Printed circuit board stator technology improves stability and performance

Latest tests show that wind turbines can benefit from it

Louisville, Colorado, October 12, 2013 / PRNewswire /-Boulder Wind Power ("BWP") today announced that the company's patented printed circuit board (PCB) stator technology's latest test results indicate that Compared with the insulation performance of traditional wind turbines, PCB stator technology has obvious advantages in terms of insulation strength and durability. In addition to improved performance, the weight of the PCB stator has also been reduced, and the use of a modular design can significantly reduce the expected operating and maintenance costs for BWP generators while promoting the generation of more energy.

Printed circuit boards used as generator stators have been widely used in a variety of applications by CORE Innovation ("CORE"), a developer of printed circuit board stator technologies. At the beginning of the 21st century, CORE's original PCB for generator stators was used in motors for variable-speed outdoor lawn equipment products, but since then, the company has steadily expanded the scale and scope of such applications. Lincoln Jore, President of CORE OPE, explained: "CORE Outdoor Power is a sister company of CORE Innovation and Boulder Wind Power, and ships between 50,000 and 100,000 series of professional electric products each year, including brush cutters, leaf blowers, lawn trimmers and lawn mowers. Etc. Because PCB technology is reliable and can be widely used in variable speed motors and generators, we have developed generator sets with a power of up to 750 watts, and more and more products will be developed accordingly. "

Since its establishment in 2009, Boulder Wind Power has made great improvements in promoting PCB technology for demanding wind power applications. Due to the use of new technologies in the production process, the company increased the PCB copper coil density and improved system performance. In addition, BWP also invested more than 1 million US dollars to introduce advanced testing equipment for its headquarters in Louisville, Colorado. Engineers are currently testing the PCB stator at the headquarters to measure its performance under extreme electrical and mechanical load conditions- All of this is to achieve the goal of ensuring that the PCB stator can have a life span of 25 years in the harshest operating environment.

Paulo Guedes-Pinto, vice president of engineering at BWP, said: "Our patented PCB technology uses proven industry standard processes to achieve unmatched conductor and insulation system consistency, eliminating the need for generator windings to utilize fault-prone, labor-intensive traditions Production process. The modular design means that the top of the tower can be replaced with a "plug and play" without a crane at the top, which can significantly reduce downtime and reduce operation and maintenance costs. "

Andy Cukurs, CEO of BWP, added: "Since its development in the 1940s, printed circuit boards have been used in critical applications such as medical electronics and aerospace. We have learned the lessons of these demanding applications, applied and Renovating those tried and tested processes, CORE Innovation has achieved success and continues to improve the technology used in the wind energy industry to support BWP in launching valuable technologies that can significantly improve generator performance and reliability. "

BWP recently completed its PCB stator withstand voltage test and compared the PCB stator insulation with the traditional mica tape insulation system on the mold-wound coil. The results show that under the same dielectric stress, the PCB stator insulation is maintained for 80 to 100 times longer than the mica tape insulation. Due to its excellent reliability, BWP believes that PCB has the following advantages:

Compared with the traditional winding process, the PCB production process can be carried out automatically, requiring little skill and experience from the operator. The end of the PCB coil is fully supported by the insulation of the PCB, and there is no interruption between the straight section of the coil and the end. This eliminates the stress step phenomenon common to traditional windings, especially when the coil is exposed from the iron core.

The electromagnetic force acting on the coil conductor is better supported and can be conducted in the PCB structure. This insulation system is almost uniform, and the entire winding, including the coil ends, can be completely enclosed by the FR4 epoxy board.

Insulating materials have the same thermal expansion coefficient, which greatly reduces the thermal stress of conductors and PCBs overall.

There is a minimum temperature gradient between the copper winding and the cooling medium, and the temperature of the traditional generator copper coil is much higher than the temperature around the core and the cooling medium.

Cukurs said: “In competing with traditional energy sources, improving the reliability and output of generators is very important for the wind energy industry. Proven technical improvements to generator machinery are an important step in improving wind energy reliability and profitability. Countries that have strict renewable energy requirements and seek a new generation of cleaner energy are particularly important. "