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Abstract

The electric power in electric automotive can reach more than 60 kW; this power is very high and can cause a serious damage in a classical electrical connector as softening or melting of the contact zones. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new power connector designed with recent electrically conductive materials; these materials have a good compromise between the electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties. A finite elements model of the connector was developed to calculate contact resistance and temperature, contact area, insertion force, and mechanical stresses. The obtained results were very satisfactory and show that the new connector supports a high electric power more than a classical connector. Therefore, the developed connector presents a large interest for connectors designers.

Keywords

Electrical connector high copper alloys finite elements indirect coupling method

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