Evolution of Insulation Piercing Connector Technology
G. Porcheray
Tyco Electronics / Energy Division
SIMEL
Gevrey-Chambertin, FRANCE
I. INTRODUCTION
When the first insulated conductors appeared in the
1950’s, the insulation layer was rubber (neoprene)
and the conductor was copper. The connectors were
not reinsulated and mechanical bolted connectors
were the most common items. Soon utilities
discovered that conductors with insulation were
safe for linemen and customers, however the
insulation material was not resistant enough to
climatic conditions (neoprene deteriorated) and
failures appeared due to the poor quality of the
insulation. In the 1960’s, EdF (Electricité de
France), changed to PVC insulation and aluminium
conductors. Although the insulation problems
seemed to be solved, connector failures appeared
due to the aluminium oxide layer formed from
exposure to the air and the knife stripping process.
This operation damaged the strands and started the
wire necking process and was amplified by the
vibration of the conductor. During this time,
crimped connectors were used with heat shrinkable
cable accessories but it became apparent that PVC
was not resistant to the temperature variations and
cracked due to the tensile load on the neutral
messenger.
In order to eliminate the inconveniences above,
EdF, in association with Aluminium Pechiney
connector manufacturers, investigated three main
issues:
1) Find a more resistant insulation layer
2) Improve contact reliability
3) Connect customers under voltage and in safe
conditions.
II. BASIC DESIGN
1 – XLPE cross linked polyethylene was chosen in
1977 and is now the most well known insulation
material used in LV insulated overhead lines due to
its high environmental and mechanical resistance.
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2 – In order to avoid insulation stripping, EdF spent
two years investigating insulation piercing
technology. Every 2 or 3 months, EdF went to the
site with the connector supplier and carried out
resistance measurements. Finally, the piercing
technology was born in the 1970’s at the same time
as in other European countries (Germany).
3 – In addition to the above, insulation piercing
technology brought an additional safety factor to
live line work with no need for wire stripping and
an easy and quick connection procedure.
III. SUCCESSIVE TECHNOLOGY
STEPS
The insulation piercing technology passed three
main steps:
Step 1: 1970’s
The connector had two separate bolts: one for the
main and one for the tap. Insulation piercing
occurred on the main cable only and the service line
was stripped. Bolts were in direct electrical contact
with the conductor and the insulation was a rigid
cover since no water resistance was required. The
contact area was in aluminium alloy.
Disadvantages :
- Risk of failure of service connection due to the
stripping operation, mainly for small sizes and
solid conductors.
- Risk of accident due to the energized bolt
during live line installation.
- Corrosion between the aluminium body and the
copper service conductor.
- Too much torque on the bolt would damage the
wires.
- Too little torque would not fully pierce the
insulation.
- Breaking of the rigid cover under cold
conditions.
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 Step 2: 1980’s A new requirement concerning the load capability
Independent tightening is under investigation. The current piercing
The connector had two separate bolts: one for the technology principle does not allow the contacts to
main and one for the tap and piercing occurred on come together quick enough to avoid arcing when
both the main and tap. The bolts were in direct current load is high.
electrical contact with the conductors and designed
with a shear head device. The insulation was a
flexible cover full of grease since no water IV. TECHNOLOGY EVOLUTION
resistance was required. The contact metal was an BY FUNCTION
aluminium alloy.
The successive technology steps involved
Disadvantages : significant evolution of:

- Risk of accident due to the energized bolts. - Contact design.

- Corrosion problems due to the lack of grease - Insulation materials
and moisture ingress. - Shear head torque management
- Sealing performance
Simultaneous tightening
The connector had one bolt with simultaneous A. Contact design
action on the main and tap. The bolt was not in
direct electrical contact with the conductors. The Step 1 :
insulation was integrated into the connector and no
water resistance was required. The contact was Pyramidal concept machined from an aluminium
made by the insulation piercing blades that were alloy profile
made from aluminium alloy, tinned brass, or
copper.

Disadvantages :

- No control of the torque increased the risk of

cutting the conductors
- Risk of accident due to exposure of metallic
parts.
- Risk of corrosion in bimetallic applications.

Step 3: 1990’s
Independent tightening Advantages
The connector had 2 bolts: one for the main and one
for the tap. Insulation piercing occurred either on - Avoid water entry into the cable
the main and tap or only on the main. The bolt was - Easy penetration of the cable insulation
insulated and equipped with a shear head device.
The connectors were fully insulated and water Disadvantages
resistant. The contact blades were made from an
aluminium alloy, brass, or copper that was plain or - Expensive manufacturing process.
tinned.
Knife concept extruded from an aluminium alloy
profile
Simultaneous tightening
The connector had one bolt with simultaneous
tightening on the main and tap. The bolt was
insulated and designed with a shear head device.
The connectors were fully insulated and water
resistant due to the sealing parts filled with grease.
The contact blades were made from aluminium
alloy, brass, or copper that was plain or tinned.
This new generation design covered all the main
customer requirements and complied with safety
requirements.

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 Advantages B. Insulation design

- Easier to manufacture
Step 1 :
Disadvantages
In the 1970’s, the cover was a rigid plastic box and
- Cuts the insulation like a knife and allows provided protection for linemen against direct
moisture ingress when installed at cold contact.
temperature.
- Cuts cable conductor if torque is not
controlled.
- Higher torque needed to penetrate the cable
insulation.

Step 2 :

Contact blades (aluminium alloy or tinned copper).

Advantages :

- Simple to install

Advantages : Disadvantages :

- Easier to produce - Limited watertight performance.

- Easy assembly into main body cavities - Sensitivity to cold weather conditions.
- Limited cable range taking.
Disadvantages : - Not integrated into the connection.

- Difficult to avoid corrosion between aluminium

and copper without water barrier. Step 2:

Step 3: Independent tightening:

Contact blades + sealing parts Cover was flexible and fit better around the
Contact blades as above, but inserted in a watertight conductors due to the pressure of the rigid plastic
sealing body filled with grease. fasteners.

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 Advantages :

- Simple to install. C. Bolt design

- Better cable range taking.
Step 1:
Disadvantages : Bolts were either in protected steel or in aluminium
alloy with 5 mm hexagonal internal shape (Allen
- Not watertight (except when filled with additional key).
grease).
- Not integrated to the connection. Disadvantages :

Simultaneous tightening: - No torque control.

- Limited applicable torque due to 5 mm shape.
The insulation is integrated to the connector. - Specific and expensive design
- Direct contact with energized parts.

Step 2:
Bolt made from protected steel or from aluminium
alloy with hexagonal head 10 or 13 mm with shear
head option.

Advantages :

- Torque control.

Disadvantages :
Advantage:
- One-piece construction. - Specific and expensive design.
- Better integration of the connector into the bundle - Direct contact with energized parts.

Disadvantages : Step 3:
Standard 8mm or 10mm bolts hot dip galvanised,
- No specific seal to avoid water penetration zinc plating (dacromet process) or stainless steel,
- Risk of corrosion supplied with a plastic or metallic shear head
- Aluminium blades were required for device.
aluminium conductors and copper blades for
copper conductors Advantages :

Step 3: - Standard bolt

Rigid insulation material with integrated rubber - Reliability of torque control due to metallic shear
seals filled with grease. head
- Safe for linemen because bolts are de-energized.

Disadvantages :

- Sensitive to hot dip galvanised process that can

affect the tightening performance.
- Difficult to manage reliability of plastic shear
head device due to the molding process and
environmental conditions.

V. TECHNOLOGY UPDATE

Today’s design provides a more reliable, safe and

simple solution to installers and customers. Piercing
Advantages : technique has always been a subject of suspicion as
far as current carrying capacity is concerned and
- All functions integrated into connector. how so small a contact area can establish adequate
- Better cable range taking due to the flexible seals current flow in the long term.
- Watertight.

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 The contact performance has improved with
experience and the introduction of severe heat
cycling tests. A major concern is the contact
reliability for the life of the connector.
A. Contact area
B. Contact pressure
The aim of this concept is also to manage the
pressure on the strands without damaging or cutting
the wires that will affect the mechanical conductor
resistance on the neutral conductors.

At the beginning of the piercing technology, To meet this criteria, key factors are the choice of
designers extrapolated data from their experience the bolt, the applied torque, and the contact area.
on the bare conductor connection, mainly based on Different bolt material and protection may require a
parallel groove technology. Taking the same different torque for the same application.
contact area ratio, piercing area was large and
consequently the torque needed to penetrate the Influence of bolt material on torque is shown as
insulation was large and not reliably produced by a follows:
lineman in the field. The main difference between
parallel groove clamps (PG) and insulation piercing
connectors (IPC) is that PG clamps are not
protected against corrosion before installation. This
caused designers to design a wide contact area and
a high pressure to obtain a proper contact resistance
and current flow. One of the main advantages of
the piercing technology is that the aluminium is not
oxidized before installation. The mating contact
surface with the connector doesn’t need to be
cleaned prior to installation. Therefore, due to a
high contact pressure and to an excellent
partitioning of the contact point along the cable
wiring, Insulation Piercing Technology appeared as
a major innovation in terms of current carrying
capability.
The curve shows that a controlled torque must be
Contact point Partition applied in order to secure the contact performance.
Major wires shown

Radial partition
Resistance (ohm)

cables cables
2
> 95mm2 Š 25 mm

mini

Torque (N.m)

C. Relaxation effect

Designers considered the relaxation factor and

managed the torque value accordingly. They
Longitudinal partition discovered through experimentation that an applied
torque decreased substantially in the first 20 hours
after installation. This relaxation phenomenon is
now controlled and is a key parameter in the
connector design. In order to pierce the insulation

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 and to optimise the contact area and stabilize the 300,0µΩ

teeth within the conductor, the applied torque is 275,0µΩ

calibrated according to the cable sizes, the material

used for bolts, the plastic bodies, and the contact 250,0µΩ

blades. For example, a connector design for 70mm2

Résistances en
225,0µΩ

conductor bolt made from 8-8 zinc plated steel

(dacromet process), body made from polyamide 200,0µΩ

50% glass fibre, and copper blades has the 175,0µΩ

following relaxation curve.

150,0µΩ
10 20 30 40 50 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200
Nb. cycles

Torque (N.m) Référence câble Raccord 1 R1 Raccord 2 R2 Raccord 3 R3 Raccord 4 R4 Raccord 5 R5 Raccord 6 R6

Here is a typical temperature measurement between

cycle 0 and 200 cycles.
130°C

120°C

110°C

100°C

90°C

températures en °C
80°C

70°C

60°C

50°C

40°C

30°C

20°C

10°C
0 10 20 30 40 50 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200
Nb.cycles

TC ref TC 1 TC 2 TC 3 TC 4 TC 5 TC 6
TC 7 TC 8 TC 9 TC 10 TC 11 TC 12 TC ambiante

Time (h) Customer service quality and supply pushed

The target is to keep a flat curve all along the
connector life. This curve has been validated by
several heat cycling tests carried out in a laboratory
and including short circuits as per International
Standard requirements (NF, ESI, VDE, ANSI,
NEMA, IEC).
VI. TEST REQUIREMENTS
Heat cycle tests:
Heat cycle tests were conducted in order to verify
the electrical behavior of connectors. The purpose
of these tests was to submit the connectors
alternatively to heating and cooling periods.
During each cycle the following was measured:
- electrical resistance at ambient temperature
- temperature during heat stabilization.
utilities to improve the contact performance by
avoiding any other perturbations like corrosion and
water ingress. Then most utilities decided to opt for
a watertight connection. This new requirement
appeared as a major design factor, which was set up
firstly by EdF in France. The objective was to
obtain a water and dielectric resistance integrity at
the connection point. To define the criteria, they
defined a specification which is now under a French
standard NF C 33-020. A combined test has been
defined to check dielectric and water resistance.
This test procedure, known as the “6 kV” test has
the following procedure:
- Install the connectors on the specified cables.
- Immerse the assembly under 30 cm of water
for 30 min.
- Apply 6 kV for one minute between water and
conductors.
- No flashover shall occur.

Electrical resistances and temperatures shall
demonstrate a good stability during the test.
Requirements for stability are defined in
corresponding standards. In France heat cycle tests
are carried out in accordance with NF C 33-004.
Here is a typical resistance measurement between
cycle 0 and 200 cycles.
In addition, and in order to check the long life
performance, EdF required a climatic aging test
which consists of 6 weeks exposure (as per the
table), including humidity, temperature variations,
ultra violet exposure, and sprinkling conditions.
This test is defined in the French standard NFC 20-
540.

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 Temperatures
in °C

(A) (B) (C) (D)

All the above requirements are clearly defined in
70h 23h 23h 46h
the French standard NFC 33-020 and will be
+70°C
included in a European CENELEC standard in the
+55°C
next two years.
HR=60% HR ≤≤ 30% HR ≥95%
≥
HR ≤≤ 30%
sprinkling sprinkling sprinkling
+23°C
1h 1h 1h 1h 1h IV. BIOGRAPHY
Time (h)
0°C
U.V. 1h 1h
Gilles Porcheray received his degree in mechanics
-25°C
in 1971 from IUT (Technology Institute) in Dijon,
72h 96h 120h 126,5h 144h 149,5h 168h
France. His area of expertise includes electric field
analysis and design of connectors. He joined
SIMEL in 1974 as Project Manager and is currently
After the six week cycle, a similar dielectric test as Product Manager for LV insulated overhead
mentioned above is carried out applying 1 kV under product line in Tyco Electronics/Energy Division.
water to check the water resistance and at 6 kV in From 1974 to 1985, he worked as a Product
lead ball to check the dielectric resistance. Development Engineer, mainly focused on piercing
connectors. For 5 years, he leads an European
VII. APPLICATION Committee working on a LV Insulated overhead
standard.
A – Tap connection in LV insulated or covered
overhead lines X. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This is the more common application where The author would like to thank all of his colleagues
connections are submitted to climatic exposure and who helped in design and testing of the described
linemen face installation difficulties. This is also a products, Mr André Dupont for his special
safe technology which avoids wire stripping and contributions in the design and Mr Pierre
allows the connectors to be installed energized. Deschamps for his contribution in organizing the
test program.
B – Tap connection in LV underground cables
XI. REFERENCES
This technology is used as tap connection between
a main line and another main line. In this case 1) Brian W. Callen, AMP, “Load relaxation in
connectors are installed on the cables into a box Insulation Piercing Connectors” 1998
which has to be filled with resin or gel. Direct 2) Electrical ageing test of connectors used on
burial is the next step currently under development. overhead (OH) aerial bundled conductors
(ABC).
Europe, Asia and Latin Americas are now more CIRED 97 Conference Publication N° 438
familiar with this technology. EDF DER GECC : T. Le Corre
SIMEL : P. Deschamps
VIII. CONCLUSION MALICO : D. Falliex
GIMELEC : C. Daviet
These requirements of long term electrical and 3) R.S. Timsit, AMP “High performance
mechanical performance required a new design connectors in Power Distribution Systems”.
approach. Engineers faced three major problems:

- Find a sealing material and design that can fit

many diameters of conductors as well as resist
UV exposure and pressure during the connector
life (more than 20 years).
- Find fiberglass reinforced thermoplastic
material that can withstand the mechanical
forces without being affected by the climatic
exposure and heat cycling.
- Determine a minimum/maximum torque level
that assures sufficient insulation piercing to
establish electrical contact as well as to
maintain the mechanical resistance of the
conductors at various installation temperatures.

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