Achieving (and maintaining) electrical …实现(和保持)电u2026.pdfVIP

Achieving (and maintaining) electrical connection tightness Reliability depends upon the integrity between conductors Figure 1. Two basic types of bolted connection, in which fastener tighten- ing torque should be carefully controlled. At (a), fasteners clamp the con- necting wires directly. At (b), the tightening torque acts instead on con- ducting surfaces of the hardware and terminal lug. By Richard L. Nailen, P.E., EA Engineering Editor AN A CONNECTION BE TOO TIGHT? YES AND no. Supposedly, someone once asked Abraham C Lincoln, “How long should a man’s legs be?” His answer: “Long enough to reach from his body to the ground.” Along that same line, one might ask, “How tight should an electrical connection be?” The simple answer is, “Tight enough to carry the maximum circuit current forever with- Figure 2. Terminal bars in this 5 kV reactor assembly are drilled for bolt- out overheating, arcing, or significant voltage drop.” ed attachment of multiple cable lugs. Uniform loading and heating of all connections requires uniform tightening of all hardware. Unfortunately, that answer is no more useful than Lincoln’s. —Photo by Richard Nailen Insofar as the contact surfaces between two conductors are concerned, “the tighter the better.” The joint may in- Both types may take many forms (Figure 4). The subject volve two flat surfaces (such as terminal lugs—see Figures here is not crimp connectors, or spring assemblies (such as 1 and 2), or a wire and a pressure plate of some sort, as in a fuse clips), or joints involving brazing or soldering between “screw lug” (Fi