Environmental degradation of utility power connectors in a harsh environment

This paper reports on an investigation of the effects of a marine atmospher ic environment on the performance of aluminum bolted, compression, and fire d wedge power connectors. These connector types are representative of the t hree major connector technologies used in electrical distribution systems t hroughout the world. The atmospheric test site was situated on the seacoast in Daytona Beach, FL. The test specimens consisted of sections of aluminum and copper conductors joined together by a connector. The paper describes the performance and lifetime of the different connector types exposed to the harsh marine environment. Examinations of failed conn ectors revealed that failure in all three connector types was ultimately du e to galvanic corrosion at the aluminum/copper interfaces within the connec tors. The failure rate was largest for compression connections. Bolted conn ections failed somewhat less rapidly. The failure rate for fired-wedge conn ections was the lowest.