Metallurgic and contact resistance studies of sleeve connectors in aluminum cable splices

Two types of sleeve connector used in aluminum cable splices were examined after being tested in a series of accelerated aging experiments. The connectors differed in working principle as well as design. Diagnostic techniques such as optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray analysis were applied to reveal the microstructure of the contact. The observations correlate well with measurements of the contact resistance. Corrective measures are suggested to improve the performance of the cable splices.