1、Designation: B854 98 (Reapproved 2016)Standard Guide forMeasuring Electrical Contact Intermittences1This standard is issued under the fixed designation B854; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision
2、. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. Asuperscript epsilon () indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.This standard has been approved for use by agencies of the U.S. Department of Defense.1. Scope1.1 The techniques described in this guide apply
3、to electri-cal circuits that include one or more electrical contacts indevices such as slip rings, separable connectors, electrome-chanical relays or closed switch contacts. The user shoulddetermine applicability for other devices.1.2 The range of techniques described apply to circuitdiscontinuities
4、 (intermittences) of durations ranging from ap-proximately 10 nanoseconds to several seconds and of suffi-cient magnitude to cause alteration of the circuit function.Extension of the guide to shorter duration events may bepossible with suitable instrumentation. Events of longer dura-tion may be moni
5、tored by techniques for dc measurementssuch as those described in Test Methods B539 or by adaptationof methods described in this guide.1.3 The techniques described in this guide apply to electri-cal circuits carrying currents typical of signal circuits. Suchcurrents are generally less than 100 ma. E
6、xtension of thesetechniques to circuits carrying larger currents may be possible,but the user should evaluate applicability first.1.4 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 f
7、amiliarwith all hazards including those identified in the appropriateSafety Data Sheet (SDS) for this product/material as providedby the manufacturer, to establish appropriate safety and healthpractices, and determine the applicability of regulatory limi-tations prior to use.2. Referenced Documents2
8、.1 ASTM Standards:2B539 Test Methods for Measuring Resistance of ElectricalConnections (Static Contacts)B542 Terminology Relating to Electrical Contacts and TheirUseB615 Practice for Measuring Electrical Contact Noise inSliding Electrical ContactsB878 Test Method for Nanosecond Event Detection forEl
9、ectrical Contacts and Connectors2.2 Other Documents:IEC Publication 512 Test 2e Contact Disturbance3EIA-364-46 Continuity Test Procedure for Electrical Con-nectors43. Terminology3.1 Terms relevant to this guide are defined in TerminologyB542 except as noted in the following section.3.2 Definitions o
10、f Terms Specific to This Standard:3.2.1 intermittence, na transient increase in the voltagedrop across a pair of electrical contacts.4. Significance and Use4.1 This guide suggests techniques to evaluate intermit-tences in a contact pair while it is subjected to simulated oractual environmental stres
11、s. Such measurements are a valuabletool in predicting circuit performance under these stressconditions and in diagnosing observed problems in circuitfunction under such conditions.4.2 This document is intended to provide some generalguidance on the best available practices for detecting,quantifying,
12、 characterizing and reporting short duration inter-mittences in circuits containing electrical contacts. Certainenvironmental stresses such as mechanical shock, vibration ortemperature change may cause intermittences. These measure-ment procedures include methods applicable to contacts oper-ating un
13、der various conditions in testing or in service.4.3 Practice B615 defines methods for measuring electricalcontact noise in sliding electrical contacts. In contrast Guide1This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee B02 on NonferrousMetals and Alloys and is the direct responsibility of Subc
14、ommittee B02.11 onElectrical Contact Test Methods.Current edition approved May 1, 2016. Published May 2016. Originallyapproved in 1998. Last previous edition approved in 2010 as B854 98 (2010)1.DOI: 10.1520/B0854-98R16.2For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, orcontact A
15、STM Customer Service at serviceastm.org. For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information, refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.3Available from American National Standards Institute (ANSI), 25 W. 43rd St.,4th Floor, New York, NY 10036, http:/www.ansi.org.4Available from
16、 Electronic Industries Association, 2001 Pennsylvania Ave NW,Washington D.C. 20006.Copyright ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United States1B854 provides guidance to the various methods for measuringsimilar phenomena in static contacts.5. Appa
17、ratus5.1 General CommentsThe apparatus required varies de-pending upon the technique selected and the parameters (suchas duration and magnitude) of the intermittence that the userwants to detect. In general, the cabling must be capable ofcarrying signals of the speed to be detected in the study, and
18、must be isolated from sources of noise that may cause falseindications.5.2 Special Precautions for Measurements Involving EventsLess than 1 Microsecond in DurationDetection of events ofduration less than 1 microsecond will require special attentionto the wiring of the detection circuits and instrume
19、ntation.Such attention may include using coaxial cable, shielding theapparatus from interferences and minimizing cable lengths.5.3 Specific ApparatusThe apparatus required will varydepending upon the measurement method selected and theenvironmental stresses imposed during the test.6. Procedure6.1 Ge
20、neral CommentsThe following sections describe,in general terms, several methods that have been used to detector measure contact intermittences. The user should select anappropriate method and adapt it as required. Table 1 presents acomparison of the attributes of the various methods. Thefollowing li
21、st covers questions that the user should answerbefore selecting a test method.6.1.1 What is the definition of an intermittence in theintended application? For example, what resistance changeover what time interval constitutes an intermittence, or whaterror occurs if the contact resistance changes, o
22、r what otherdefinition is appropriate for the intended purpose of the testresults?6.1.2 Is it necessary to monitor more than one contactsimultaneously? If so, is it acceptable to connect the contacts inseries? If contacts cannot be connected in series, how manycontacts must be measured simultaneousl
23、y?6.2 Test results should be reported in a format appropriatefor the application and consistent with the format supplied bythe test instrument.6.3 OscilloscopeIn this method, an oscilloscope is wiredto monitor the potential across the contact(s) of interest whilea signal is passed through the contac
24、ts. Standards such as IECPublication 512, Test 2e or EIA-364-46 are often implementedusing this method. Practice B615 provides a specific circuitthat uses this method. Examples of the use of this method areshown in the reference by Currence and Rhoades.56.3.1 Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation
25、of an exampleof how this method may be implemented. In selecting anoscilloscope, choose a model with response time fast enough toobserve events of the duration of interest in the study. The usermay find it convenient to use an oscilloscope capable of storingand printing results.6.4 Custom CircuitryI
26、n this method, the user assemblescircuitry to measure the effects of the intermittences under theconditions of interest. For example, the circuitry may simulatethe type of source and detector circuitry that the user plans todesign into a system. Alternatively, the user may design5Currence, R. and Rh
27、oades, W., “Predicting, Modeling and Measuring TransientResistance Changes of Degraded Electrical Contacts,” Electrical Contacts, Proceed-ings of the 29th Meeting of the Holm Conference on Electrical Contacts, IllinoisInstitute of Technology, p. 81, 1983.TABLE 1 Comparison of Methods of Monitoring E
28、lectrical Contact IntermittencesMethodTypical Numberof ChannelsTypical EventCharacterizationPossibleAdvantagesOscilloscope 1, 2 or 4 V vs time Detailed characterization of each eventCustom Circuitry 1 per circuit Presence or absence of one or more events during apreselected monitoring interval, such
29、 events definedas above a preselected threshold of R and duration,the number of events during the interval may or maynot be recorded.Ability to closely model actual circuit conditions,allows use of various technologies in the transmittingand receiving devicesEvent Detector 1 to 64 Presence or absenc
30、e of one or more events during apreselected monitoring interval, such events definedas above a preselected threshold of R and duration,but the number of events during the interval is notrecorded.Multichannel capability, selection of thresholds forevents to be countedBit Error Rate 1 Ratio of errors
31、to number of bits transmitted The format of the results is readily applicable toranking of interconnection devices with respect totransmission quality for a specific signal formatFIG. 1 Schematic Representation of Oscilloscope MethodB854 98 (2016)2circuitry based on specialized components to achieve
32、 capabili-ties different from those found in commercial instruments. Anexample of custom circuitry was described by Abbott andSchreiber.66.4.1 Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of an exampleof how this method may be implemented. The source anddetector incorporate the specific devices, technolo
33、gy, drivercircuits, amplifiers, etc., that are of interest in the intendedapplication of the connection or switch under test. The controland monitoring instrumentation monitors the performance ofthe connecting circuit by a suitable method such as comparingthe signal received against a standard.6.5 C
34、ommercial Event DetectorIn this method, a commer-cial instrument that detects high resistance events is wired tomonitor one or more electrical contacts under evaluation. TestMethod B878 gives detailed instructions for implementing aspecific version of this method. Certain instruments allowmonitoring
35、 of several electrical contacts independently andsimultaneously. Typically, the instrument has a pair of termi-nals for each channel to be monitored: a transmit terminal anda receive terminal. Each contact to be evaluated is wired into acable that runs from the transmit terminal, through the testcon
36、tact, to the receive terminal. Carefully follow all instruc-tions and recommendations of the instrument manufacturer inmaking these connections.6.5.1 The resistance change and the event duration requiredto trigger the event detector should be set according to theinstructions of the instrument manufa
37、cturer. These levelsshould be selected based on the requirements of the system inwhich the contacts are intended to be used.6.5.2 It is good practice to conduct a control experimentusing similar wiring without the test contact in the circuit. Inthe case where the monitoring instruments have multiple
38、channels available, wiring one or more of the channels as anexperimental control is recommended. This control channel(s)should be wired with cables that are of the same types andlengths as those used for the test channels. The routing of thecable for the control channel(s) should follow the routing
39、of thetest channels as nearly as feasible.6.5.3 If events are detected in a control channel, interferenceis suspected. Events in the control channel invalidate theassociated test.6.5.4 After the contact(s) under test are wired to theinstrument, monitoring may begin. Typically, monitoring con-tinues
40、for a fixed time and the number of events is recorded. Ifthe contacts are stressed, for example, through thermal cyclesor mechanical disturbance, it is appropriate to conduct acontrol experiment where the same contacts are monitored forthe same length of time under the same measurement condi-tions b
41、ut without the imposed external stress.6.5.5 Fig. 3 shows a schematic representation of an exampleof how this method may be implemented. In the instrumentillustrated, each channel has a “send” and “receive” terminal.Aconnection or switch in the device under test is wired into acable connecting the s
42、end and receive terminals for eachchannel. The instrument itself monitors the performance ofeach channel and indicates interruptions on a suitable displayfor each channel.6.5.6 As mentioned in 6.1, test results should be reported ina format appropriate for the application and consistent with theform
43、at supplied by the test instrument. Typically, an eventdetector records if one or more events occurred during a fixedperiod of time, but may not tell how many events occurred ortheir magnitudes above the preset threshold. The report maylist the total number of measurement periods and the number ofpe
44、riods during which events occurred, and any correlationbetween applied environmental stresses and events.6.6 Bit Error Rate DetectorIn this method, a digital signalis passed through the interconnection device under evaluationand into a signal receiving device. The signal received is6Abbott, W. H. an
45、d Schreiber, K. L., “Dynamic Contact Resistance of Gold, Tinand Palladium Connector Interfaces During Low Amplitude Motion,” Proceedingsof Holm Conference, 1981, p. 211.FIG. 2 Schematic Representation of Method Using CustomCircuitryFIG. 3 Schematic Representation of Method Using CommercialEvent Dete
46、ctor with Multiple Channel CapabilityB854 98 (2016)3compared with the signal transmitted, and the number of errorsdetected during a fixed time period is recorded. The ratio of thenumber of errors counted to the number of bits transmitted iscalculated and reported as the bit error rate. Alternatively
47、, onecan count the number of error free seconds of transmissionversus the number of seconds during which an error occurred.6.6.1 The effect of various environmental stresses on per-formance may be evaluated as part of the test. For example, thedevice may be subjected to thermal cycling or mechanical
48、disturbance while the error rate is being monitored.6.6.2 A number of commercial instruments are available toperform the measurement and error rate calculation functions.Some instruments simulate specific signal formats enablingevaluation of interconnection devices with signals typical ofthe applica
49、tion environment. For example, instruments areavailable to simulate DS1 and DS3 signaling formats used intelecommunications.6.6.3 Fig. 4 shows a schematic representation of an exampleof how this method may be implemented. In the instrumentillustrated, the connection or switch in the device under test iswired into a cable connecting the send and receive terminalsfor each channel. The instrument itself monitors the connectionand measures performance for the particular signal or datatransmission format being evaluated.6.6.4 The results may be reported in a number of way
