New Plastic Materials for Low-Voltage Switches
Polet, Niko Petteri (2017)
Polet, Niko Petteri
2017
Materiaalitekniikka
Teknisten tieteiden tiedekunta - Faculty of Engineering Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2017-06-07
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tty-201705191425
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tty-201705191425
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of this thesis is to propose new alternative thermoplastic materials for use in low-voltage switch-disconnectors. This thesis was done as a case study in which the focus was on replacing the thermoset polyester used in the OT200/250 switch-disconnector pole frame with a thermoplastic. The switch-disconnector is made up of separate poles and an operating mechanism that can be assembled into different configurations. To be able to propose suitable materials requirements for the material must be known. Material requirements can be determined based the performance requirements of the switch-disconnector. Most of the performance requirements come from the European IEC 60947-3 and U.S. UL 98 standards and ABB switch-disconnectors must comply with both standards. The standards state tests switch-disconnectors must pass to verify compliance and these tests set the performance requirements. These performance requirements translate into mechanical, electrical and thermal property requirements. The most critical material properties regarding the performance of the OT200/250 pole frame are mechanical strength, molding shrinkage and thermal resistance (RTI’s and melting temperature/HDT). Based on a list of material requirements 5 raw material suppliers were asked to propose up to 3 of their materials and out of the proposals 1 material from each supplier was chosen for testing. Samples of each material were manufactured using an old thermoset mold. The prototypes were not tested in the thesis, but an initial test plan was proposed. The pole frame was also re-designed to better suit thermoplastics. A mold will be made based on the re-design and another set of prototypes will be made and tested.