Open Access

ARTICLE

THERMAL ELECTRIC ANALYSIS OF 3-D SANDWICH COMPACT BUSBAR WITH CLASS-B AND CLASS-F INSULATION

B. Gangadhara Rao^a,*, K. Elangovan^b, K. Hema Chandra Reddy^a, M. Arulprakasajothi^c

a Department of Mechanical Engineering, JNTUA, Anantapur -515002, India.
b Department of Mechanical Engineering, Er. Perumal Manimekalai College of Engineering, Hosur, - 635117, India.
c Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr Sagunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India
* Corresponding author. Email: ursganga@gmail.com

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer 2021, 16, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.5098/hmt.16.15

Abstract

In this research, the 3-D coupled thermal electric model analyses on a sandwich bus bar are presented for the comparison of F Class & B Class of insulation. IEC defines the maximum temperature limit at the conductor based on the class of insulation. This paper gives the clarity on the variation on the current density i.e, the size of the conductor by varying the class of insulation. The study is conducted on tin plated 2000 A sandwich busbar system. The sandwich bus bar is made of copper conductors with tin plating and enclosed by an aluminum cover along its length. Numerous divisions of busbars are examined, to determine heat distribution through the three modes, i.e., conduction, convection and radiation. Evaluate the thermal endurance of B-class and F-class insulations of similar busbar geometry. The heat transfer coefficient is determined based on the fluctuating temperature and model geometry and is coupled with the finite element method. The solution of the temperature distribution due to applied current on the copper conductor are obtained in ANSYS 15.0. Investigation shows that, the vital temperature increment in conductor while changing the B-class insulation to F class and casing temperature remains without much of variation. By changing the class of insulation, it helps to raise the thermal endurance of the insulating busbar system. The tin plating in the bus duct system functions as the heat source or thermal sink and aids in the uniform distribution of heat energy along its length.

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Keywords

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