Effect of contact pressure and plating materials on maximum temperature, voltage drop, and losses of copper conductor joints

This paper reports investigation results on the effects of silver and nickel plating on the contact surface in improving the contact performance in copper conductors. The effect of the pressure on the contact was also investigated. The current used in the investigation is AC current with magnitude of up to 350 A. The measured parameters were maximum temperature, voltage drop, and losses on the contact. Contact resistance was measured using micro ohmmeter and contact temperature was measured using infra red thermometer. The plating reduced the contact temperature significantly. Under AC current of 350 A, conductor without contact/joint the steady state temperature was 50°C. For conductor with joint steady state temperature was 55°C for uncoated contact and 55°C for nickel coated contact. The contact temperature reduced to 50°C for silver coated contact. This value is the same as conductor without joint. Conductor joint with silver plating having lower losses about 32% than conductor joint without plating and conductor joint with nickel plating having lower losses about 23% than conductor joint without plating.