Insulating wire having partial discharge resistance and high partial discharge inception voltage

Abstract

The present invention relates to an insulating wire and, more particularly, to an insulating wire having partial discharge resistance that exhibits excellent partial discharge resistance and high partial discharge inception voltage and also excellences in the adhesion between the conductor and the insulation layer and the flexibility of the insulation layer, which insulating wire can be prepared by a simple process at a low production cost.

Claims

1. An insulating wire having partial discharge resistance, comprising a conductor and an insulation layer, the insulation layer being disposed to cover around the conductor and containing a polymer base resin and inorganic particles, the polymer base resin including at least one of a polyimide resin and a polyamide imide resin, the content of the inorganic particles being 10 to 30 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the polymer base resin, and the inorganic particles comprising 10 to 60 parts by weight of dry zeolite particles and 40 to 90 parts by weight of inorganic nanoparticles with respect to 100 parts by weight of the inorganic particle, wherein the dry zeolite particles have a porosity of 18 to 50% with respect to a total volume thereof, and each has a diameter of 1 to 10 m, wherein the inorganic nanoparticles includes at least one of silica, alumina, titanium dioxide, zirconia, yttria, mica, clay, chromium oxide, zinc oxide, iron oxide, magnesium oxide, calcium oxide, scandium oxide, and barium oxide, and each is pore free and has a diameter of 4 to 50 nm, wherein the insulation layer contains air filled in micropores of the dry zeolite particles and has a dielectric constant in a range of 2.5 to 3.

2. The insulating wire having partial discharge resistance as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dry zeolite particles have an inner porosity of 45 to 55% and an outer porosity of 30 to 40% out of the total porosity.

3. The insulating wire having partial discharge resistance as claimed in claim 2, wherein the dry zeolite particles are prepared by processing at least one synthetic zeolite selected from the group consisting of Na.sub.12[(AlO.sub.2).sub.12(SiO.sub.2).sub.12].27H.sub.2O, Na.sub.4TMA.sub.3[(AlO.sub.2).sub.7(SiO.sub.2).sub.17].21H.sub.2O, Na.sub.8TMA[(AlO.sub.2).sub.9(SiO.sub.2).sub.15].28H.sub.2O, Na.sub.86[(AlO.sub.2).sub.86(SiO.sub.2).sub.106].264H.sub.2O, Na.sub.56[(AlO.sub.2).sub.56(SiO.sub.2).sub.136].250H.sub.2O, (Na.sub.2, K.sub.2, Ca, Mg).sub.29.5[(AlO.sub.2).sub.59(SiO.sub.2).sub.133].235H.sub.2O and Ca.sub.2[(AlO.sub.2).sub.4(SiO.sub.2).sub.8].13H.sub.2O to a micro-scaled size and then dehydrating and drying by heat.

4. The insulating wire having partial discharge resistance as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conductor has a round or flat cross section.

5. The insulating wire having partial discharge resistance as claimed in claim 1, wherein the insulation layer comprises at least one adhesive agent selected from the group consisting of a melamine-based compound, an amine-based compound, a mercaptan-based compound and a polycarbodiimide-based compound in an amount of 1 to 3 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the polymer base resin.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the structure of a conventional insulating wire having partial discharge resistance.

(2) FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of an insulating wire having partial discharge resistance according to the present invention.

(3) FIG. 3 is an SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopic) image showing the insulating wire having partial discharge resistance according to the present invention in which an insulating material used to form an insulation layer contains micro-sized dry zeolite particles alone.

(4) FIG. 4 is an SEM image showing the insulating wire having partial discharge resistance according to the present invention in which an insulating material used to form an insulation layer contains a combination of micro-sized dry zeolite particles and inorganic nanoparticles at a predetermined mixing ratio.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(5) Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Throughout the specification, the same reference numbers may be used to denote similar components in various embodiments.

(6) FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of an insulating wire having partial discharge resistance according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the insulating wire having partial discharge resistance according to the present invention includes a round-shaped conductor 10 and an insulation layer 20. The insulation layer 20 contains inorganic particles dispersed in a base resin, where the inorganic particles may include dry zeolite particles 21 and inorganic nanoparticles 22. In this regard, the shape of the conductor 10 is not limited to a ring shape but may also be, for example, a flat shape.

(7) The thickness and the structure of the conductor 10 and the insulation layer 20 may be as defined in the KS standards (KS C 3107). According to the KS standards, the diameter of the conductor 10 ranges from 0.3 mm to 3.2 mm. Further, the standard coating thickness (the average value of the maximum and minimum coating thicknesses) of the insulation layer 20 increases with an increase in the diameter of the conductor 10. More specifically, the standard coating thickness is 10 to 31 m for the type 2; 14 to 169 m for the type 1; and 21 to 194 m for the type 0.

(8) The shape of the conductor constituting the insulating wire having partial discharge resistance according to the present invention is not confined to the example illustrated in FIG. 2 and may be appropriately changed or selected depending on the use purpose of the insulating wire within the range for those skilled in the related art of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as those skilled in the art) to achieve the objects of the present invention.

(9) The conductor 10 is mostly made of a copper or aluminum material that has high conductivity, preferably a copper material. Further, the insulation layer 20 is usually made of a polymer base resin, which will be described later.

(10) The base resin of the insulating material that constitutes the insulation layer 20 may include at least one resin selected from the group consisting of polyvinylformal resin, polyurethane resin, heat-resistant polyurethane resin, polyester resin, polyester imide resin, polyamide imide resin, polyimide resin, polyamide resin, and so forth. Preferably, the base resin may include a polyimide resin or a polyamide resin, which has low dielectric constant and excellences in heat resistance and mechanical strengths. This not only enhances the partial discharge resistance of the insulating wire according to the present invention but also satisfies the required properties of the insulating wire in regards to the flexibility of the wire when bending, such as winding the wire, the adhesion between the conductor and the insulation layer, and the mechanical strengths of the wire.

(11) In addition, the insulating material used to form the insulation layer 20 may further include an adhesive agent, that is, an adhesion enhancing agent. The adhesive agent further enhances the adhesion between the conductor 10 and the insulation layer 20, thereby having an effect to provide partial discharge resistance. The adhesive agent as used herein may be selected from melamine-based adhesive agents such as alkoxy (e.g., butoxy) melamine resin; amine-based adhesive agents such as trialkyl amine, etc.; mercaptan-based adhesive agents such as mercaptobenzimidazole, etc.; polycarbodiimide adhesive agents, and so forth. The content of the adhesive agent may be in the range of 1 to 3 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the base resin used to form the basal layer 22.

(12) On the other hand, the insulating wire having partial discharge resistance according to the present invention may have the dielectric constant of the insulation layer 20 lowered by using dry zeolite particles 21 for the inorganic particles of the insulation layer 20. The dry zeolite particles 21 as used herein may include dry zeolite particles prepared by processing natural zeolite or synthetic zeolite into micro-sized particles and then dehydrating and drying by heat.

(13) In this regard, the natural zeolite is a microporous ore with micropores having a regular structure. The natural zeolite may be used as molecular sieve in which air or voids take up about 50% of the total volume to the maximum.

(14) The synthetic zeolite can be prepared by slowly crystallizing silica alumina gel made of a combination of alkali, water and an organic substrate. The synthetic zeolite thus obtained has a hollow or porous structure in itself. The porosity of the synthetic zeolite with respect to the total volume may be in the range of 18 to 50%, preferably 38 to 50%. A preparation method for zeolite using a synthesis process makes it possible to produce a pure synthetic zeolite without contaminants. Further, the controlled temperature in the course of the synthesis process results in production of a synthetic zeolite having a more inherent structure than the natural zeolite. The synthetic zeolite may be a crystal with a crystal system that is cubic, monoclinic, hexagonal, rhombohedral, orthorhombic, or the like.

(15) The preferred examples of the synthetic zeolite are presented in Table 1.

(16) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Pore Crystal Density Porosity Diameter Chemical Formula System (g/cc) (%) () Na.sub.12[(AlO.sub.2).sub.12(SiO.sub.2).sub.12]27H.sub.2O Cubic 1.27 47 4.2 Na.sub.4TMA.sub.3[(AlO.sub.2).sub.7(SiO.sub.2).sub.17]21H.sub.2O Cubic 1.3 50 4.2 Na.sub.8TMA[(AlO.sub.2).sub.9(SiO.sub.2).sub.15]28H.sub.2O Cubic 1.3 47 4.2 Na.sub.86[(AlO.sub.2).sub.86(SiO.sub.2).sub.106]264H.sub.2O Cubic 1.31 50 7.4 Na.sub.56[(AlO.sub.2).sub.56(SiO.sub.2).sub.136]250H.sub.2O Cubic 1.25~1.29 48 7.4 (Na.sub.2,K.sub.2,Ca,mg).sub.29.5[(AlO.sub.2).sub.59(SiO.sub.2).sub.133]235H.sub.2O Cubic 1.27 47 7.4 Ca.sub.2[(AlO.sub.2).sub.4(SiO.sub.2).sub.8]13H.sub.2O Rhombohedral 1.45 47 3.7~4.2

(17) The dry zeolite particles 21 are prepared by processing the natural zeolite or the synthetic zeolite to a micro-scaled size and dehydrating and drying by heat to eliminate water (H.sub.2O) from the micropores and fill the empty pores with air having a dielectric constant of 1. In other words, the dry zeolite particles 21 filled with air having a dielectric constant of 1 are added to the insulation layer 20, so the total dielectric constant of the insulation layer 20 can be lowered.

(18) The dielectric constant and the partial discharge inception voltage (PDIV) of the insulation layer 20 have the relation as defined by the following mathematical equation 1.

(19) $\begin{array}{cc}\mathrm{PDIV}=\frac{d}{\mathrm{.Math.}}& \left[\mathrm{Equation}1\right]\end{array}$

(20) In the equation 1, d is the thickness of the insulation layer 20.

(21) In other words, with a decrease in the dielectric constant of the insulation layer 20, the partial discharge inception voltage (PDIV) of the insulation layer 20 is raised to suppress the partial discharge. Therefore, the dry zeolite particles 21 included in the insulation layer 20 contains air having the lowest dielectric constant of 1 filled in the micropores formed by a hollow or porous structure, so the total dielectric constant of the insulation layer 20 is controlled in the range of 2.5 to 4 to increase the inception voltage of the insulation layer 20, which has a good effect to suppress corona discharge or partial discharge.

(22) The dry zeolite particles 21 may have, for example, a diameter of 1 to 10 m, an inner porosity of 45 to 55% and an outer porosity of 30 to 40% out of the total porosity, a bulk density of 41 to 44 lbm/m.sup.3, and a surface area of 600 to 700 m.sup.2/g.

(23) The dry zeolite particles 21 are micro-sized particles, which are difficult to disperse uniformly in the insulating material used to form the insulation layer 20 but ready for settling. This can result in the rough surface of the insulation layer 20 or deterioration in the insulation withstanding voltage or the like.

(24) For reference, FIG. 3 is an SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopic) image showing the insulating wire having partial discharge resistance according to the present invention in which the insulating layer used to form the insulation layer 20 contains micro-sized dry zeolite particles 21 alone. As shown in FIG. 3, when the insulating material contains micro-sized dry zeolite particles 21 alone, a non-uniform dispersion of the dry zeolite particles 21 leads to a settling of the dry zeolite particles 21.

(25) Accordingly, in the insulating wire having particle discharge resistance according to the present invention, the inorganic particles contained in the insulation layer 20 may include a combination of the dry zeolite particles 21 and inorganic nanoparticles 22 at a predetermined mixing ratio. For reference, FIG. 4 is an SEM image showing the insulating wire having partial discharge resistance according to the present invention in which the insulating material used to form the insulation layer 20 contains a combination of the micro-sized dry zeolite particles 21 and inorganic nanoparticles 22 at a predetermined mixing ratio. As shown in FIG. 4, as the insulating material contains a combination of the dry zeolite particles 21 and the inorganic nanoparticles 22 at a predetermined mixing ratio, the dry zeolite particles 21 can be uniformly dispersed in the insulation layer 20.

(26) The inorganic nanoparticles 22 not only help achieve a uniform dispersion of the dry zeolite particles 21 to suppress the settling of the dry zeolite particles 21 but also have a good effect to prevent the breakdown of the insulation layer 20 caused by the partial discharge and provide a high partial discharge inception voltage due to the hollow or porous structure of zeolite. For this purpose, the inorganic nanoparticles 22 are required to have good dispersion properties, an ultrafine particle size, preferably 4 to 100 nm, more preferably 10 to 50 nm, a high specific surface area (BET method), preferably 100 to 300 m.sup.2/g, a high purity, preferably 95% or above, spherical particle shape, pore-free property, and so forth. There are various known methods for improving these properties.

(27) For example, German Patent No. 4209964 discloses an inorganic nanoparticle of which the surface is modified in order to be easily dispersed in a resin, such as, for example, silanized by preparing a surface mixture and then adding a silane compound, such as amine-based silane, phenyl-based silane, aniline-based silane, or silane having a hydrocarbon functional group, to the surface mixture. More specifically, the surface-silanized inorganic nanoparticles include the inorganic nanoparticles added to a solvent, such as toluene, xylene, ethanol, cresol, etc.

(28) The insulating material constituting the insulation layer 20, that is, the insulating material in which inorganic particles including a combination of the dry zeolite particles 21 and the inorganic nanoparticles 22 are dispersed in the polymer base resin can be prepared by a known method, which may employ the ball-milling method as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,403,890; the mechanical method based on high shear mixing in U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,873; the simple agitation method in U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,888; and the sol-gel method in JP Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-36731.

(29) In the insulating wire having partial discharge resistance according to the present invention, the inorganic particles contained in the insulating material used to form the insulation layer 20 may be used in an amount of 10 to 30 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the base resin. The content of the inorganic particles less than 10 parts by weight is too insignificant to acquire partial discharge resistance, while the content of the inorganic particles greater than 30 parts by weight results in poor flexibility of the insulation layer 20, possibly causing defectives to occur when the coils using the insulation layer 20 is wound up.

(30) Further, the content of the dry zeolite particles 21 in the inorganic particles may be 10 to 60 parts by weight, preferably 20 to 50 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the inorganic particles, and the content of the inorganic nanoparticles 22 in the inorganic particles may be 40 to 90 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the inorganic particles. The content of the dry zeolite particles 21 less than 10 parts by weight leads to the low dielectric constant of the insulation layer 20 and hence poor partial discharge resistance. On the other hand, the content of the dry zeolite particles 21 greater than 60 parts by weight causes a non-uniform dispersion of the dry zeolite particles 21 in the insulating material used to form the insulation layer 20 and thus brings about an issue of stability, such as a settling of the dry zeolite particles 21.

(31) As already described above, the insulating material used to form the insulation layer 20 of the insulating wire having partial discharge resistance according to the present invention contains a combination of the micro-sized dry zeolite particles 21 and the inorganic nanoparticles 22 at a predetermined mixing ratio in the polymer base resin. Due to the maximized surface area with the hollow or porous structure, the dry zeolite particles 21 have been used for ion filters of water softening/purification systems or industrial exhaust gas purification systems, catalysts for increasing the reaction rate of a chemical process, or other use purposes. However, the dry zeolite particles are difficult to process into nano-sized particles and thus problematic in regards to an issue of dispersion in a medium such as a polymer resin.

(32) Accordingly, the insulating wire having partial discharge resistance according to the present invention uses the dry zeolite particles 21 added to the insulating material constituting the insulation layer 20, so the air filled in the micropores in the hollow or porous structure of the dry zeolite particles 21 helps the insulation layer 20 acquire a low dielectric constant and a high partial discharge inception voltage and thereby has a good effect to suppress the partial discharge. Also, the insulating wire having partial discharge resistance according to the present invention uses the micro-sized dry zeolite particles 21 in combination with the inorganic nanoparticles 22 at a predetermined mixing ratio to solve the problem concerning the dispersion of the dry zeolite particles 21. This enhances the flexibility of the insulating wire, the adhesion between the conductor 10 and the insulation layer 20, the insulation withstanding voltage of the insulation layer 20, and the mechanical properties.

EXAMPLES

1. Preparation Example

(33) The ingredients as shown in the composition of Table 2 are added at the defined contents and blended together with a high-speed agitator (JS-MILL; NCTech Ltd.) to obtain each insulating material according to the Examples and the Comparative Examples. The insulating material is applied on a ring-shaped copper conductor having a diameter of 1.1 mm by way of a coating/application device (SICME NEV, Italy) and then cured at a linear velocity of 32 m/min in a baking furnace at 360 to 560 C. to form each insulating wire specimen with an insulation layer having a thickness of 40 m according to the Examples and the Comparative Examples.

(34) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Example Comparative Example 1 2 3 1 2 3 Base resin 100 100 100 100 100 100 Inorganic particles 18 18 18 18 18 18 Zeolite particles with 25 33 50 5 67 respect to 100 parts by weight of inorganic particles Inorganic 75 67 50 100 95 33 nanoparticles with respect to 100 parts by weight of inorganic particles

(35) Base resin: Polyamide imide (Product name: MS-30, manufactured by SungMoon)

(36) Zeolite particles: Dry zeolite particles (Product name: 96096, manufactured by SIGMA)

(37) Inorganic nanoparticles: nano silica

2. Evaluation Method of Properties and Evaluation Results

(38) <Stability Evaluation of Insulating Material>

(39) Each of the insulating wires prepared in the Examples and the Comparative Examples is stored indoor at the room temperature without exposure to the direct rays of the sun for one month and then evaluated in regards to the settling of the resin component, the zeolite particles, or the inorganic nanoparticles in the insulating material. In Table 3, O denotes an occurrence of the settling, and x denotes no occurrence of the settling.

(40) <Evaluation of Dielectric Constant>

(41) Each of the insulating wires prepared in the Examples and the Comparative Examples is used to form a flat coating film having a thickness of 0.2 to 0.5 mm. Then, a voltage having a frequency of 60 Hz to 100 MHz is applied to the coating film to measure the dielectric constant.

(42) <Evaluation of Flexibility of Insulation Coating>

(43) The specimen of each insulating wire prepared in the Examples and the Comparative Examples is wound around a polished mandrel having a predetermined diameter given by the IEC 60851 standards continuously thirty times or more. In terms of the coating flexibility, the coating flexibility is determined as good when the specimen has no crack and bad when the specimen has cracks.

(44) <Evaluation of Breakdown Voltage>

(45) A pair of specimens of each insulating wire prepared in the Examples and the Comparative Examples are twisted at the one end with a defined load as defined in the IEC 60851 standards to prepare a specimen twisted with two stripes. A test voltage is then applied between the conductors to determine the voltage at which the insulation coating of the specimen is broken. Generally, the wire is evaluated as good in terms of the breakdown voltage when the breakdown voltage is 8,000 V or higher.

(46) <Evaluation of Partial Discharge Resistance>

(47) A pair of specimens of each insulating wire prepared in the Examples and the Comparative Examples are twisted at the one end with a defined load as defined in the ASTMD 1868-07 standards to prepare a specimen twisted with two stripes. Subsequently, a voltage having a frequency of 20 kHz and a sine curve of 2.0 kVp is applied to the bare conductors on either end of the specimen to determine the time taken until a short circuit occurs.

(48) <Evaluation of Partial Discharge Inception Voltage>

(49) A pair of specimens of each insulating wire prepared in the Examples and the Comparative Examples are twisted at the one end with a defined load as defined in the ASTMD 2275-01 standards to prepare a specimen twisted with two stripes. Subsequently, a voltage having a frequency of 50 to 60 kHz is applied to the bare conductors on either end of the specimen at a predetermined rate to determine the voltage at which a partial discharge (100 pC or above) occurs.

(50) The evaluation results for the Examples and the Comparative Examples are presented in Table 3 below.

(51) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Example 1 2 3 Stability of insulating material Dielectric constant 3.3 3.2 2.9 Flexibility of insulation Good Good Good coating Breakdown voltage (V) 11000 12000 11600 Partial discharge 5 h 30 min 8 h 10 min 12 h 45 min resistance Partial discharge 625 638 665 inception voltage (V) Comparative Example 1 2 3 Stability of insulating X material Dielectric constant 3.9 3.7 2.9 Flexibility of insulation Good Good Bad coating Breakdown voltage (V) 12500 11500 8500 Partial discharge 3 h 30 min 4 h 42 min 19 h 30 min resistance Partial discharge 596 603 675 inception voltage (V)

(52) As can be seen from Table 3, the insulating wire specimens of the Examples 1, 2 and 3 corresponding to the insulating wires having partial discharge resistance according to the present invention contain dry zeolite particles having a hollow or porous structure in the insulation layer and have the total dielectric constant of the insulation layer lowered to 2.9 to 3.3 due to the air having a dielectric constant of 1 as filled in the micropores of the dry zeolite particles. As a result, the partial discharge inception voltage is increased to 625 to 665 V, which implies that the partial discharge is effectively suppressed.

(53) Besides, the insulating wire specimens use micro-sized dry zeolite particles in combination with inorganic nanoparticles at a predetermined mixing ratio, which results in a uniform dispersion of the dry zeolite particles without a settling. This further leads to excellences in properties, such as the stability of the insulating material, the flexibility of the insulation coating, the breakdown voltage, and the partial discharge properties.

(54) Contrarily, each specimen of the insulating wires according to the Comparative Examples 1 and 2 contains none of the zeolite particles or an extremely small amount of the zeolite particles, which is too insignificant to provide partial discharge resistance, and particularly has a partial discharge inception voltage too low to fundamentally suppress the partial discharge. Further, the specimen of the insulating wire according to the Comparative Example 3 contains an excessively large amount of the zeolite particles, causing a non-uniform dispersion and a settling of the zeolite particles, and thus exhibits poor properties in regards to the stability of the insulating material and the flexibility of the insulation coating.

(55) The present invention has been described with reference to the preferred exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and it would be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the technical conception and essential features of the present invention. Thus, it is clear that all modifications are included in the technical scope of the present invention as long as they include the components as claimed in the claims of the present invention.