.3.1 DiscussionThe term contact resistance is oftenused in commercial literature to indicate the connection resis-tance displayed by the device in a standard app
10、lication. In themore rigorous usage of contact resistance, the connectionresistance is the sum of the contact resistance plus the bulkresistance of leads within the device that go to the staticcontacts from the point that the leads are connected to theexternal circuitry. Measurement of contact resis
11、tance indepen-dent of all bulk resistance is very difficult for most commercialdevices.3.1.4 dry circuit, na circuit in which the open-circuitvoltage is less than or equal to 20 mV. Current is usually lowin a dry circuit, but a low-current circuit is not necessarily adry circuit. When the applied vo
12、ltage (open-circuit voltage)istoo low to cause any physical changes in the contact junction,such as break-down of thin insulating films or softening ofcontact asperities, the circuit is said to be a dry circuit.3.1.5 open-circuit voltage, nthe steady-state voltagewhich would appear across the contac
13、ts if they were opened.3.1.6 static contacts, nelectric junctions designed forinfrequent separation and connection, and intended to performtheir function only when contacting members are stationaryrelative to each other. This definition includes crimped,welded, brazed, riveted, or soldered joints; f
14、riction connectionssuch as pin and socket connectors or taper pins, twisted-wiresplices; and connections made with screws, or bolts and nutsbetween electrical wiring and components. The definitionexcludes relay contacts, slip rings and commutators, andswitches and circuit breakers.1These test method
15、s are under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee B02 onNonferrous Metals and Alloys and are the direct responsibility of SubcommitteeB02.11 on Electrical Contact Test Methods.Current edition approved Aug. 1, 2013. Published August 2013. Originallyapproved in 1970. Last previous edition approved in 200
16、8 as B539 02 (2008).DOI: 10.1520/B0539-02R13.2For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org. For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information, refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.Copyright ASTM I
17、nternational, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United States13.2 Descriptions of Terms for Levels of Electrical Loading:3.2.1 dry circuit, nThis method provides for measurementof contact resistance under very low levels of electricalexcitation, with applied volta
18、ges and currents selected to be toolow to cause breakdown of thin oxide films or other contami-nates in the contact interface or to cause formation of metallicbridges across the interface where none may otherwise exist.Dry circuit testing is intended to determine whether the testcontact will functio
19、n properly in circuits of arbitrarily lowlevels of electrical excitation. Dry circuit testing proceduresshould be used when the possibility of films or contaminants inthe contact interface exists or when the test sample is ulti-mately intended for use in a low-level circuit. This testing mustprecede
20、 other tests on the same samples at high levels ofelectrical loading.3.2.2 rated current, nThe rated current for a static contactdevice is determined or specified by the vendor or user of thedevice. The rated current may be large enough to causesignificant heating of the test samples. When rated cur
21、rentmeasurements of contact resistance are required, using eitherac or dc test currents, the procedures outlined for temperaturestabilization in 9.5.3 must be followed.4. Summary of Test Methods4.1 The test methods described herein are characterized asfour-terminal resistance measuring techniques, w
22、herein a mea-sured and controlled test current is introduced into the sampleusing two“ terminals” or connecting points, and two otherpoints are selected on the sample across which a voltage dropis measured. This voltage drop, divided by the test current, isthe effective overall resistance of the sam
23、ple included betweenthe voltage probes. The voltage-measuring points are chosen soas to measure as closely as possible the voltage drop due onlyto the contact resistance of the sample and to eliminate fromthe measurement as much as possible the resistance of themetal pieces comprising the contact an
24、d the resistance of thewires and connections used to introduce the test current into thesample.4.2 Two different levels of test current are specified. Thechoice of which level to use is governed by the application andrequirements of the electrical connection being tested. Elec-tronic signal-circuit
25、connections may require low-level (dry-circuit) testing, whereas power-handling wire connectorsshould be tested at rated current.4.3 Either ac or dc test currents may be used, with appro-priate instrumentation.5. Significance and Use5.1 As stated in Terminology B542, contact resistance iscomprised o
26、f a constriction resistance and a film resistance.When present, the latter of these is usually much greater invalue and dominates the contact resistance. For a given contactspot, when the film resistance is zero or negligible the contactresistance for that spot is nearly the same as the constriction
27、resistance and therefore, as a practical matter, has a minimumvalue which represents a clean metal-to-metal contact spot. Asreal contact surfaces exhibit varying degrees of roughness, realcontacts are necessarily composed of many contact spots whichare electrically parallel. In practical cases the c
28、lean metal-to-metal contact spots will carry most of the current and the totalcontact resistance is primarily dependent on the size andnumber of metallic contact spots present (see Note 1). Inaddition, acceptably low values of contact resistance are oftenobtained with true areas of contact being sig
29、nificantly less thanthe apparent contact area. This is the result of having a largenumber of small contact spots spread out over a relatively largeapparent contact area.NOTE 1The term metallic contact as used here is intended to includethe so called quasi-metallic contact spots as well. The latter c
30、ase wasdiscussed in Electric Contacts by Holm.35.2 The practical evaluation and comparison of electricalconnections depend in large part on their contact resistancecharacteristics. On the one hand, the absolute value of contactresistance is greatly dependent on the amount of metalliccontact establis
31、hed and indicates initially how efficient thesystem is in producing areas of metallic contact. On the otherhand, a comparison of the initial resistance to the resistanceafter aging indicates how stable the system is in maintainingthe initial contact area. Both of these characteristics should beconsi
32、dered when evaluating contact systems. The criteriaemployed in evaluating contact resistance and stability are nota part of these test methods as they depend on specificapplications and therefore, will not be quantitatively stated.However, an estimate of contact resistance3resulting fromgood metalli
33、c contact can be made for a given physicalsituation and used as a comparison to actual measurements todetermine how effective the system is in establishing stablemetallic contact. Resistances measured by these methodsbefore, during and after simulated life tests are used as a meansof determining the
34、 stability of contacts within a device.6. Interferences6.1 Measurement of Low Resistance:6.1.1 Contact resistances are normally very small, rangingfrom microohms to a few milliohms in cases of practicalinterest. The measurement of resistance in this range requiresspecial techniques to eliminate effe
35、cts of thermal potentials,external interference, and resistance of connections and wiresleading to the test sample.6.1.2 The resistance-measuring procedures in these testmethods are four-terminal techniques. Test current in thesample is measured and controlled, and made independent ofthe sample resi
36、stance. Voltage-measuring probes are attachedto the sample so as to eliminate the effects of connections of thesample into the test circuit. If the purpose of the measurementis to determine the contact resistance, the voltage measuringprobes are attached as close as feasible to the static contacts,
37、soas to include as little of the bulk resistance of the sample aspossible in the measurement of the contact resistance.6.1.3 Two wire measurements of resistance are not suitablebecause connections to the sample will contribute part of themeasured resistance, and these may be large, unknown, andvaria
38、ble.3Calculations and formulae for contact resistance of various types of contacts arecovered very thoroughly in Holms Electric Contacts, 4th Edition, Springer-Verlag,New York.B539 02 (2013)26.1.4 Because the resistance being measured is often in themicroohm or milliohm range, and it is determined b
39、y measur-ing the potential across the static contacts, the value of thepotential is often in the microvolt or millivolt range. As aresult, thermal potentials may be significant in relation to thepotential being measured and appropriate measures are re-quired to cancel or eliminate their effects.6.1.
40、5 In the dry circuit method, high potential may change aresistance by breaking down a film. Appropriate caution isrequired to obtain valid dry circuit resistance measurementsincluding limiting the open circuit voltage of the measuringapparatus that is connected to the device under test.6.2 ac Versus
41、 dc Measurements:6.2.1 Either method described herein can be used with ac ordc test currents, with appropriate changes in instrumentation tocorrespond with the power supply. The methods are describedas using dc test currents, and the following comments applywhen ac is used.6.2.2 ac measurements shou
42、ld be expressed as RMS unlessotherwise defined in the test report. Take appropriate measuresto isolate the measurements from stray signals, especially sixtyhertz power line noise. Commercial resistance measuringinstruments that use ac test currents generally are suitableproviding that they meet othe
43、r requirements of the standard.7. Apparatus and Test Circuits7.1 Fig. 1 shows the basic arrangement of a four wire circuitfor measuring. In the illustration, the measured resistance is theresistance between the points where the voltmeter is attached tothe test specimen, that is, between the points o
44、f V1 and V2. Themeasured resistance includes the contact resistance at thecontact between the two rounded points and the bulk resistanceout to the point where the voltage probes touch the testspecimen. To measure connection resistance, move the voltageprobes away from the contact point to the very e
45、nd of eachcontact member where the current leads are attached. Toattempt to measure contact resistance, move the voltage probesas close as possible to the contact point. The equipmentconsists of the following elements:7.1.1 Power SupplyA supply capable of providing therequired current and, in the ca
46、se of the dry circuit measurementcapable of limiting the current to 100 milliamps and the opencircuit voltage to 20mV. The supply may be dc or ac, but thevoltage measuring device must match the type of current fromthe supply.7.1.2 Voltmeters and ammeters built into power suppliesmay or may not meet
47、the requirements of these methods withrespect to accuracy or precision. External metering should beused when necessary.7.1.3 Both output terminals of the dc supply must beisolated from the power line, the case of the supply, and thebuilding ground. This prevents “ground loops” or undesiredconnection
48、s through ground, between the power supply andother measuring instruments (such as an electronic voltmeter)attached to the sample.7.1.4 The maximum current required in the power supplycan be estimated from Table 1, which gives rated currents forvarious wire-size terminations according to Military sp
49、ecifica-tions.7.1.5 The output current of the power supply should bevariable and readily and accurately adjustable.7.2 Current Measuring Devicea meter, ac or dc, to matchthe power supply current type or suitable alternate measuringcircuitry is needed. The accuracy of the device must be 1 % orbetter of the measured current. Some power supplies includemeasurement capability of sufficient accuracy. An externalarrangement of a calibrated fixed resistor wired in series withthe test current and a voltmeter across the resistor is suitableprovided that it achieves the accuracy r
