Analysis of the DC Resistance of the Butt Joint using the Random Contact Patterns of Strands

The butt joint was verified to satisfy the thermal stability of the ITER magnet system through the ITER CS model coil test. Since the contact area in the butt joint is limited to the cross section of the cable, it is necessary to analyze and control the joining parameters precisely for improving the DC resistance. It is difficult to simulate the cables, which are composed of a lot of strands, as three-dimensional models using the commercial code. The random numbers were used to simulate many kinds of contact patterns of the strands on the bonding surface for calculating the bonding area and the DC resistance of the butt joint. The calculated DC resistance decreases with an increase of cable filling factor in terminal. The calculated DC resistance of a 0.9 cable filling factor is about 0.48 n-Ohm, which is about one-tenth of that in the CS model coil test when not considering the electrical contact resistance. From this difference, the electrical contact resistance between the strands and copper sheet was calculated.