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Competitive Industry

EVALUATION OF HIGH-TEMPERATURE FLUORINATED ETHERS (PFPE) FOR POWER CONNECTORS OPERATING AT EXTREME SERVICE CONDITIONS Barry JOHNSON and Dmitry LADIN Tyco Electronics – Canada bjohnson@tycoelectronics.com Milenko BRAUNOVIC MB Interface - Canada, mbinterface@yahoo.com. Competitive Industry.

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Competitive Industry

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  1. EVALUATION OF HIGH-TEMPERATURE FLUORINATED ETHERS (PFPE) FOR POWER CONNECTORS OPERATING AT EXTREME SERVICE CONDITIONS Barry JOHNSON and Dmitry LADIN Tyco Electronics – Canada bjohnson@tycoelectronics.comMilenko BRAUNOVICMB Interface - Canada,mbinterface@yahoo.com

  2. Competitive Industry • From system growth to prolonging the operating life • Increased energy consumption in densely populated areas • Transmission/Distribution lines carry greater loads • Operating temperature of conductors raised beyond 1300C • New type of high temperature conductor (ACSS) • Stability of power connections at extreme operating conditions

  3. Lubrication of Power Connections • Contact aid compounds commonly used for Al and Cu • Contact zone protection • Low thermal stability of currently used compounds • Inertness and low viscosity of fluorinated ethers • PFPE-based lubricants can sustain operating temperatures as high as 2000C

  4. Lubricants Selection • Maximum operating temperature range • Formulation: base oil and additives • Thickeners: • not melting • improved adhesion to the substrate • lower wear rates

  5. UV Resistance • Per ASTM G-53-95 and ASTM D-638-95 • Accelerated Weathering Tester: cycles of 4 hrs UVB at 600C, followed by 4 hrs of condensation at 500C • Lubricant failed: no longer can be spread and/or has severe cracking

  6. WEATHERING TESTER

  7. Long-Term Temperature Exposure • Forced Air Oven set to 2000C • Exposure time: more than 2000 hrs • Material Examination: • Discoloration • Cracking • Hardening

  8. Appearance of the Lubricants (Thermal Ageing) PASSED FAILED BEFORE EXPOSURE AFTER EXPOSURE

  9. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) • Determination of thermal stability • Weight change measurement • Heating rate: 10 0C/min • N3 is stable up to 4000C

  10. Current Cycling Tests • Test I: measured contact resistance and temperature of lubricated Al-to-Al busbar bolted joints: • Thin layer of the lubricant spread over overlapping zones • Joints repeatedly heated up to 2000C (for 5 min) and cooled to ambient temperature

  11. Current Cycling Tests • Test II: wedge connectors assembled with 336.4 kcmil ACSS conductors: • Followed modified ANSI 119.4 Class AA procedure • Temperature of the control conductor was raised to 2000C

  12. Results of the Current Cycling Tests µ • Typical data sample: lubricated Al to Al wedge connectors • N3 and C1 lubricants are the base formulation for effective high temperature applications µ

  13. Discussion & Conclusions • Two PFPE lubricants with sufficient UV and thermal ageing stability are identified • The lubricants were effectively utilized as contact-aid compounds in current cycling tests • Results obtained under controlled laboratory conditions • Suggested materials should be subjected to the field service conditions • Necessary fillers and metallic additions are to be incorporated to make HT contact-aid compounds

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