Experimental Study on Heat Generation During Copper-Oxide Growth Caused by Incomplete Contact between Terminal Blocks and Wire Connections

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental study on the proliferative exotherm of copper oxide caused by incomplete contact between the terminal blocks and wire connections. The growth characteristics of copper oxide revealed that the growth rate and size of the copper oxide product increased with an increase in the current supply. As for the temperature characteristics by vibration intensity according to the contact failure between the wire and the terminal block, the faster the number of vibrations, the faster the melting, carbonization, and cuprous oxide generation times under all conditions. For the 1.5 sq. insulated wire, it was confirmed that the flame was generated due to the arc-to-contact mechanism at 700 rpm and 900 rpm. A detailed component analysis on the characteristics of each sample confirmed that the copper content increased in the copper-oxide-proliferated insulated wire. In contrast, the copper content was considerably low in the shorted insulated wire.