The effect of electrical joint compound on the life of aluminum power connector

Electrical power connectors are usually used in severe outdoor environment, so it is unavoidable for connector materials to be corroded to degrade the contact resistance. Electrical joint compounds are covered on contact surfaces to prevent power connectors from corrosion and to keep the contact resistance low and stable. To evaluate the effect of a kind of electrical joint compound on the aluminum power connectors, a reduced torque of bolts was selected and an alternating temperature cycling test was set up. The contact resistance of both aluminum connectors with and without electrical joint compound was detected every fixed time interval. The life degradation curves of connectors were fitted by the least square method. Arrhenius model was used to predict the life of connectors with and without electrical joint compound. The effect of electrical joint compound on connector reliability was discussed.