The Effect of Cable Section on the Variation of Power Automotive Connector Temperature

Electric car requires more electric power. However, the automotive connector that is used to connect two electrical systems should resist the high electric power or electric current. The increase in electric current can lead to an increase in contact temperature by the Joule effect and can cause more damage to an improperly designed connector. The objective of this work is to study experimentally and numerically the influence of cable section on the connector capacity to pass high current. Thus, to study this phenomenon, a finite-element model of power automotive connector with cables and crimping zones was developed to calculate contact resistance and contact temperature. The comparison between the experimental and numerical results shows a good agreement for all tested electric currents. The obtained results lead us to use only the developed numerical model to estimate the value of contact resistance and contact temperature for different cable sections. Moreover, the developed model is beneficial financially. Finally, results have illustrated that the effect of the cable section on the decrease in contact temperature and contact resistance is not negligible.