Bolted Connectors for High Voltage Accessories Installed on Underground

Transmission Lines
By
Wolfgang B. Haverkamp, Raychem, Member IEEE/PES
Thomas McKoon, Georgia Tech / NEETRAC
M. Wilck, Raychem, Member VDE
Abstract: Splicing conductors in high voltage underground
cable requires special skills and tools.
For instance,
techniques in use today include soldering, welding and
compressing. A new generation of connectors was designed
and developed incorporating shear-bolts to simplify
installation. The application of the connectors is independent
of conductor design, construction and material, and can be
used on solid or stranded conductors.

In particular, when utilities optimize their

network with regard to cost and usage, the
network will carry heavier loads. As a
consequence, the conductor will run at higher
temperatures. Fig.1 demonstrates the possible
cost benefit per annum.

The authors describe the design with respect to the different

requirements, developmental steps, and final qualification
process incorporating various international standards. These
standards focus on product performance verification and
operational limits.
Keywords: Conductor, Connector, Aluminum, Emergency
temperature, Installer skill, ANSI C119.4, VDE 0220, IEC
1238-1, HV splice, Long term stability

I.

Introduction

Besides the appropriate selection of the cable

accessory for XLPE insulated transmission
cables, the connector technology is essential with
respect to stability and performance under
operation.
The problem of splicing large aluminum
conductor transmission cable leads to revisiting
the existing connector techniques like soldering,
welding and compression.
Soldering two conductors together requires
high jointer practice and good knowledge of the
selected materials like solder, flux and conductor
metal. A soldered connection has limited
operation temperatures, which reduces the
network usage capability.
.

Fig 1 cost benefits per annum depending on conductor temperature

II.

Why bolted connectors for HV-splices?

Commonly used in the past were

compression type connections and connections
made by the exothermic welding process.
Both
systems
have
significant
disadvantages, particularly for large conductor
sizes.
Compression connections are long, and a lot
of material is required to restore the insulation

system along the connector. Heavy and

expensive hydraulic tools are required for the
installation. To make those tools available for a
small number of connections or, for repairs, is
very
costly.
Furthermore,
compression
connectors have to be tailored to the conductor
chamber and conductor construction, e.g. solid,
stranded, stranded compact.[4] For example, the
conductor diameter of an 800mm conductor can
vary by about 20%, when comparing a solid
conductor with a stranded conductor.
Additionally, the exact cable data are often
unavailable beforehand.
Currently available compression ferrules are
designed for 90C continuous conductor
temperature and limited emergency @ 110C.
Temperatures up to 130C require special design
and tooling.
The major physical behavior, which makes
splicing aluminum conductors with compression
ferrules critical, has been extensively covered in
several papers [1,2]. Behaviors like cold flow
and creep under mechanical and thermal stress,
in addition to rapid surface oxidation, are contraproductive and require additional engineering
effort to extend the dimensional limitations.
Fig 2 shows various compression shapes. In
Europe the hexagonal type is commonly used, in
France, Italy and Scandinavia deep indent
techniques are preferred [3].

requires good ventilation of the working space

for safety reasons. To dress the welds for further
jointing work is very time consuming. When
using this process on longitudinally waterblocked cables, the cleaning of each individual
strand is essential. To guarantee a good
connection, x-ray control of the finished
connection is advisable.
III.

Requirements
Cables and accessories are designed to
serve for a period of min. 40 years. During its
lifetime the cable line is exposed to varying
conductor temperatures between ambient and
maximum for XLPE conductor temperatures
which can be as high as 90C and 130C for
emergency conditions. Short circuits of 40kA
may occur, which can raise the conductive
temperature up to 250C for 1 sec. Mechanical
forces of the connection are caused by
temperature variation and movement of the back
filling when cables are buried directly.
Installation reliability has to be taken into
consideration. Therfore, the design of a modern
connector system must exclude jointer
dependency on all quality influencing steps.
IV.

Specifications
Specifications have to cover the
requirements in the form of elevated Design and
Type tests.
Several specifications try to adjust field
experience with laboratory tests enabling a
comparison of different connector technologies.
They aim to qualify connectors for the same
applications. A comparison of commonly sized
connector specifications is given in Table 1.
The major differences between the IEC / VDE
and the ANSI Specifications are as follows:

Fig 2 Different compression shapes

a. Indentation, b. Deep-indent, c. Multiple-indent
d. Flat-indent, e. Round-indent, f. Hex-compression

1) ANSI does not require short circuit tests.

The exothermic welding process (Cadweld)

is critical when used in humid environments and

2) ANSI specifies conductor temp. for heat

cycling. IEC / VDE specify the connector
temp.

3) ANSI requires only half the number of heat

cycles.
In 1971 the first specification VDE 0220 for
connectors in power cable had been issued in
Germany. In conjunction to a mandatory test
time interval the sample current was adjusted to
reach the required test temperature at the high
temperature part of the connector.
IEC 1238-1
93.08
Class A

VDE 0220
Part 2 0.4 78

ANSI C119.4 - 1991

Compression
Connectors
up to 300 mm

Class A, tension
Class 3

No. of heat
cycles
Temperatur
es

1000
Tc = 100C
Connector
temperature

1000
Tc = 100C
Connector
temperature

500
Tc = 90C + 32k
Conductor temp.

Short
circuit test

Tc =
250270C
conductortemp.
t = 1 sec
6 times

Tc =
250270C
conductortemp.
t = 1 sec
3 times

not required

= 40N/mm
for AL
= 60N/mm
for Cu
but max.
20.000N
6

= 40N/mm
for AL
= 60N/mm
for Cu

5% of rated breaking
strength of conductor

Tcon max Tc max

Tc on m ax Tc m a x

Tcon max Tc max

Resistance
factor ratio:

Resistance
factor ratio:
k
= 2.0
k0

Variation of
connection
Resistance max.
5%
of average of all
measurements

Mechanical
load

No. of
samples to
be tested
Major pass
criteria

k
15
.
k0

--

required. Even with the allowed 5 sec. time

extension 54 kA are still required. A restriction
to 40 kA max. for 1 sec. and a reduction to 3
high current tests would be more realistic.
The French spec refers to thermal energy
(It), which is categorized for LV = 10kAs, MV
= 100kAs and HV = 800kAs [5,6]. This is
more realistic and refers to short circuit values
less than 30kA per 1 second.
In order to evaluate the long-term endurance
of any connector system the individual
specifications refer to a reference conductor test
procedure. Based on the relation to connector
mass and dimensions two reference points
monitoring the temperature were introduced to
determine the aging aspects of conductor and test
specimen. At the same time the start up
connector resistance factor k - equation (1) - is
established as the relation of reference conductor
resistance to the connector contact resistance.

k=

Rc
1
Rcon

(1)

k0 = start connector resistance factor

Rc = connector resistance

Abreviation: Tc = Conductor Temperature;

Temperature

Rcon = conductor resistance

The k-factor is correlated to the individual

data obtained from the measurements during the
test sequence, where the variance is determined
in the equation (2)

Tcon = Connector

Table 1 Comparison of relevant specification

k
1.5
k0

(2)

The IEC 1238-1 is a good basic specification;

however, for short circuit tests the requirements
are unrealistically high for large conductor sizes.
The typical 1 sec. short circuit currents in 69 kV
cable networks are reported with approx. 40 kA.

= resistance factor ratio

k = final connector resistance factor
k0 = start connector resistance factor

In accordance with IEC 1238, the 1 sec.

conductor temp. of 250 270C is required. For
a 1000mm Cu conductor, 120 kA for 1 sec. are

Depending on the connectors maximum

operation temperature, the test current in the test

loop needs to be raised, so that the connector

temperature reaches the maximum design
operation temperature. In this case the reference
conductor temperature will be beyond the max
connector temperature. A typical test cycle is
given in Fig 3.

Fig 3: Current cycle profile according to IEC 1238-1

In addition to the connector tests, it has to be

proven that the connector harmonizes with the
cable splice.
An acceptance test used in
Raychem is shown in Table 2
Sequence

Test

Requirement

V.

Design

In order to reduce longitudinal movement of

the cable during installation, and to minimize the
amount of high voltage insulation material, a
short connector is desirable. This is achieved by
offsetting the bolts in longitudinal as well as in
circumferential direction. Along with a threaded
inner bore, a maximum of micro-contacts
between the connector body and conductor is
achieved. The diameter of the bolts is chosen as
close as possible to the diameter of the connector
bore to catch all strands of the conductor. To
guarantee an optimal and controlled force, shear
head bolts are used. The heads break level with
the surface of the connector body.
This
simplifies the work necessary for field grading.
The breaking torque depends on the conductor
and bolt size and ranks from 40Nm for 240 mm
to 100Nm for 2000 mm. To prevent the contact
area from corrosion, a high temperature grease is
pre-applied.
Based on several design studies and
comprehensive test experiences a connector
system of two connector lengths (l = 130mm and
l = 180mm) will cover application ranges from
150 mm (300kCM) up to 2000 mm (4000kCM)
in fig 4.

1)

Determination of the k-value

after installation of the connector

2)

Partial discharge extinguishing voltage

DEV<5pc/2Uo

3)

AC-voltage withstand
4 x Uo, 5 min

no breakdown

4)

Heat cycling
125C+5k conductor temp.,
2,5Uo AC applied
Cycle 2h rise, 1h hold, 2h no current
No. of cycles - 60

no breakdown

5)

Impulse-voltage withstand
10 x 350 kV

no breakdown

6)

DEV as 2)

as 2)

7)

Measuring of connector temp. in joint

Cycle
as 4) but without voltage

t t conductor

Tests on solid AL conductors and stranded

copper conductors are confirming the long-term
operation stability.

8)

Determination of the k-value and

change of resistance value

1,5

The installation is carried out without using a

special tool Fig 5.

Abbr.: Rc = Conductor Resistance; Rcon = Connector Resistance

No. of samples:Generally, two
For range taking products, two each of smallest and largest x-sections
Table 2: Acceptance test for connectors used in heat shrinkable medium
voltage joints up to Um 72kV

Fig 4: T1 Al-alloy body, T2 shear bolt, T3 thread, T4 bore thread

10

Voltage drop U5

28.04.89 U5 = 2.1mV AV

11

Tensile strength

05.05.89 24kN (req.16kN min).

basis S=0.04kN/mm

12

Load cycling 2/2 h, 1120 A,

Since
Status per April 5,
10.05.89 1994: passed 9.123
cycles (36.492 h), no
failure.

130C conductor temperature

Test is ongoing
Table 3
The data perform to the requirements of voltage drop variance less 15%
increase and voltage drop less than 50% increase after short circuit @
40kA per 1s (1600kAs)

Comments:
After completing the test and successfully
passing the mechanical pulling test the load
cycling was continued for more than 36,492
hours, without change of the electrical stability.

Fig 5 Installation of EPPA 047

VI.

Testing

As described in Table 1, various connector

test programs are necessary to establish the
database for the performance of the designed
connectors.
Solid Al conductor 400mm
type EPPA 047
The test program was carried out in
accordance to VDE 0220, part 1a 4.78.
In table 3 the test sequence refers to a
conductor temperature of 90C minimum at an
AC current of I = 870A for 1000 cycle with
current 2h /2h on/off.
No

Test

Date

Voltage drop Uo

25.11.88 Uo = 1.7mV AV

250 load cycles 2/2 h

---

Voltage drop U1

06.02.89 U1 = 1.66mV AV

250 load cycles 2/2 h

---

Voltage drop U2

29.03.89 U2 = 1.65mV AV

Short circuit test 40 kA, 1 sec,

05.04.89 U3 = 2.1mV AV

Voltage drop U4

250 load cycles 2/2 h

Temperature measurement

Table 4 describes the test requirement to

VDE 0220 part 2 04.78 carried on 6 connectors
run in parallel and Table 5 describes the
extension of the former test. The connector
temperature was ramped up to 100C-conductor
temperature and kept for 10 minutes on this
temperature. This plateau accelerates the aging
process, which is also implemented in the IEC
1238-1 08/93 (see table 3).

Results

---

---

performed 3 times
7

Solid Al conductor 800mm

type EPPA 047

06.04.89 U4 = 2.05mV AV

28.04.89 T = 96.6C

Results:
The total test performed more than 2,806
cycles including test sequence no. 23 with stable
voltage drop and k-factor <1.5.
It has to be notified that 3 shots of thermal
short circuit were passed after 2,500 cycles
without effect on any voltage drop change.

No.
1.

2.
3.

4.
5.

6.
7.

8.
9.

10.
11.

12.
13.

Test sequence
Voltage drop over the
connector and
conductor
Load cycling
Voltage drop over the
connector and
conductor
Load cycling
Voltage drop over the
connector and
conductor
Load cycling
Voltage drop over the
connector and
conductor
Short circuit
Voltage drop over the
connector and
conductor
Load cycling
Voltage drop over the
connector and
conductor
Load cycling
Voltage drop over the
connector and
conductor

Requirements
Basic measurement

208 cycles
increase of voltage drop 15 %
measurement of Point 1
416 cycles
increase of voltage drop 15 %
measurement of Point 1
506 cycles
increase of voltage drop 15 %
measurement of Point 1
3 Shots at 46 kA 1sec.
increase of voltage drop 15 %
measurement of Point 7
722 cycles
increase of voltage drop 15 %
measurement of Point 9
1064 cycles
increase of voltage drop 15 %
measurement of Point 9

Table 4 Tests requirements in accordance with VDE 0220 part 2 04.78

connector test 800mm Al solid

No.
14.
15.

16.
17.

18.
19.

20.
21.

22.
23.

Test sequence
Load cycling
Voltage drop over the
connector and
conductor
Load cycling
Voltage drop over the
connector and
conductor
Load cycling
Voltage drop over the
connector and
conductor
Short circuit
Voltage drop over the
connector and
conductor
Load cycling
Voltage drop over the
connector and
conductor

Fig 6 Load cycling of connector 800mm Al solid

Cycle time 30Min-10Min-30Min

Requirements
1564 cycles
increase of voltage drop 15 %
measurement of Point 9
2194 cycles
increase of voltage drop 15 %
measurement of Point 9
2500 cycles
increase of voltage drop 15 %
measurement of Point 9
3 Shots at 63 kA 1sec.
increase of voltage drop 15 %
measurement of Point 9
2806 cycles
increase of voltage drop 15 %
measurement of Point 21

Table 5 Extended connector test of EPPA 047 800mm Al solid

Stranded Al conductor 2000kCM

Based on PECOs request, a test program
was designed and carried out for Raychem Corp.
to evaluate the thermal characteristics of the
Raychems type EPPA bolted splice connector
for use on 2,000 kcM 127 strand Al conductor.
The test program has followed ANSI C119.4,
1991. The specification is the American
National Standard for Connectors for Use
between Aluminum-to-Aluminum or Aluminumto-Copper Bare Overhead Conductors. This
standard establishes the current carrying,
resistance and tensile performance requirements
for connectors used for continuous service under
normal operating conditions. The basic tests
include Current Cycle Tests and Mechanical
Tests.
The heat cycling tests, depending on the
current carrying class of the connector, consists
of either 500, 250, or 125 cycles for the electrical
class of connector tested. The classes are Class
A, Class B and Class C respectively. The
mechanical tests, depending on the tensile class
of the connector are Class 1 full-tension, Class 2
medium-tension, and Class 3 minimum-tension.
Acceptable values are 95, 40 and 5 per-cent of
the rated breaking strength (RBS) of the
conductor respectively. (See also table 3)

The heat cycling requirements are that the

connector must operate at a temperature cooler
than that of the control conductor at all times.
The temperature and resistance values of the
connectors must also be stable throughout the
entire test.
These tests were conducted at the Georgia
Institute of Technologys National Electric
Energy Testing, Research, and Applications
Center, NEETRAC, located in Forest Park,
Georgia, USA.
Fig
8 Test set up at GA. TECH / NEETRAC, Forest
Park,Georgia,USA

L o a d c y c l i n g o f b o l te d c o n n e c to r s 8 0 0 m m s o l i d A l c o n d u c to r
c y cl e n o .
0

50 0

1 00 0

1 50 0

20 00

2 50 0

3 0 00

3 0 .0 %

variance of voltage drop in [

2 0 .0 %

1 0 .0 %

s am ple 1
s am ple 2
s am ple 3

0 .0 %

s am ple 4
s am ple 5
s am ple 6

- 1 0 .0 %

- 2 0 .0 %

- 3 0 .0 %

Fig 7 Voltage drop change over load cycling including two short circuits
details see table 5

Test set up

The test loop consisted of four connectors

joined in a series loop with welded equalizers.
The welded equalizers provide an equipotential
plane to assure that all strands are in contact with
each other for resistance measurements and also
prevent the thermal influence of one connector to
another.
Prior to assembly of the test loop, the
conductor ends that were to be inserted into the
connector were mechanically cleaned with a wire
brush to remove any oxide build-up on the
conductor strands. The conductor used in this
evaluation was 2000 kCMIL, 127 strand, all
aluminum conductor (AAC). Oxide inhibitor
was not applied to the strands because the
connectors were pre-filled by the manufacturer.

Each connector is supplied with eight

aluminum shear type bolts. This design bolt
eliminates the need for special tooling such as a
torque wrench. The conductors were inserted,
and starting at the center of the connector,
tension was taken up on the bolts in accordance
with manufacturers instructions with a box type
spanner wrench. After all bolts were tensioned,
and a snug fit was established, the bolts were
tensioned again, from the center of the connector
outward, until the bolt head sheared.
The conductors were three feet in length
from the edge of the connector to the equalizer in
accordance with ANSI C119.4, 1991. The
control conductor was six feet in length. Each
end of the series loop was attached to an ac
current loading transformer and thermocouple
and resistance leads were attached.
The current was adjusted, during the first
three cycles, to achieve a steady-state
temperature rise of 100 degrees Celsius, above
ambient air temperature, on the control
conductor.
The required current averaged
approximately 1,804 amperes. ANSI C119.4
requires that the connectors be subjected to 500
cycles with each cycle consisting of a current
ON period of two hours and a current OFF
period of equal duration. However, for this test
the connectors were allowed to run for 647
cycles. During the current OFF period the
connectors were allowed to return to ambient

temperature. Ambient temperature averaged 24

degrees Celsius over the duration of the test.
Temperature
measurements
of
the
connectors and the control conductor were taken
at the end of each heating cycle with the current
on.
Type T, sub-miniature, stainless steel
sheathed thermocouples were used to monitor
the temperature of the connectors and control
conductor. Three, 0.033 inch diameter, 0.025
inch deep holes were drilled into the body of
each connector for thermocouple installation.
The thermocouples were located in the current
transfer path where the highest temperatures
were anticipated. The control conductor was
monitored with two thermocouples located in the
center of the six-foot length.

Results:
The connections made with the EPPA
connectors performed well in the 500 cycle,
current cycle test. On average, in the maximum
temperature test, the connectors ran 17 degrees
Celsius cooler than the control conductor. ANSI
C119.4, 1991 requires that to pass the maximum
temperature test, the connectors must operate at a
temperature lower than that of the control
conductor.
In the resistance stability test, all connectors
performed well and met all requirements for
resistance stability. On average, the connectors
resistance values were 59 micro ohms. Passing
criteria is 56 to 62 micro ohms.
Examples of resistor and temperature profile
are presented in fig 10 and fig 11.
Raychem 72kV HV Splice Type EPPA 047-42/72-180 Connector #2 Resistance

70

65

60

55

Fig 9 2000 kcM 127 strands and Connector with thermocouples

Minimum Resistance

50

Maximum Accepatble Resistance

Resistance

Resistance measurements were taken at

cycle zero, to obtain and initial resistance value,
and then at cycles 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 165, 205,
250, 325, 405, and 500 in accordance with ANSI
C119.4,
1991.
Additional
resistance
measurements were taken at cycles 580 and 647.
Resistance measurements were made across each
connector, from equalizer to equalizer, after the
connectors had returned to ambient temperature.
The connector temperature was recorded with
each set of resistance measurements to allow for
the correction of measured resistance values to
20 degrees Celsius. The corrected values were
used to evaluate the resistance performance of
each connector.

45
0

100

200

300

400

500

600

CYCLES

Fig 10 Resistance profile over cycle

Raychem 72kV HV Splice Type EPPA 047-42/72-180

CONNECTOR #2 Maximum Temperature

140

140

120

120

100

100

80

Ambient

80

TC#1
TC#2

60

TC#3

60

Control Conductor

40

40

20

20

0
0

100

200

300

400
CYCLES

Fig 11 Temperature profile over cycle

500

600

700

VII.

Experiences and Conclusions

The bolted type connector product

introduced in the late 80s has been extended to
the a wide range of cable conductor applications
as solid Al, stranded Al and Cu, which reinforce
the versatility of the connector design. Utility
expectations, with respect to installer skill and
shortened length of HV splices, are addressed
and fulfilled.
More than 18,000 systems were installed
worldwide using the above-described bolted
connector. No failures have been reported to
date.
The presented results prove the long-term
stability of the connector type.
VIII

Future

Beyond the successfully passed ANSI

C119.4 specification, the remaining 2000kcM
connector samples at NEETRACs laboratory
will be kept under test for further evaluation and
study.

IX.

References

[1],
M.D. Charneski, F.W. Bond Jr., R.R. Borowski,
G.L. Winkler Use of polymeric electrical joint compound
in aluminum compression connectors for joining
aluminum, and copper to aluminum, power cables,
CH1399-5/80/0000-0320, 1980 IEEE
[2],
Louis Lam, Richard Morin Specification,
performance, testing and qualification of extra-heavy-duty
connectors for high-voltage applications, 0-7803-35228/96, 1996 IEEE
[3],
R. Battle, D. Clarke, M. Demko, M.P. Garner
The waterproofing of insulation piercing connectors for
low voltage aerial bundled cable
[4],
Klaus Frster Kabelgarnituren an
Starkstromkabeln, Elektrizittswirtschaft, Jg.85 (1986),
18

X.

Biography

Wolfgang B. Haverkamp graduated from the

University of Essen, Germany with a Masters of
Science Degree in Electrical- and Power
Engineering
in
1966.His
employment
experiences included the Siemens A.G. , Kaiser
Aluminium
and
Chemical
Corporation.
In 1980 he joined Raychem GmbH, Electrical
Products Division in Ottobrunn, Germany. His
areas of responsibility have included managing
projects on cable accessory development, their
applications and product management. He is
currently Technical Manager for Cable
Accessories in Ottobrunn, Germany. He is a
Working Group Member of IEEE/ICC.
Manfred H. Wilck received his Engineering
Degree in 1959.After 12 years of experience
with Kabelmetal in Hannover in Cable Networks
Design and Cable Accessories Development, he
joined Raychem GmbH in 1971. He has been the
Manager of the Cable Accessories Department
for several years. He is a Working Group
Member in VDE and CENELEC.
Thomas L. McKoon is a Research
Coordinator and Principal Investigator at
Georgia Institute of Technologys National
Electric Energy Testing, Research and
Applications Center (NEETRAC) in Forest Park,
Georgia, USA. He holds a degree in Mechanical
Technology from Carroll Tech, Carrollton, GA.
He has an extensive background in electrical
connectors which are used throughout the
electric utility industry. He is a member of
ANSI C119.4 subcommittee, and is chairman of
the Working Group on Testing. He is a member
of ANSI C119.1 subcommittee on Sealed
Insulated Underground Connectors.