Terminal Assembly Interrupted Aperture Creepage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing terminal assemblies in rotating electrical machines, such as starter-generators for gas turbine engines, face challenges in maintaining adequate clearances and creepage distances, which are crucial for preventing tracking and ensuring reliable electrical performance, especially when foreign object debris is present.
Innovation Solution
A terminal assembly design featuring a terminal board with an interrupted aperture and a passthrough having radially extending flanges, where the first flange is engaged with an interface and the second flange is located within a bore, enhancing clearance and creepage performance by increasing the path length over non-conducting materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional terminal assemblies are used with continuous apertures, then installation and wiring are simplified, but creepage distance is reduced and tracking risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The aperture in the terminal board is segmented into two separate openings rather than being continuous, which increases the creepage distance between conductive components by forcing the electrical path to travel along the insulating material surface between the segmented openings
2Reliability
If flanges are extended radially to increase creepage distance, then tracking protection is improved, but the device occupies more space and may interfere with surrounding components
Solution Approach 1:
The flanges are positioned at different radial distances from the center of the terminal board, creating a stepped configuration that increases creepage distance in the radial dimension without significantly increasing the overall axial footprint of the assembly
Data Source
AI summary
A terminal assembly includes a terminal board with an interrupted aperture to receive a passthrough.