Comparative Corrosion and Current Burst Testing of Copper and Aluminum Electrical Power Connectors

Author

Frank, Ronald F. ; Morton, Christopher P.

Author_Institution

Canadian Copper & Brass Assoc., Don Mills, Ont.

Volume

43

Issue

2

fYear

2007

Firstpage

462

Lastpage

468

Abstract

Crimped and mechanically bolted aluminum and copper connectors are commonly used for terminating industrial electrical power cables with ratings up to 600 V. Aluminum connectors are available for use with aluminum and copper conductors, and copper connectors are available for use with copper conductor only. The performance of copper and aluminum connectors was compared by conducting accelerated aging under corrosive environmental conditions. The testing consisted of 2000 h of cyclic salt fog environmental exposure, in conjunction with periodic electrical current burst testing. The connectors were evaluated by comparing the change in resistance of the test samples as the test progressed

Keywords

aluminum; conductors (electric); copper; electric connectors; environmental factors; power cable testing; comparative corrosion; copper-aluminum electrical power connectors; current burst testing; cyclic salt fog environmental exposure; industrial power cables; mechanical bolted aluminum; Accelerated aging; Aluminum; Conductors; Connectors; Copper; Corrosion; Electric resistance; Metals industry; Power cables; Testing; Aluminum connector; contact resistance; copper connector; corrosion testing; electrical connector;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Industry Applications, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0093-9994

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TIA.2006.889973

Filename

4132868