Medium and low voltage switchgear busbar overlap
With regard to busbar joint current density, some users require a specific maximum value for current density in busbar joints, or a full lap, but this design criterion may not have any bearing on the resulting temperature rise of the busbar system. Most of the actual current transfer in busbar joints occurs below the area defined by the heavy flat washers used under the bolt heads and under the nuts, and very little current is carried in the joint area outside the area defined by the washers. They also have no significant effect on the temperature rise of the joint. […]