Resistance of lug connections and heat generation
Resistance of lug connections and heat generation
(OP)
Hello,
I am a mechanical engineer that is tasked to predict lug metal temperatures of power distribution equipment. I need some type of rough idea on the typical resistances seen at bolted lug connections: For example
Aluminum to copper bolted connections
Copper DLO cable to set screw lugs, all sizes from 373 kcmil up to 646 etc...
Copper to copper bolted connections
I know there are many variables involved in calculating joint resistance. And if I get this wrong please correct me as this is not my field.
Contact area
pressure between faces
surface roughness
temperature
oxidation between faces
current density
frequency
I need a table that can give me a rough idea of resistance for these typical connections.
The purpose of this is to compute heat generation in watts, and eventually apply this as a load in my FEA model as a heat flux upon a face.
If anyone has informtion on this matter, it is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
- D
I am a mechanical engineer that is tasked to predict lug metal temperatures of power distribution equipment. I need some type of rough idea on the typical resistances seen at bolted lug connections: For example
Aluminum to copper bolted connections
Copper DLO cable to set screw lugs, all sizes from 373 kcmil up to 646 etc...
Copper to copper bolted connections
I know there are many variables involved in calculating joint resistance. And if I get this wrong please correct me as this is not my field.
Contact area
pressure between faces
surface roughness
temperature
oxidation between faces
current density
frequency
I need a table that can give me a rough idea of resistance for these typical connections.
The purpose of this is to compute heat generation in watts, and eventually apply this as a load in my FEA model as a heat flux upon a face.
If anyone has informtion on this matter, it is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
- D






RE: Resistance of lug connections and heat generation
Others can offer some other suggestions and comments.
rasevskii
RE: Resistance of lug connections and heat generation
RE: Resistance of lug connections and heat generation
RE: Resistance of lug connections and heat generation
I am not too worried about emissivity due to radiation, that is too fine of a prediction. What I really need is a way to compute resistance at these joints, I can handle the rest of the computation regarding heat generation and dissipation using FEA tools.
Where can I get ANSI data on heat run testing?
RE: Resistance of lug connections and heat generation
RE: Resistance of lug connections and heat generation
RE: Resistance of lug connections and heat generation
Those are for properly tightened joints, which are not cause of the problems. Cause of excessive lug/bus temperatures are loose connections and lack of ventilation/cooling and there is no predicting there.
Rafiq Bulsara
http://www.srengineersct.com
RE: Resistance of lug connections and heat generation
Rafiq Bulsara
http://www.srengineersct.com
RE: Resistance of lug connections and heat generation