Characteristics of Overheated Electrical Joints due to

Loose Connection
Xin Zhou, Senior IEEE Member Thomas J. Schoepf, Senior IEEE Member
Innovation Center Innovation Center
Eaton Corporation Eaton Corporation
Pittsburgh, PA Milwaukee, WI
USA USA
xinzhou@eaton.com thomasjschoepf@eaton.com

Abstract - Overheated electrical joints due to loose 100 A up to 5000 A. The tightening torque of the busbars
connection are often precursors of electric fires, arc faults, bolts (responsible for the contact force), the amplitude of the
and arc flash in electrical systems. load current (indicating the electrical stress level), and the
This paper is about the formation mechanism and behavior sizing of the joint (proper design for the level of stress) were
characteristics of loose connection induced overheated found to have a major impact on the time it takes to form an
electrical joints. Specific experiments were conducted on overheated contact.
busbar joints and systems with currents ranging from 100 A
up to 5000 A. The lead time of the overheated contact
formation is significantly impacted by the tightening torque 2. Experimental Setup
of busbar bolts, the amplitude of current, and the proper
sizing of electrical joints. The investigations were conducted on two different types of
bolted connections to cover a wide current range:
Key words: Loose connection, overheated contact, electrical
• 250-A-Panelboard-Busbar (Fig. 1), and
fire, arc fault, arc flash, electrical system
• 3000-A-Medium-Voltage-Switchgear-Busbar
(Fig. 3).
1. Introduction
Loose connections in electrical systems may be precursors T1 thermocouples is clamped
to arc faults and electrical fires. They may not only cause Thermocouples between the bolt washer and
equipment damage, but also lead to personal injuries and the short busbar
AC Power Supply
even the loss of life. Numerous investigations have been Short busbar
conducted with respect to overheated electrical connections
I
due to loose connection, corrosion, current cycling, and V Bolt
Acoustic Sensor
thermal cycling [1]-[15]. Overheated electrical joints not
only occur in residential applications [1]-[6], [14], but also T4 T3 T2 T1
in commercial and industrial applications [3], [8]-[10], [15].
Most common practice in industry to prevent overheated Loose
electrical joints from escalating into arcing faults, arc flash Long busbar connection
or electrical fire is preventive maintenance through Data Recorder
regular(e.g. annual) thermal scanning and re-torque of the
connection bolts. Thermocouples were also used to monitor
temperature in the vicinity of electrical joints [10]. Figure 1: Test setup of loose connection thermal test using a
Technologies have been previously investigated to detect 250-A-panelboard
loose electrical connections using acoustic sensing and
reflectometry [16]-[19]. The often-encountered perception
that a loose connection immediately turns into an overheated
contact interface doesn’t prove correct in every case. In A loose connection was established by reducing the
fact, a loose connection in the context of the investigated tightening torque of the bolt below the specified value close
busbar joints can still provide good electrical contact for a or equal to zero (see next section for details). The
period of time before its contact temperature starts to rise. temperature at different locations in the vicinity of the
In this paper, the formation mechanism and characteristics connection under test was measured with thermocouples
of loose connection induced overheated contact interfaces (Figures 1, 2). An acoustic sensor, such as described
will be discussed in detail employing acoustic signal and previously in [16] was placed onto the busbar to pick-up the
temperature measurement. Specific experiments were acoustic signal induced by the overheated contact interface
conducted on busbar joints with currents ranging from from the loose connection. In the event of overheating, i.e.

978-1-61284-651-4/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE

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melting contact interface of the busbar connection, an
acoustic signal is generated, which can be detected by an
acoustic sensor as reported previously by the authors in
[16]-[17], [19].
2.1. Panelboard
A loose connection was created between one of the short
stab busbars and one of the 3-phase long busbars as shown
in Figure 1. A low voltage and high current AC power
supply was used in this test.
The bolt tightening torque for the busbar’s current rating of
250 A is 30 in-lb. The current for all tests was kept at 100 A.
The tightening torque was adjusted according to Table I.
2.2. Medium voltage busbar connection
The second set of tests was conducted on medium voltage
switchgear busbar connections rated for 3000 A. In order to
study the thermal behavior of loose joints, the tightening
torque of the two bolts connecting the cable connector to the
busbar was reduced from its initial value of 40 in-lb to zero.
At zero torque, the cable connector was still electrically
connected with the busbar due to a contact force greater than
zero induced by the weight of the cables.
Again a low voltage and high current AC power supply was
employed for this test. The test current was set at
3000 Aand 5000 A, respectively. Both the temperature at
the joints and the time leading to an overheatedcontact
interface was recorded.

Table I: Thermal test parameters for panelboard

T - thermocouple is MV Switchgear
AC Power Supply taped onto the busbar
Tightening torque (in-lb) 30 24 18 12 6
Phase A
Test duration(day) 1 1 1 1 43
Phase B
I
Bolt Phase C
The test ran for about 8 hours each day for 43 consecutive T
days. Typical current and temperature profiles over a period Loose
of eight hours are shown in Figure 2. connection

Acoustic Sensor
Data Recorder
Thermocouples
120 70
current
60
(a)
100

80 50
Temperature (C)

temperature 1
Current (A)

60
40 Thermocouple
temperature 2

temperature 3 30
40
Loosened
temperature 4 20
20 bolts
10
0
0
-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Time (hrs)

Figure 2: Example of current and temperature profiles

during an 8-hour testing period
(b)

The temperature gradient around the panelboard busbar joint
was measured with four thermocouples at different locations
on busbar (Figure 1). All sensors were clamped between
bolt washers and the busbar. As shown in Figure 1, Sensor
1 was placed at the location of the loose joint. Sensors 2, 3
and 4 were mounted two inches, eight inches and eleven
inches away from the loose joint, respectively. The acoustic
sensor was mounted on a busbar connected by a cable to one
end of the 3-phase long busbar (see Figure 1).
Figure 3: Temperature rise tests with aloose connection at
one end of a medium voltage switchgear busbar: (a) busbar
connection to the switchgear with acoustic sensor mounted
on the busbar; (b) close-up view of the loose connection at
one end of the busbar
In the case of the medium voltage busbar connection, only
one thermocouple was mounted on the cable connecting

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plate in the vicinity of the loose joint. The acoustic sensor from the bolt,measured minimum temperature rise, as
was mounted directly onto the tested busbar (see Figure3). expected.

Step-increase of temperature
3. Results and Discussions 120 at loose joint 70

The results are presented in the following sections with 100 Current 60
respect to the major parameters impacting the formation of
80 50

Temperature (C)
an overheated contact.

Current (A)
40
60 Temperature 1
Temperature 2 30
3.1. Tightening Torque 40 Temperature 3
20
The electrical joint showed negligible temperature increase 20
Temperature 4

as the tightening torque of the bolt was reduced from 30 in- 10

lb to 12 in-lb during an eight-hour test period as shown in 0
Figure 4. This indicates that even though the connection 0
-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
wasmechanically loose, it still was a good electrical jointat
Time (hrs)
least for some time. Inevitably the contact resistance will
eventually increase and lead to an overheated electrical joint
Figure 5: Current and temperature profiles of the
due to contact phenomena known to loose connections such
panelboard loose connection on day 6
as fretting, corrosion, and oxidation.
At a tightening torque of 6 in-lb, the temperature rise at the
joint increased significantly by about 17 °C. Considering After 19 days of thermal testing, an overheated contact
the time required for an overheated contact interface to interface was formed generatingan acoustic signal (Figures 6
develop, an extended thermal test with tightening torque set and 7). The voltage drop across the overheated contactwas
at 6 in-lbwas carried out. It took about 20 days for the high enough to work against the power supply voltage and
overheated contact to form and generated acoustic signal. pull down the current. The high current, low voltage power
supply employed for this investigation didnot have regulated
constant current output, so the current had to be adjusted
18
manually.
16
Temperature Rise at Joints (C)

Current drop due to possible

Acoustic signal
14 detected
constriction resistance increase
120 70

12 Current
60
100
Temperature 1
10 50
80

Temperature (C)
Current (A)

8 Temperature 2 40
60
Temperature 3 30
6 40
Temperature 4 20
4 20
30 in-lb 24 in-lb 18 in-lb 12 in-lb 6 in-lb 10
Bolt Torque 0
0
-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Figure 4: Average temperature rise (ΔT) during the first 8- Time (hrs)
hour thermal test for different tightening torques
Figure 6:Current and temperature profiles of the panelboard
loose connection on day 19
The first significant temperature rise (ΔT=25 °C) was
noticed right at the joint (temperature sensor 1, Figure 5) on
the 6th day of the 43-day test. No acoustic signal was During day 21, a sudden dramatic decrease of the joint
generated at that time. This indicates deteriozation at the temperature could be observed. This may be due to
contact interface due to oxidation, which led to higher softening of the contact spot caused by the high temperature.
contact interface temperature further accelerating the It produced a larger contact area and consequently led to
oxidation process. Such a temperature riseoccuredfour much lower constriction resistance (see Figure 8). This
times before acoustic signal was generated by anoverheated cycle of significant rise of joint temperature followed by a
contact interface.The thermocouple T4, eleven inches away large decrease of temperature occurred 2 times during the
43-day testing period. During the second cycle, no acoustic

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signal was generated, and the temperature T1 at the loose
joint was below 50 °C. This means that no melting of the
contact spot occured. However, the softening of the
oxidized contact spot led to the collapsing of the contact Acoustic signal
resistance due to large contact surface area or formation of
another contact spot.
Current

Voltage
Acoustic signal

Current

Voltage
Figure 9: Acoustic signal detected on day 21indicating
melting contact spot

Whereas a relatively large swing in temperature

(ΔT1≈20 °C) could be observed at the loose connection , the
Figure 7: Acoustic signal detected on day 19 indicatingthe temperature eleven inches distant to the bolt’s center, T4,
formation of overheated contact spot only registered very small change of about 1 °C. Obviously,
a temperature sensor as distant as T4 will not be able to
detect an overheated joint at the location of T1.

Acoustic signal Step-decrease of temperature

detected at loose joint Table II: Peak temperatures at the loose connection busbar
120 70
surface at different tightening torque levels during the
100
Current
60 thermal test of the panelboard
Temperature 1 50 Tightening torque 30 24 18 12 6
Temperature (C)

80
(in-lb)
Current (A)

Temperature 2 40
60

Temperature 3 Test duration (days) 1 1 1 1 43

30
40
Temperature at the joint 29.2 29.7 30.1 29.5 60.7
Temperature 4 20
20 (°C)
10
0 Detection of overheated No No No No Yes
-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
0
contact
Time (hrs)

Figure 8: Current and temperature profiles of the 3.2. Load Current

panelboard loose connection on test day 21
In order to investigate the effect of load current on the
formation of overheated contacts, high current busbar
jointsofa medium voltage switchgear assembly were
The peak values of temperatures T1 for the panelboard subjected to a thermal test at 3000 A and 5000 A,
busbar connections under thermal test are listed in Table II. repectively. In these cases, the formation of overheated
With tightening torque being reduced to 24 in-lb, 18 in-lb,
contact spots(0 in-lb tightening torque) occuredmuch faster
12 in-lb, the busbar surface temperature did not significantly
than in the ones described in the previous section. At the
rise compared to that at 30 in-lb torque during the the first 8- rated current of 3000 A, it took 25 minutes to form
hours test. However, the temperature had noticibly anoverheated contact interface.The temperature at the
increased to 41 °C when the torque was reduced to 6 in- busbar joint reached 56 °Cat that time, which is 7 °C higher
lbduring the first 8-hour test. The temperature at T1 at the than that of a fully tightenedbusbar joint(30 in-lb).
time of acoustic signal appeared (again indicating an
However, when the current was increased to
overheated contact interface) reached 60.7 °C during the 43 5000 A,acoustic signal was generated by an overheated
days of thermal test. contact spot within 5 minutes after the current was switched
on. The temperature at the busbar joint reached only

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36 °Cwhen acoustic signal ocurred and was still rising.
This is much lower than that of a fully tightened busbar joint
at rated torque and current. A comparison between the
medium voltage busbar thermal tests and the low voltage
panelboard thermal tests isshown in Table III. It must be
emphazised that even though the bolts were completely
loosened (0 in-lb) at the medium voltage busbar thermal
test, there was still contact force exerted due to the weight of
the electrical cables. At these high current levels, the
contact spots may not have been completely oxidized within
such ashort period of time. The reduction of contact force
and the increased constrcition force at the contact interface
most likely led in the end to a molten bridge at the contact
interface.
3.3. Constriction force
As the current passing through the electrical joint increases,
the constriction force across the contact spot increases. The
constrcition force can be expressed by the following
equation [7]:
μ ⋅ I2
Fconstriction =
4 ⋅π
( )
⋅ ln r H ⋅ π / Fc ,
where μ is the permeability of free space (μ=4·π·10-7H/m),
H is the contact material hardness [N/m2], F is the contact
force [N] and I is the current (A).
30
25
Constriction Force (N)
20
15
10
5 and 6 in-lbtightening torque of a busbar joint in a
0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000
Current (A)
Figure 10: Constriction force as a function of current for Cu
contacts
At current level of several hundred amps, the constriction
force is neligible compared to typical contact force levels.
However, the constriction force can be significant when the
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current reaches a few thousand amps. Figure 10 depicts the
constriction force as a function of current. This means that
the constriction force might be able to push the busbar joint
apart against the contact force, increasing the constriction
resistance, and in turn raising the constriction temperature
resulting in the formation of a molten metal bridge.
Table III also lists the time durations leading to detection of
overheated contact interface by the acoustic sensor, the
temperature T1 at the busbar joint at the time of detection,.
At 5000 A, the busbar surface temperature at the busbar
joint was only 36 °Cat the time of detection. The formation
of overheated contact interface occured before the busbar
joint reached its equilibrium temperature. This
demonstrates that improper sizing of busbars and cables, or
too high over-current stress will lead to rapid formation of
overheated contact spots. Whereas at 3000 A, the busbar
surface temperature at the joint was measured 56 °Cat the
time of detection. This is about 7 °Chigher than that
withfully tightened bolts (30 in-lb).
4. Summary and Conclusions
Specific experiments on different types of bolted busbar
jointswere conducted to investigate the formation
mechanism and characteristics of loose connection induced
overheated electrical contacts. The formation of overheated
contact interfacescould experimentally simulated and
confirmed by detecting their acoustic signal propagating
through busbars.
Test results show that the formation of overheated contact
interface is significantly impacted by:
• the tightening torque of the bolts (i.e. contact
forces),
• the load current, and
• the proper sizing of electrical joints.
The time required to form an overheated contact at 100 A
panelboard was about 19 days, whereas it was around 35
minutes at 3000 A for a busbar-cable joint of a medium
voltage system. When the medium voltage busbar system
was subjected to an over-current at 5000 A, the bus-cable
joint formed an overheated contact interface within 5
minutes.
Test results further indicate that a direct temperature
monitoring system to detect overheated electrical jointsis not
an effective measure, unless every single joint is being
monitored.
 Table III: Effect of current and torque on the formation process of loose connections

Test Current Device Tested Status of Loose Time led to detection Temperature at electrical joint when
(A) Connection detection occurred

5000 3000 A MV Completely loose – ~ 5 minutes ~ 36 C

switchgear 0 in-lb
(temperature was still increasing at the
time of detection)

3000 3000 A MV Completely loose – ~ 25 minutes ~ 56 C

switchgear 0 in-lb
(7 C higher than fully tightened joints)

100 250 A rated panel 6 in-lb ~ 3 weeks ~ 60 C

board
(power on 8 hrs per (18 C higher than fully tightened joints)
work day)

5. Acknowledgements [9] B. Chudnovsky, “Degradation of Power Contacts in Industrial

The authors wish to thank all Eaton employees who
contributed to this work. In particular a great many thanks
are due to Mr. Robert Yanniello for numerous fruitful
discussions and his continuous support.
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 Xin Zhou (M’96-SM’03) received the Ph.D. degrees
in Mechanical Engineering from the University of
Minnesota, Minneapolis, in 1995. From 1995 to
1996, he was with Phoenix Solutions Company as a
plasma technology specialist responsible for
developing and designing plasma torch systems for
waste remediation. He is currently a principle
engineer at the Innovation Center of Eaton
Corporation. His research projects include arcing
phenomena, next generation product development in power control and
distribution, optical emission spectroscopy and plasma enhanced material
processing. He is the recipients of both 2008 and 2010 Eaton Innovation
Award. He has 34 patents issued or pending and published over 30 Journal
and conference papers. He is a senior member of IEEE and has served as a
member of various committees of IEEE Holm Conference. He is a
recipient of the IEEE-CHMT Graduate Fellowship Award for Research on
Electric Contacts for 1991-1992. He is also the recipient of both the 1993
and the 2003 IEEE Erle Shobert Prize Paper Award.
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Thomas J. Schoepf received the Dipl.-Ing. (MS) and
Dr. techn. (Ph.D.) degrees in electrical engineering
from the Vienna University of Technology, Austria, in
1991 and 1994 resp. From 1992 to 1994, he was with
the Institute of Switching Devices and High Voltage
Technology at the Vienna University of Technology.
In 1995 he joined Siemens AG, Electromechanical
Components, Berlin, Germany, which later became
Tyco Electronics EC. He was Manager of Material
Engineering before he moved on to Delphi Research Labs, Michigan,
U.S.A. in July 2000. He held the position Chief Scientist and led the
Connection Systems Group. He was R&D Laboratory Manager at Delphi
Mechatronic Systems, Langenlonsheim, Germany from 2005 to 2006. In
Oct. 2006 he accepted his current position as senior manager engineering
technology with Eaton Corp. leading the Power Systems and Architectures
Department of Eaton’s Innovation Center in Milwaukee, USA. He was the
chairman of the committee "Contact Behavior and Switching" of the
German Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information
Technologies (VDE) from 1998 through 2007, and he represented Germany
as a member of the Advisory Group for International Conferences on
Electrical Contacts until he was nominated Honorary Member in June
2008.