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4.2 Power
Introduction: What is Power for a connector?
There are several ways to define a power application. The most obvious are the current
and voltage requirements that the connector must meet. Most people would agree
that an application that specifies a current capacity of 30 A is a power application.
Similarly, most people would agree that an application where the applied voltage is
440 V is a power application. In todays marketplace with its emphasis on miniaturization, however, the voltage and current values that define a power application may be
significantly lower.
One way to account for this size related power relationship is to use the temperature
rise of the contact as a function of current as the criterion for a power application. One
such criterion comes from Underwriters Laboratories (UL) a standards organization
directed towards ensuring safe operation in power applications. UL defines a temperature rise, T-rise, of 30 C over the ambient temperature of the application as the
limiting current capacity of a connector. This is an arbitrary but widely use criterion.
Consider the factors that influence T-rise.
4.2.1 General Parameters
4.2.1.1 Temperature Rise
There are two components that determine the T-rise of a conductor carrying electrical
current: the Joule, or I2R, heating and the heat dissipation to the application environment. Consider each component individually.
Joule Heating:
For a given conductor the Joule heating, JH, is given by:
JH = I2R
(4.1)
where I is the current through the conductor, and R, the resistance of the conductor.
L
A
R = (L/A)
(4.2)
where is the resistivity of the conductor material, L the length, and A the cross
sectional area of the conductor. For connector contacts the geometry becomes more
complicated, but the Joule heating of the contact always depends on the resistivity of
the contact material and its geometry as will be discussed later.
4.2.1.2 Heat Dissipation
The temperature rise caused by Joule heating is limited by transfer of heat to the
application environment. For a connector there are two main mechanisms of heat
dissipation, conduction and convection. Conduction dissipates heat by transferring the
heat through the contacts and conductors to a cooler portion of the system, generally
the terminating point of the connector, the wire/cable or the Printed Circuit Board, PCB.
Convection dissipates heat by transfer to the application ambient from the conductor
or connector surface.
For a conductor, conductive heat transfer follows:
q = T (A/L)
(4.3)
where q is the heat transfer rate, is the thermal conductivity of the conductor, T is
the temperature difference between the heat source and the sink and A and L are the
cross sectional area and the length of the conductor respectively. This equation would
be modified to reflect the contact geometry as noted previously.
Convective heat transfer follows:
q = h T A
(4.4)
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IV Appendix
Figure 4.13 shows the temperature of the hottest point12 on the subject contact pair
as a function of time for three different current levels, 3, 5, and 7 A. Note that the
temperature rises rapidly initially due to Joule heating. The rate of T-rise slows and
eventually levels off as the heat dissipation mechanisms become active. Note that it
80
70
7A
60
D T to Ambient
50
40
30
5A
20
3A
10
0
10
0
5
t (min)
10
The determination of the hottest point on a contact pair will be discussed at a later point in this application note.
12