Wedge-Shaped Insulator for High Voltage Capacitor Volume Reduction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
High voltage capacitors are often large and heavy, leading to increased manufacturing and operational costs, and limiting their applications due to their size and weight, which existing insulation materials fail to adequately address in terms of reducing volume and weight while maintaining performance.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates wedge-shaped insulator elements with varying thicknesses, positioned between capacitor units in a stacked configuration, reducing the overall volume and weight of the capacitor by up to 30% compared to capacitors with uniformly thick insulator elements, while maintaining similar performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If uniformly thick insulator elements are used between capacitor units, then adequate insulation performance is maintained, but the overall volume and weight of the capacitor increase
Solution Approach 1:
The insulator element employs varying thickness across its structure, with greater thickness at ends experiencing higher electrical stress and reduced thickness where stress is lower. This non-uniform thickness distribution provides adequate insulation performance at critical locations while reducing overall material usage and capacitor volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The insulator element features an asymmetric thickness profile rather than a uniform cross-section. The thickness varies along the length of the insulator, creating an asymmetric geometry that optimizes insulation where needed while minimizing volume elsewhere, directly addressing the contradiction between insulation performance and volume reduction.
2Reliability
If uniformly thick insulator elements are used between capacitor units, then insulation performance is maintained, but the weight of the capacitor increases
Solution Approach 1:
The insulator element employs varying thickness across its structure, with greater thickness at ends experiencing higher electrical stress and reduced thickness where stress is lower. This non-uniform thickness distribution provides adequate insulation performance at critical locations while reducing overall material usage and capacitor volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The thickness parameter of the insulator element is varied continuously or in steps along its length, transitioning from thicker sections at high-stress areas to thinner sections at low-stress areas. This parameter change optimizes the weight-performance ratio by providing insulation only where electrically necessary.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A
AI summary
Methods and apparatus are provided for a high voltage capacitor having a plurality of capacitor units connected in electrical series in a stacked configuration. An insulator element can be positioned between two adjacent capacitor units of the high voltage capacitor for providing separation between the adjacent capacitor units, where the insulator element has a first thickness at a first end of the insulator element and a second smaller thickness at a second end of the insulator element. The insulator element can have a wedge-shaped cross section.