Research progress on the characteristics of current-carrying tribology in electrical transmission

The electrical transmission between moving parts requires contact pairs such as rolling rings, sliding rings, connectors, etc. These functional contact pairs can be defined as current-carrying frictional pairs because they need to bear the transmission of current while enduring friction and wear. The rough current-carrying frictional pairs are typical contact surface withstands the load of force, heat, and electricity, resulting in the unique contact characteristics of the current-carrying pair. The research progress of current-carrying tribology has been reviewed in this paper. The correlation mechanism between tribological performance and current-carrying performance has been summarized. The composite and competitive relationship between mechanical damage and electrical damage has been discussed. Methods for evaluating the dynamic performance of current-carrying tribology has been proposed. The spatiotemporal non-uniformity of current-carrying frictional damage has been revealed. Future research trends are expected at the end.