During the manufacturing process multi-strand conductors are subject to compressive force and rotation moments. The current distribution in the multi-strand conductors is not uniform and is controlled by the transverse resistivity. This is mainly determined by the contact resistance at the strand crossovers and inter-strand contact resistance. The surface layer properties, and in particular the crystalline structure and degree of oxidation, are key parameters in determining the transverse resistivity. The experimental set-ups made it possible to find the dependence of contact resistivity as a function of continuous working stresses and cable design. A study based on measurements and numerical simulation is made to identify the contact resistivity functions.

In this paper we propose a new method using finite elements modelling to predict the impact of stranding and compacting process on a conductor electrical resistance. The experimental work has highlighted the complexity of physical phenomenon within the conductor caused by elastic and plastic deformations and inters-strands electrical contact resistance. In reality, electrical performance of a conductor depends on the nature of the material and its metallurgical state, on the mechanical pressure and electrical conductance of inter-strands contact areas. For these reasons, mechanical models have been developed in Abacus software to study different parameters involved in the stranding and compacting process to determine the actual conductor shape, strands actual deformations, residual stresses and contact pressure, etc. The deformed geometries were exported to COMSOL Multi-physics software using ECAD IMPORT module. DC simulations were, then, performed to analyze the electrical resistance of the conductor. Finally, the results obtained by simulation have been compared to the measurements to determine the accuracy of the models.