Bus Bars Optimize Power Handling Laminated bus bars route power within cabinets while providing desirable electrical characteristics. Howard W. Markstein, Western Editor Bus bars are thick, rectan- gular conductors which offer a higher current car ying capacity than round wire. (Bldre) _— us bars are widely used power distribution systems for such diverse applications as large com- puter systems, telecommunications, military ground-based and shipboard sys tems, avionics, banking and sorting sys- tems, energy management systems, and industrial controls. One reason for this wide use is that a bus bar is basically a thick, rectangular conductor offering a higher current carrying capacity than round wire, Other significant reasons include: reduced voltage drop, low impedance, inherent filtering, reduced EMU/RFI, elimination of wiring errors, and control- lable and reproducible performance characteris tics (see sidebar, ‘Advantages of Bus Bars’). Bus bar types ‘There are basically three types of bus bars: single conductor, laminated multi conductor and planar. The simplest type is the single-conduc- tor bus bar. It is used for high-current applications and when low voltage drop is a prime requirement. Its general construc- tion is also simple: a length of a thick, rectangular cross-sectional bar of copper ‘wth termination tbs ‘The laminated multilayer bus bar is a widely used design offering the most advantages. Its construction is of alternate layers of rectangular copper stock and dielectric. The exposed edges are often sealed by an epoxy resin, Because it is of multiconductor design, it can handle mixed power levels with integral ground returns. The flat, stacked, laminar configu- tation sn provides a bultan capacitance for power filtering. ‘The planar type bus bar is basically a flexible circuit having thicker and wider conductors such as in the form of conven- tional ground planes. The planar bus bardesign, however, has conductors as thick as 20'- 32 mils. These are spaced side-by-side and enclosed within an insulating film of polyester or polyimide Although pure copper or copper alloy is the most widely specified bus bar metal, aluminum is also specified when \weight is a factor. Aluminum’s conduc- tivity is 60 percent that of copper. Other ‘materials sometimes specified are brass, beryllium copper and phosphor bronze (Gee Table 1), ‘The insulating dielectric material for ‘multiconductor, laminated bus bars can be chosen to tailor the capacitance and impedance. The materials differ in dielectric strength and dielectric con- stant, The most commonly used dielec tric materials are polyester; epoxy/ glass; polyimide; and DuPont's Tedlar, Mylar, ‘Nomex and Dacron (see Table 2) Bus bar designs Bus bars feature design flexibility in that they can be specified in many sizes and shapes, Some designs are mounted on printed circuit boards and back- planes, while the larger versions are integral to the enclosure structure. They may even be designed in as supporting members. Fig. I shows a bus bar mounted to a card cage within a cabinet. Two condue- tors are laminated together, each capable of carrying 300 A, The I-shaped design measures 15 (1) x 10 in. (w)- ‘The bus bar design in Fig. 2s suitable to a variety of high-power applications. Itis designed to provide low-inductance connections to individual insulated gate bipolar transistor (GBT) modules and to a DC capacitor bank, The bus bar is con- structed as alternating layers of Unned copper plates and eponyglass insulation, laminated into a multilayer assembly. ‘The wide copper plates act to cancel par- asitie inductance and suppress transient voltages in the power circuit. Design factors Figure 1, A cabinet-mounted card cage receives its power from the two-conductor, F-shaped bus seen at the center of the ‘cabinet. (Bldre) Table 1. Bus Bar Conductor Materials where: R= resistance at 20°C, ohms/ft conductor resistivity, ohms/sq mit ‘w= conductor width, mils sonductor thickness, mils For the higher in-service tempera- tures usually encountered, the resis: tance will increase according to: Ry =Ry[ 9 (Ty-T})] where R; = resistance at 20°C, ohms/ft resistance at T, ohims/ft 20 new temperature, °C jemperature coefficient of resistivity. rane Woltate drop can then be eal lated from: v=RI where V= voltage drop per foot, volts resistance, ohimy ft urrent drawm by the load, amps. Note that in determining the voltage drop, the total path length is consid- ered, ie, power source to load and back to power source. ‘Another goal in bus bar design isto Resistivity at 20°C Temperature Metal ohms/sq milft cootticient x10: Copper alloy 170 8.09 0.398, Brass alloy 260 2906 0.098 BeCu alloy 172 36.29 0.890 Phos. bronze alloy 210 | —=«S.2T7 0.160 ‘Aluminum alloy EC 13.85 7 0.423 Table 2. Insulation Materials i Minimum Dielectric strength The allowable voltage drop is often the governing factor in selecting the bus bar | Materials aaeiore ms IY ekettcr: cross-sectional area and material. Bus | Tea 0.002 920 bar design involves minimizing the resistance with respect to the allowable | Polyester 0.002 38 voltae drop. Resistance of a bus bar is given by: Epoxyiglass 0.0025 43 500 ‘ DacronvMylar/Dacron* 0.005 34 1,000 R= we Polyimide 0.008 38 4,600 Nomext 0.004 26 500 “Du Pont Trademarkmmaximige capacitance and minimize inductance. The capacitance of a multi- conductor, laminated bus bar can be determined from: ¢ = 0.225KA (N-1) d where: C= capacitance, picofarads K = dielectric constant -onduetor surface area, sq in. number of conductors In today’s technological environ- ment, electronic systems have become denser, thereby restr bution. However, a bus bar requires significantly less space than does a ‘comparable wire harness, Because of the difference in geometries, a bus bar may only require 1/2 to 1/10 the space required for a wiring harness. In order to carry large currents, circular wire conductors must be large in diameter, which consumes space, and bending these wires withi a cabinet can be a difficult task. Bus bar conductors, with a thickness of only 0.06 in. and a width of 1.0 in., ‘ean carry the same amount of current as a size #1 AWG wire haying a (0.29-in. diameter. The thinner bus bar can also be easily constructed and insulated to meet demanding. space requirements, ‘Most power applications require predicting the voltage drop character- istics of the distribution system, Bus bars, which display the lowest resistiv- ity and inductance, can provide power to many different points within a cabi- net with minimal voltage drop. Systems incur increased cost if larger wire is needed to compensate for undesirable voltage drop. System electronic noise, including EMURFI and crosstalk, is another area d= dielectric thickness ‘The inductance, L, in nanohenrie ata conductor length, 1, in inches, is given by: [2038541 w Similarly as for capacitance and inductance, the characteristic imped- ance, Z, in ohms, is dependent on the bus bar geometry and dielectric mater- where bus bars offer an advantage. ‘Total system cost will increase if the wire harness requires shielding or external capacitance to provide sufficient performance. The reduced impedance, reduced inductance and increased capacitance of a laminated bus bar provides effective noise fil- tering and EMI/RFI suppression without added cost Where the enclosure contains a significant number of electrical con- nections, the installation labor involved for a wiring hamess will often ‘outweigh the labor involved in the installation ofa bus bar. As the number of taps on a single voltage or ground Tevel increases, the desirability ofa bus bar conductor increases, Bus bars also reduce or eliminate wiring errors. ‘Another factor in choosing the type of power distribution system for an enclosure is the thermal management characteristics. Bus bars provide improved thermal management through better heat dissipation from the flat configuration. Also, airflow through the enclosure is enhanced because of the elimination of bulky power cabling. In some applications, bus bars can even function as air direc- tors or baffles. Duane Prasia Eldre Corp. Rochester, NY. Figure 2. This multiconductor bus bar is designed for low inductance and {transient voltage suppression in the power circuits for IGBT modules. (Etare) ial, For multiconductor bus bars— ‘where div is always less than 0.1— the following applies: _-3tld wk From the above equations, itis seen that the bus bar conductor width, w, should always be maximized within the confines of the application, and the dielectric thickness, d, should be mini- mized. Also note that inductance is rectly proportional to the length of the bus bar. In essence, bus bars are an effective ower distribution alternative to cabling. They would be the most advantageous choice in the following instances: * When a system has sensitive elec- trical characteristics and low noise and crosstalk are requirements, = When the cost of wiring harnesses and potential wiring errors are a consid eration, * When space is a concern, * When it is necessary to provide a low-impedance route for high-frequency noise away from the load. * When, for cost advantages, a bus bar can double as a supporting part of the enclosure. * When large printed circuit boards need stiffening. 1 simplifying the layout and design of printed circuit boards and backplanes. * For high-current applications. To be effective, however, bus bars should be considered as a design option early in the design cycle, ideally as soon as the cabinet power, power supply and backplane requirements are established. EPSP Eldre Corporation will provide engi- neered power distribution solutions for your power bus bar requirements, Contact an application engineer at Tok 716-427-7280, Fax: 716-272-0018 eptea rom ELECTRONIC PACKING & PRODUCTION Docomber, 1005 "0 1905 by CAHNERS PUBLISHING COMPANY45 Years of Power Distribution Technology ELDRE CORPORATION PHONE: 716-427-7280 FAX: 716-272-0018 1600 JEFFERSON 20D ROCHESTER, MY 14608, lores your solution for power distribution Fequirements, Our custom bus bars span a virtually lunliited artay of applications, carrying current ‘rom microamps to 2000A ano test voltage to several thousand volts. And our total in-house capability — ‘with technical support from design and prototype through production— assures complete customer satisfaction. These are just a few of the benefits Eldre provides: 1 Lower Overall System Cost 1m Superior Electrical and Mechanical Performance + Extremely low inductance * Reduced system noise + Space-saving configuration + Complete subassemblies incorporating infinite interconnection possibilities 1m Custom Desions, from Single-Conductor to Mult-Conductor Complex Power Distribution Systems selves to not only meet, rs expectations, Call today for more information,