Contact Resistance (Ductor) Test

The contact resistance test (commonly known as the Ductor test) measures the resistance of
electrical connections such as joints, terminations, connectors, etc. These can be connections
between any two conductors, for instance bus-bar sections or cable connections. The test
measures the resistance at the micro- or milli-ohm level and is used primarily to verify that
electrical connections are made properly, and can detect the following problems: Loose connections
Adequate tension on bolted joints
Eroded contact surfaces
Contaminated or corroded contacts
This is particularly important for contacts that carry large amounts of current (e.g. switchgear
bus-bars) as higher contact resistance leads to higher losses and lower current carrying
capacity.
Test Equipment
Contact resistance tests on the Siemens LV and MV switchboards are performed using a low
resistance ohmmeter type Megger DLRO 200. Ductor was the name originally given to the
low resistance ohmmeter manufactured by the Megger company, which has become the
standard test for Siemens to perform on their switchboards during installation stage.
Test Criteria
The criteria for evaluating the contact resistance of electrical connections largely depends on
the type of connection (e.g. bolted, soldered, clamped, welded, etc), the metallic contact
surface area, the contact pressure, etc. These will differ by equipment type and contact
material and there is no code or standard that mandates minimum contact resistances. As
such, Siemens maximum acceptable resistance needs to be verified from the respective
switchboard data sheet but as a norm the maximum acceptable contact resistance for large
bolted bus-bar joints is 10 micro-ohms; this value is obtained from the International
Standards ASTM B539-02 (R2008), Standard Test Method for Measuring Resistance of
Electrical Connections (Static Contacts)
Siemens use the 100A setting of the Megger DLRO 200 Ductor tester for LV and MV/HV
switchboards in order to get proper resistance reading.
In some cases the Ductor Test result shall be backed up by Thermal Imaging to detect any
Hot-Joint on the Bus-Bar System, this test is performed when the switchboard is in operation.
For all newly installed LV Switchboard or MV/HV Switchgear, it is advisable to include busbar coupling and Ductor test as part of mechanical completion activities but this shall be
carried out by competent electrical personnel who are familiar with the switchboard.

The Ductor test can resolve any miss alignment issues immediately which might occur due to
design error, transportation or miss handling during installation.
During the Siemens FAT for the switchboards, wire looping may be used to connect each
bus-bar segment. Customer shall always insist for the bus-bar to be fully connected using
bolting as per actual condition at site.
The test equipment used by Siemens for the Ductor tester is the MEGGER DLRO 200 which
is identified below;

The DLRO200-115 High Current Digital Low Resistance Ohmmeter, 200 Amp is designed to
check and measure contact resistance in high voltage circuit breakers, disconnecting switches
(isolators), bus-bar joints, or for any low resistance measurement. This DLRO test set
accurately measures resistances ranging from 0.1 ohms to 1 ohms, at high currents. The
Megger DLRO200-115 is a versatile Ductor that can provide test currents from 10 amps up to
200 amps, subject to the load resistance and supply voltage. For those applications that
demand a smooth DC current, the DLRO200-115 has extra filtering on the output to reduce
mains frequency ripple and can drive 200 amps through a total current loop resistance of 11
milli-ohms. The filtered output of the DLRO200-115 also eliminates magnetic transients that
could inductively trip a breakers control (bus differential relay), if left in the test circuit.