10th INSUCON International Electrical Insulation Conference, Birmingham, UK, May 24-26, 2006

CONDUCTOR INSULATION FOR ROTATING MACHINES

Rudolf Brütsch and Dominique Rey

Von Roll Schweiz AG, CH-4226 Breitenbach, Switzerland

INTRODUCTION
Nominal voltage

Thermal rating
The conductor insulation in rotating machines has to
Cost
fulfill mainly two tasks:
Delivery period

To provide insulation between turns In practice a wide variety of materials is used for

To provide good adhesion to the copper conductor conductor insulation – as single materials or as
and the main wall insulation and the impregnating combinations thereof.
resin respectively

The conductor insulation is positioned in a critical

place of the coil or bar:

It is subject to a high electric field, especially on

the edges of rectangular wires used for high
voltage machines (see figure 1).

It is at the interface of materials with different
thermal expansion coefficients: Copper / mica
insulation in high voltage machines and copper /
impregnating resin in low voltage machines
respectively. In both cases the conductor insulation
is exposed to severe shear forces (see figure 2).

It is in close contact to the copper which usually
Figure 2 Temperature distribution calculated for the
sees the highest temperature in rotating machines.
cross section of an air-cooled turbo generator Roebel

It has to sustain severe flexural stress during coil
bar. The temperature difference between copper
manufacturing (loop winding and coil forming),
conductor and steel core is approx. 35 K causing shear
especially if small bending radii are applied.
forces in the intermediate conductor and main wall
insulation [1].

STANDARD TYPES OF INSULATED WINDING

WIRES AND THEIR APPLICATION

Enamelled winding wires

Enamelled winding wires are mostly used for low

voltage motors and generators and - in combination
with a fibre- or tape-covering - for high voltage
Figure 1 Calculation of the electric field strength at the rotating machines. An overview on the different
edge of a rectangular copper wire. The field strength at enamel coatings for these applications is given in table
the edge is 2 to 3 times higher than on the side face. 1. Winding wires with a bond coat allow to replace the
impregnation of the coil with a varnish or resin by a
simple baking process which is more economical.
Materials for conductor insulation have to be selected
to meet these requirements during the lifetime of a Fibre-insulated winding wires
machine. Many different factors determine the choice
of the appropriate material: The fibre insulation improves the mechanical
properties of the conductor insulation considerably.

Type of the machine Fibres are applied on the winding wire by single or
 10th INSUCON International Electrical Insulation Conference, Birmingham, UK, May 24-26, 2006

TABLE 1 Types and properties of enamelled winding double lapping or by braiding. Usually the fibre layer is
wires for rotating machines impregnated with a varnish for further improvement of
its mechanical and electrical properties. The Daglas
Type of enamel Tempera- Application, insulation consists of a fused glass/polyester fibre
ture index remarks blend which can also be applied without impregnation.
Modified Polyurethane 130 - 155 Low voltage, Fibre-insulated wires are typically used for Roebel bars
+ thermoplastic bond coat bondable because the fibre insulation is more resistant to the
Modified Polyurethane 155 - 180 Low voltage, bending operation used for Roebel transposition.
solderable Standard fibre-insulated winding wires and
Modified Polyesterimide 180 Low voltage, impregnating varnishes are summarized in table 2.
solderable
Modified Polyesterimide 200 Low voltage, Tape- and film-insulated winding wires
+ Polyamide-imide + bondable
thermosetting bond coat Tape- and film-insulated winding wires are less
Modified Polyesterimide 200 Low voltage, commonly used in rotating machines compared to
+ Polyamide-imide high voltage fibre-insulated winding wires. Exceptions are
Polyamide-imide 220 in combina- PET/Mica and Polyimide film taped wires used for
Polyimide 240 tion with high voltage, traction and high temperature motors.
fibre or tape Standard winding wires are summarized in table 3.
insulation

TESTING OF CONDUCTOR INSULATION

TABLE 2 Types and properties of fibre-insulated
winding wires for rotating machines IEC 60851 specifies a variety of test methods to define
the properties of round and rectangular winding wires.
Type of fibre Tempera- Application, Test methods relevant for testing the quality of the
ture index remarks conductor insulation are summarized in table 4. The
multitude of test methods reflects the importance of the
Daglas 155 - 180 High voltage,
Roebel bars conductor insulation for winding wires.
(Glass/Polyester fibre
blend, single or double
lapped and fused)
Glass 155 - 220High voltage,
NEW DEVELOPMENTS
(E-glass fibre, single or Roebel bars,
double lapped or braided) Traction
Although winding wires are mature products there are
motors
still new developments in this field. The following
Type of varnish used for impregnation of the fibre
compilation gives descriptions of some recent
covering
developments.
Epoxy 155 High voltage
Polyesterimide 180 Corona-resistant conductor insulation for inverter
Polyamide-imide 200 driven motors
Silicone 220
Polyimide 220 Traction The demand for inverter driven motors has increased
motors rapidly since the mid 80’s when technical solutions for
frequency inverters became less expensive and more
reliable. But the new technology also caused a new
problem: The increased stress on the motor winding
TABLE 3 Types and properties of tape- and film- insulation generated by surge voltages resulted in
insulated winding wires for rotating machines motor winding insulation failures, mostly in systems
using AC supply voltages above 400 V. These stresses
Type of film or tape Tempera- Application, are caused by the interaction of the fast rising voltage
ture index remarks pulses of the inverter and transmission effects in the
Polyester film (PET) 130 Low voltage cable. Due to this effect the terminal voltage of the
Polyester film (PEN) 155 motor may reach peak values of 2-3 times the pulsed
PET/Mica (Samicafilm) 155 - 180 High voltage output voltage of the inverter. Most critical are surge
voltages between turns whereas the phase and ground
Aramide paper (Nomex) 180 Pole coils
insulations are generally designed to withstand large
Polyimide film 220 Traction and
overvoltages.
(e.g. Kapton) high tempe-
rature motors
 10th INSUCON International Electrical Insulation Conference, Birmingham, UK, May 24-26, 2006

Von Roll has developed two winding wires for inverter

driven motors: Thermex 200 CR, a round wire with a
corona-resistant enamelling and SamicaShield, a
round wire with a mica insulation. Mica is the
preferred material for high voltage insulation due to its
superior resistance to corona and it is therefore obvious
to use it also as conductor insulation in inverter driven
motors. The problem to be solved was to get a
reasonably thin mica insulation for this application.
The resulting winding wire - SamicaShield - has an
increase due to insulation of 0.18 – 0.30 mm
depending on type and application.
Figure 3 Pulse endurance test of round wires with
Ageing tests of Thermex 200 CR and SamicaShield different insulations:
are shown in figure 3. The figure shows results of a 1: Enamelled grade 2
pulse endurance test performed at voltages of 2 and 3 2: Corona-resistant enamelled (Thermex 200 CR)
kV with 20 kHz and a pulse rise-time of 0.025 µs. 3: Glass lapped
Thermex 200 CR and SamicaShield gave the longest 4: Enamelled + Polyester film taped
lifetimes. The superior properties of SamicaShield 5: Polyimide film taped
were also proven in a field test with 26 inverter driven 6: Corona-resistant Polyimide film taped
motors for elevator application performed by the 7: SamicaShield
Korean Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) 8: SamicaShield impregnated (Resin Damisol 3340)
[2].

TABLE 4 Test methods for characterisation of the conductor insulation as specified by IEC 60851

IEC 60851 Test no. and method Applicable to Property tested

Part 3: 8: Flexibility and adherence Enamelled, fibre- and tape- Resistance to stretching, winding,
Mechanical (Mandrel winding test, stretching insulated round and bending or twisting without
properties test, jerk test, peel test, adherence rectangular wires showing cracks or loss of adhesion
test) of the insulation
11: Resistance to abrasion Enamelled round wires Resistance to scraping with a
needle without giving electrical
contact
18: Heat and solvent bonding Enamelled round wires Bond strength of a coil under load
tests (Helical coil, twisted coil)
Part 4: 12: Solvent test Enamelled and fibre- Hardness of the insulation after
Chemical insulated round wires immersion into solvents
properties 16: Tests for wires for use in Enamelled round wires Change of mass and formation of
refrigerants (Extraction test, blisters after immersion into
solvent test, blister test) solvents and refrigerants
Part 5: 13: Breakdown voltage Enamelled, fibre- and tape- Dielectric strength at room and
Electrical insulated round and elevated temperature
properties rectangular wires
14: Continuity of insulation (low Enamelled round wires Integrity of the wire insulation
and high voltage)
19: Dielectric dissipation factor Enamelled and bunched Dielectric losses
(tan δ) wires
Part 6: 9: Heat shock test Enamelled or tape-insulated Resistance to heat shocks without
Thermal and bonded round and appearance of cracks
properties rectangular wires
10: Cut-through test Enamelled round wires Hardness of the insulation under
load at elevated temperature
15: Temperature index Enamelled round and Thermal endurance according to
rectangular wires IEC 60172
21: Loss of mass Enamelled round wires Loss of mass at elevated
temperature
22: High temperature failure test Enamelled round wires Insulating performance of the
conductor insulation up to 450°C
 10th INSUCON International Electrical Insulation Conference, Birmingham, UK, May 24-26, 2006

New conductor insulations for traction motors turn failure at this position. This operation is handmade
and therefore time-consuming and uneconomical. A
Insulating materials in traction motors have to new Daglas insulation with increased mechanical
withstand high temperatures and frequent changes of strength was developed to eliminate the extra insulation
load and temperature. Standard materials applied for at the Roebel transposition (Figure 5):
conductor insulation are glass fibres and polyimide
film. Von Roll has enlarged the range of products by
A Daglas wire based on Thermex 200 or 220 with
developing two new winding wires: VS 240 and VS a single Daglas covering and a polyamide-imide
240 VF. The conductor insulation of both products overcoat. The insulation increase is 0.19 – 0.22
consists of a polyimide enamelling and a mm.
glass/polyester fibre covering impregnated with a
A Daglas wire based on Thermex 220 with a
polyimide varnish, the temperature index being 240 double covering of Daglas and glass and an
(Figure 4). The difference between the two products is thermosetting epoxy overcoat. The insulation
the increase due to insulation: It is 0.20 – 0.25 mm (VS increase is 0.25 – 0.28 mm.
240) and 0.15 – 0.19 mm (VS 240 VF) respectively.
They offer a true alternative to polyimide film taped Both wires are designed for use in automatic Roebeling
wires and have excellent dielectric and mechanical machines for the production of hydro- or turbo-
properties. generator bars.

A rectangular wire with a self-bonding overcoat for

pole coils

The use of self-bonding round winding wires with a

1. Rectangular 2. Polyimide 3. Glass/Polyester thermoplastic or thermosetting bond coat is well known
copper wire enamelling fibre covering + for the application in small low voltage motors. This
Polyimide technology can now also be used for the production of
impregnation large field coils, e.g. for wind turbine generators.

Figure 4 Construction of winding wires VS 240 and VS Thermibond M is an enamelled rectangular winding
240 VF wire with a thermosetting bond coat. The epoxy based
bond coat allows bonding temperatures of 140 – 200°C
and bonding pressures between 0.04 and 2 N/mm2.
Newly developed Daglas insulated winding wires for Typical pressure times are around 1 hour. The adhesion
Roebel bars in power generators between adjacent conductors is strong enough for
handling the pole coils during assembly of the
The use of Daglas insulated winding wires for Roebel generator but it also allows to pull the bonded wires
bars is state of the art. Although the Daglas insulation from the compressed coil without any wire enamel
is quite resistant to the bending operation used for detachments. Thermibond M is suitable for class 220
Roebel transposition an insulating chip is usually machines (Figure 6). Advantages for the manufacturer
placed at the conductor crossover to prevent any inter- of pole coils are:

No use of bonding varnish, no solvent emissions

Cost reduction, shorter manufacturing cycle

Homogeneous coating of the winding wire, no
influence of solvents or impregnating agents

Figure 5 Roebel transposition: Old process with

insulating chip at the conductor crossover (top figure),
new process with new Daglas insulation without
insulating chip and a narrower crossover (bottom
figure)
Figure 6 Pole coils produced with Thermibond M
 10th INSUCON International Electrical Insulation Conference, Birmingham, UK, May 24-26, 2006

A new range of mica based conductor insulations to specify the quality of the winding wire and its
for high voltage motors insulation.

Von Roll has developed a new range of mica based Although winding wires are mature products there are
conductor insulations for rotating high voltage a number of new developments in this field. The
machines. The new range of Samicafilm is composed principal advantages of the new products presented in
of six grades with different constructions and this paper are:
thicknesses (0.06 – 0.09 mm). The main features are:

Higher performance

New grades of very fine mica paper with
Cost reduction in manufacturing of rotating
grammages of 30, 50, 65 and 75 g/m2. machines

One or two polyester films as carrier material.

An epoxy based adhesive coating on one or both
sides of the tape which acts as hot melt bond coat
during the consolidation of the conductor stack. References
The bond coat is thermoplastic when pressing and 1 M. Tari, K. Yoshida, S. Sekito H. Hatano
thermosetting during the cure cycle of the main R. Brütsch, A. Lutz, Impacts on turbine generator
wall insulation. design by the application of increased thermal
conducting stator insulation, Paper 11-105,
Common to all grades of Samicafilm is the CIGRE 2002 session, Paris, August 2002.
economical consolidation process of the coil: 5 min. in
the coil press at 150°C is enough to consolidate the slot 2 Don-Ha Hwang, Doh-Young Park, Yong-Joo Kim,
portion of the coil and to provide sufficient mechanical Dong-Hee Kim, Ja-Yoon Koo, Jin-Hong Kim,
strength for further handling of the coil (Figure 7). Analysis of Insulation Characteristics of Low
Voltage Induction Motor Driven by IGBT PWM
Inverter, Proceedings of the IEEE conference, Los
Angeles 2000

Figure 7 Application of Samicafilm for high voltage

coil consolidation

Samicafilm offers an additional advantage in the repair

business where down times of machines often are
crucial. The delivery time for a small lot of enamelled
winding wire with defined dimensions may sometimes
be too long. In such cases it is often easier to produce
the bare copper wire and to apply Samicafilm.

CONCLUSIONS

The conductor insulation in rotating machines does not

only act as interturn insulation but also as an interface
between the copper conductor and the main wall
insulation and the impregnating resin respectively. In
this dual function it has to meet a multitude of different
requirements which are reflected in IEC 60851. This
standard lists a large number of different test methods