Correlation analysis of brush temperature in brush-type DC motor for predicting motor life

Some critical components of motors and generators have sliding electrical contacts. Electrical brushes are usually used in these contact points to conduct current between the stationary part and the moving part of the motor. In this paper, studies on brush wear against copper commutators are briefly reviewed. The main influential factors in brush wear are associated with both mechanical wear and electrical wear. Brush wear is affected by various factors, including temperature, material properties, sliding speed, contact force, and interfacial as well as environmental conditions. The mechanical wear of brushes is proportional to brush spring pressure and sliding speed, and the electrical wear of brushes is associated with current and contact voltage drop. For characterization, a brush wear test machine is designed, and influential factors, such as electrical contact resistance, temperature, wear mass loss, and so on, are measured. The wear tests are processed using a small brush-type automotive DC motor. The study primarily aims to investigate the effects of the wear behavior of copper-graphite brushes on small brush-typed DC motors. The variable conditions of electrical current are obtained by changing the brush spring pressure and the sliding speed. The results are electrical contact resistance, voltage drop, brush surface temperature rise, and so on. Brush wear is greatly changed by electrical current, which indicates that high current itself not only produces more Joule heating but also causes an increase in voltage drop that will result in additional Joule heating.