Mechanisms of wind-induced fretting wear in cylindrical connecting clamps: a combined numerical and experimental study

Abstract

Abstract

Purpose Fretting wear at the contact interface of cylindrical connecting clamps in 10 kV distribution networks under wind-induced vibration is a persistent reliability issue that can accelerate contact degradation and even trigger clamp failure. This study aims to clarify the dominant fretting wear mechanisms and their evolution under wind excitation by combining numerical simulation with laboratory experiments. Design/methodology/approach A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was established in ANSYS FLUENT to simulate the flow field around the conductor–clamp assembly and to characterise vortex shedding (Karman vortex street) and the associated aerodynamic excitation. The resulting vibration-induced stress fluctuations of key clamp components were further evaluated using finite element analysis (FEA) in ANSYS. Fretting wear tests were then conducted on clamp material/contact pairs under controlled sinusoidal excitation at multiple amplitudes (and selected normal loads), with systematic measurement of surface damage, wear morphology and contact performance indicators. Findings The simulations show that wind-induced vibration significantly increases stress fluctuations in the clamp, with the most pronounced response concentrated at the primary contact regions. Experimental results confirm that increasing vibration amplitude aggravates surface damage and wear debris accumulation at the contact interface. With amplitude growth, the prevailing wear mechanism gradually shifts from adhesive-dominated wear to a mixed regime characterised by oxidative wear and fatigue-driven damage, leading to faster deterioration of the contact condition. Originality/value This work provides an integrated CFD–FEA–experiment framework that links vortex-shedding-induced aerodynamic excitation with clamp stress response and fretting-wear evolution. Unlike CFD-only studies that focus on flow-field characteristics, FEA-only studies that analyse contact stress without aerodynamic excitation or purely experimental studies that report wear regimes without a traceable excitation–stress pathway, the proposed framework establishes an explicit and end-to-end linkage from wind-induced flow excitation to structural response and finally to contact-interface damage evolution.