Thermo-electric analysis of the interconnection of the LHC main superconducting bus bars

► We analyzed defective interconnections of the LHC superconducting bus bars. ► A numerical thermo-electric model was built and validated vs. experimental tests. ► The critical defect length was evaluated by varying the model parameters. ► We assessed the predominant effect of the heat transfer towards the cooling bath. ► Cable RRR and defect distribution have more impact than bus RRR and current dump time.