Overmolded Fuse Cable Structure for Thermal Control in PV Wiring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical power supply cables with fuses face challenges in maintaining optimal temperature, thermal aging, water ingress, electrical stress, and durability due to non-optimized protection elements, particularly under varying installation conditions.
Innovation Solution
An electrical power supply cable design with a fuse incorporated inside, featuring a protection element overmolded around the fuse, optimized with thermal finite element modeling to enhance convective and radiation heat dissipation, using polyamide material and low-pressure molding, and incorporating overthicknesses at the ends to manage heat distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a uniform cylindrical protection element is used around the fuse, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the temperature distribution is non-optimized leading to excessive heat at certain locations
Solution Approach 1:
The protection element transitions from a uniform cylindrical shape to a non-uniform shape with varying cross-sectional areas along its length. Specific regions have enlarged cross-sections (overthicknesses) to provide enhanced thermal mass and heat dissipation capacity at locations requiring additional thermal management, while other regions maintain smaller cross-sections to facilitate heat flow toward these cooling zones.
2Temperature
If the protection element volume is increased to improve heat dissipation, then temperature constraints are better satisfied, but material usage and device volume increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly increasing the protection element volume, the design implements localized overthicknesses at specific positions where thermal management is most needed. This concentrates the additional material volume only where it provides maximum thermal benefit, rather than distributing it uniformly throughout the entire protection element.
Solution Approach 2:
The protection element design incorporates variations in the cross-sectional area dimension along the length of the element. By modifying the second dimension (cross-sectional area) at specific locations rather than uniformly increasing all dimensions, the design achieves enhanced heat dissipation capacity while minimizing the overall volume increase.
3Temperature
If the protection element shape is optimized for thermal performance, then temperature constraints are satisfied, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The complex geometry is localized to specific regions (overthicknesses at particular positions) rather than requiring complex shaping throughout the entire protection element. This allows the majority of the protection element to maintain a simple cylindrical form that is easy to manufacture, while only specific zones require the more complex non-uniform geometry for thermal optimization.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The optimized design ensures compliance with temperature, durability, and safety constraints, including maximum temperatures and electrical field limits, while reducing material usage and maintaining mechanical integrity.
Implementation Method 1
enhance convective and radiation heat dissipation
Implementation Method 2
enhance convective and radiation heat dissipation
Implementation Method 3
incorporating overthicknesses at the ends to manage heat distribution
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical power supply cable (10) for a photovoltaic installation includes an electrical conductor (12) having at least two electrical conductor portions (20, 22) and a fuse (24) arranged between the at least two electrical conductor portions. The at least one fuse electrically links the at least two electrical conductor portions. The cable (10) further has a protection element (30, 40, 50, 60) overmolded around the fuse and forming an electrical insulation layer, the protection element having at least one overthickness at at least one end portion (34, 36) of the protection element (30).