The Impact Of Cable Insulation Damage On Cable Terminals

After cables are put into use, their insulation layer may suffer damage, cracks or perforations under mechanical stress, thermal stress and environmental factors. These defects may have a series of adverse consequences for cable cable lugs. Insulation damage first changes the dielectric properties of the cable body, causing the insulation material, which should block current, to lose its original impedance characteristics, which may cause leakage current to flow along the surface or inside of the cable.

When this damage occurs near the conductor connected to wire lugs, the electric field distribution at electrical lugs changes, causing the insulating medium between terminal lugs and the conductor to suffer more voltage stress. Such abnormal electric fields may cause partial discharge or arcing around the copper lugs contact point, making the Aluminum Cable Lug joint components more susceptible to thermal damage and material aging, resulting in increased contact resistance. If the contact resistance changes beyond the expected range, it will also lead to additional heat buildup, further exacerbating the degradation of Compression Cable Lug and the surrounding insulation material.