Electrical joints are necessary for technological and design reasons to connect electric equipment and to realize the transmission of electrical energy by cables and overhead lines. The contact between two current-flown electrical conductors is called electrical joint. One joint type often used is the bolted joint.
To allow a lifetime of this joint of 50 years and longer it is necessary to know the ageing depend on time and temperature. In addition to ageing by force reduction and the chemical reactions / impurity layers at joints with copper und aluminium conductors, the interdiffusion has a great influence at bi-metal joints and joints with plated conductors.
In this work the force reduction was analysed at bolted joints with bus bars made of Cu-ETP (material number CW004A) and CuAg0.1P (material number CW016A) in a temperature range between 105 °C and 160 °C. The joint force and the joint resistance were measured time-depended at current-flown joints up to 2.4 years. Furthermore the influence on the force reduction by different resilient und non-resilient elements in the joint system was tested. There was a minimum static joint force appointed and the force reduction calculated to a lifetime of 50 years. Out of these results a category temperature for these joints was defined.
Additionally the ageing due to interdiffusion at bolted joints with tin and silver plated Cu-ETP bus bars was analysed at the temperatures 115 °C and 140 °C. At joints aged by current-flown and in the heating cabinet the joint resistance was measured time-dependent up to 2 years. These long-term tests were supplemented by microscopic examinations. The thickness of the grown intermetallic compounds was measured and stated.
Additional to the long-term tests the topical knowledge to chemical reactions / impurity layers at copper, silver and tin surfaces was composed and stated.