Basic Impregnation Techniques

Thomas Weege The Epoxylite Corporation Abstract: This paper will discuss some of the reasons for impregnation of electrical devices, and how they can help determine the best material and technique. Additionally, it will define each technique, and list the pros and cons of each, for each application. I. INlRODUCTION There are numerous materials and techniques available for impregnation of coils, transformers, motors, and generators. Arnong them are: Dip and VI (Vacuum Bake, Trickie, Impregnation), VPI (Vacuum Pressure Impregnation), Wet Winding, B-Stage Tapes, Full Encapsulation, and Potting. With so many techniques and materials available, how does the OEM or repair shop determine which best suits their individual needs? balance. Since coils vibrate when they are energized, impregnation prevents the wires from rubbing against each other, and wearing off their insulation. It can also be helpful in dampening the audible noise created by this vibration. Thermal transfer is another excellent reason for impregnation. Particularly in high voltage equipment, air spaces between conductors can heat up and become charged, a phenomenon known as corona. This can lead to rapid equipment failure, due to short circuit. The presence of an impregnant, particularly if the impregnant fills these spaces completely, and without voids, can aid the transfer of heat to the exterior of the unit, where it can be dissipated. This is because the impregnant will have a much higher thermal conductivity than air, particularly if it has been designed specifically for this purpose. Although most equipment is wound with insulated wire, as well as additional phase separating insulations, etc., impregnation can also provide additional insulation between turns. Most impregnants, being based on polymers, are excellent insulators. Sometimes manufacturers need to cut lamination stacks, such as in the manufacture of C-cores. Impregnating these stacks prior to cutting will keep the layers from separating. A final advantage of impregnation is the protection from potentially hostile environments afforded by the exterior coating of the impregnant on the processed unit. Polymeric materials will

II. DISCUSSION
There are many benefits to impregnation of electrical apparatus. The main reason is to provide mechanical strength to the part. Coils and laminations can flex, bend, vibrate, or slide during operation, particularly in rotating equipment, such as rotors or armatures. Impregnation with a highly adhesive material prevents this motion, which in turn prevents damage to the insulation of the wire, and in some cases, mechanical failures such as rotating components going out of

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generally provide some resistance to moisture and chemicals, with some of the high performance materials even allowing submergence in corrosive materials, and powerful solvents, such as refrigerants. As you will see, selection of the best impregnation technique is highly dependent on the type, construction, and required degree of performance of the parts being processed. In all of these techniques, impregnation takes place through the action of a liquid polymer surrounding and penetrating the part, and subsequently forming a solid, either by a chemical reaction (called curing), or a drying action, that is, the evaporation of a liquid solvent. Probably the simplest method of impregnation is Dip and Bake. Dip and Bake consists of dipping the part in a liquid varnish, which may or may not contain a solvent, allowing sufficient time for the varnish to penetrate the interstices of the part, usually determined by waiting for the bubbles to stop rising from the part, and baking it to cure the polymer, or evaporate the solvent. Since Dip and Bake can utilize solvent-based or solventless systems, it is best to separate it into these two categories, for purposes of discussion. Advantages of solvent-based Dip and Bake are as follows: It is easy, requires little training, is not labor intensive, and there is only a moderate initial investment - tank, varnish to fill, and oven. Solvent based varnish is generally very inexpensive, and may be thinned by simply adding more organic solvent, which is very inexpensive. Disadvantages of solvent based dip and bakes are as follows: Usually about

60% of the product consists of solvent, which is lost to evaporation, leaving only 40% or less on the processed unit. Since the solvent literally boils away in the oven, the bubbling action will leave voids and porosity, especially in slot areas. In one test series of multiple Dip and Bake processes, only a 12.5% fill of available space was achieved. This will result in poor thermal transfer, and may lead to corona. Although solvent-based varnishes usually set quite rapidly, they still require that the entire unit reach a certain minimum temperature, resulting in long process times, and potentially high energy costs. Often, these materials will have low chemical resistance values, since they are porous, and they may re-dissolve in organic solvents. Solvent-based varnishes generally have strong, disagreeable odors in their liquid states, and may present fire and worker health hazards. They are also environmentally hazardous, and contribute to air polIution.

Solventless Dip and Bake products solidify because of a chemical reaction that takes place rapidly when the product is heated. The advantages of solventless dip and bake products are as follows: They have fewer voids in the part, since there is no evaporation of solvent, although there may be some from the product running off the unit and onto the oven floor. There is some waste from this runout, but it is generally less than that from solvent systems. Although there is some small amount of evaporation from the heating of these polymers, it is usually very small, less than 0.5%. This eliminates most health, flammability, and environmental concerns. Many

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solventless systems are versatile, and may be used in VI or VPI tanks, as well. It is important to note that some systems, especially polyesters, may contain monomers, which may be fully reactive, but still have low flash points, disagreeable odors, and high evaporation rates compared to higher performance solventless systems. Solventless systems in general require longer bake timies, since the entire unit must reach cure temperature, and then remain there until the product has reacted, which is often 4 to 6 hours at temperatures of 135 to 160C. Some new systems have been recently developed that will cure more rapidly at lower temperatures, however. Solventless systems are often substantially more expensive than solvent based systems, but clearly they have higher performance. They also tend to be more difficult to thin, as the thinner has to be fully reactive. All one part varnish systems will gradually increase in viscosity - that is - become thicker, and less able to impregnate tight spaces. !Solvent based varnishes thicken due to loss of solvent to the atmosphere; sodventless systems slowly cure, even at room temperature, and especially when heated, or exposed to hot parts. Sodventless systems often may only be thinned by adding fresh varnish, and as such, a high tank turnover must be maintained - usually about 3-5% per month. Water based systems are essentially solvent based systems, except that water is the solvent. Obviously, they do not have the flammability, air quality or health concerns associated with organic solvents but many water based systems contain co-solvents. These are

essentially hybrids, which still contain organic solvents, just less of them. This means that the hazards may be lessened somewhat, but not eliminated. Voids and porosity may still be a problem, in any water based system. Some additional problems with water based systems may include: pH sensitivity (small amounts of acid or base in water may cause varnish to gel or separate irreversibly), rust, separation of varnish in tank, poor electrical properties, and poor chemical and moisture resistance,

In general, Dip and Bake products are used on units that are low cost, low performance, low voltage, or non-taped. Dip and bake is also often used as an overcoat for units which have been processed by other means.
Trickle processing is usually used on higher cost, higher performance, nontaped, random wound motors, generators, and coils. Trickle is accomplished by mixing of a two component, fast-curing, solventless polymer. The curing process occurs as a result of the resin and catalyst portions of the product being blended, enabling them to react or crosslink, and form a solid. The mixed product is poured over the conductors in the end turns, and allowed to trickle into them, and down through the slots. When it begins to pour through and exit the other side, the unit is inverted, and the process repeated. A paint brush is often used by the operator to apply the product to all areas, and the unit may be warmed through resistance heating of the windings, to reduce the viscosity and hasten the cure. When processing large parts, it is advisable to have

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equipment such as a turntable, which may assist in easily and quickly inverting the unit. Trickle is generally low in cost, since it can be performed on small units with little or no equipment, and only as much product as is necessary for the job need be purchased and mixed at one time. There is no maintenance of a tank of varnish to worry about, and the products generally present a very low degree of health hazard, flammability, or air pollution. There is very little waste, as run-off can be collected and re-applied to the unit. The process is fast, compared to baking, and has very low energy cost. These products are usually very chemically resistant after cure, and may be applied for a thick or thin exterior coating, at the operators discretion. A skilled operator can process units with few or no voids. Trickle does require a skilled operator for best results, and so some training and a lot of practice are required. It is labor intensive, although automated systems have been implemented in high volume situations. Quality is very process dependent. The product must be thoroughly mixed, the temperature must be carefully controlled, and the viscosity of the product must be appropriate for the length of the slot, in order to achieve full penetration. Vacuum Impregnation is similar to Dip and Bake, except that it uses vacuum to improve the penetration of the product. In cases where it is desirable to impregnate tight transformer windings or laminations, Vacuum Impregnation is usually the method of choice. A VI unit consists of two vacuum capable tanks -

the process tank, and the storage tank. The storage tank stores the varnish under constant vacuum. The process tank is where the parts are placed for processing. The better the vacuum, the For most better the impregnation. applications, anything less than 5 mm is good, but some applications require less, perhaps to several microns. The purpose of the vacuum is to remove air and any volatiles from the windings and insulating materials. This will allow the varnish to enter, and prevent voids from volatiles from forming during the bake cycle. Often, prior to placement in the chamber, the parts are pre-heated, which helps remove volatiles, and aids impregnation by reducing the viscosity of the varnish in the vicinity of the part. Vacuum Impregnation using solvent based or volatile monomer-containing varnishes is not recommended, since the purpose of vacuum is defeated, and also because drawing volatile materials off with vacuum can be potentially dangerous. Once the tank has been evacuated to the desired level, the part is held under vacuum for a period of time, usually 30 minutes to one hour, depending on the part, and the tank is then flooded with varnish. This is accomplished by opening a valve between the process and storage tanks, and venting the storage tank. This allows atmospheric pressure to force the varnish through the valve and into the process tank. When the parts are completely submerged, which is determined by looking through a sight glass, the valve is closed. Typically, vacuum is continued for some time after flooding, usually until bubbling stops or is reduced to a minimum. Although the bubbles may appear to be large under vacuum, they would be microscopic at

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atmospheric pressure, and of less concern. The process tank is then vented, and vacuum again drawn on the storage tank. Tlhe operator may choose to allow the parlts to soak in the varnish for some period of time once the tank has been vented, allowing atmospheric pressure to force the varnish into any areas of void in the parts. The valve between tanks is then opened once again, causing vacuum to draw the product back to the storage tank. The parts are allowed to drain, and then placed in an oven to cure. Vacuum Impregnation provides much better void-free impregnation than Dip and Bake, and can draw varnish into areas which may not be filled by Trickle. Since these products are typically solventless, there are low health, fire, and environmental risks. The initial investment is large, since vacuum apparatus, a tank full of solventless varnish, and an oven are required. The amount of training required is fairly minimal, as is the maintenance of the equipment. Tank turnover, and monitoring of viscosity is recommended. The quality of the impregnation can be process dependent; i.e.: level of vacuum achieved, length of dry and wet vacuum time, time spent soaking after vacuum has been released, viscosity of varnish, construction of part, and preheat temperature.

the units, rather than being returned to a storage tank. VPI, or Vacuum Pressure Impregnation, is used for parts that require the highest degree of void free fill, and have very tight windings, or multiple layers of insulating tapes. VPI is also useful for impregnating parts with high viscosity varnishes, which may provide thick exterior coatings, or other properties. Some of these higher viscosity varnishes can provide higher retention of varnish on the part in the oven, resulting in very little run-off, or waste. VPI may be used for random wound, form wound, taped, high performance, high voltage parts. It is especially useful when parts have long slots or cell wrappers. The process is similar to that of VI, except that, instead of returning the parts to atmospheric pressure; higher air pressure, typically 90-100 psi is applied after parts are submerged, greatly accelerating the movement of the varnish into the voids in the part. Also, if there do happen to be small air pockets, the pressure shrinks them to microscopic size, allowing full coverage of all surfaces within the part. Solventless, non-volatile varnishes should be used, and so the investment in varnish and equipment is high. The process tank must be able to easily withstand the levels of air pressure used, and of course, an oven is once again required. The process is time consuming, but may save time when compared with multiple Dip and Bakes, since thick, high retention varnishes can be used. Again, the quality of impregnation is dependent on coil construction, as well as adherence to

In some cases, parts are vacuum potted. This technique uses a polymeric potting material, usually a two-part, room temperature curing system, and a similar process. Since the parts are lbeing potted as well as impregnated, all of the product stays in

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the correct process, and does require a certain level of training. If there are sealed compartments in the part, from film-backed adhesive tapes, or B-staged materials which may flow and re-set during the preheat cycle, these areas may never be filled by any process. B-Staged Tapes and Wet Winding are two more methods of impregnation, and are similar to one another in that the impregnating material is actually incorporated during the construction of the part. B-Staged Tapes are insulating tapes to which a partially cured resin has been applied. The term B-staged refers to the fact that the resin is only partialI y cured, with A-stage being uncured, and C-stage being fully cured. This means that the B-staged resin is solid but flexible at room temperature, and will re-liquefy and subsequently fully cure when heated. The coils are wound with these tapes, and placed in a device which compresses and heats them. This forms them into the appropriate shape, squeezes out air, and cures the resin in place. This type of process is usually used on high voltage form coils and other taped structures. Advantages are that the tapes are easy to handle and wind, no liquid varnish is necessary, there is little to no waste, and no tank maintenance. Disadvantages are the high initial investment required for the hot press machines, health hazards from the expected higher level of skin contact with the tapes than with varnish products, and the extreme degree of control over process required to produce void free parts. Also, the tapes

must be refrigerated, and have a limited usable shelf life. Wet winding is a process by which resins of thick, pasty consistency are applied to the conductors and tapes during construction of the unit, by means of brushing and trowelling. The product must either be baked to cure the resin, or the resin must be of the two-part, room temperature curing variety, whereby curing is effected by means of mixing the two components. Wet winding is often used for field coils, which may be many layers thick, and thus are difficult to impregnate by other means. It is also sometimes used for on-site repairs. Advantages of Wet Winding are that only as much resin is required for the job must be purchased and used at one time. Obviously, the initial investment is low, and there are no concerns over tank turnover or maintenance. Properly done, wet winding can provide a relatively void- free part, although there may be small bubbles introduced during the construction process. High exterior coatings, as well as good heat transfer can be achieved with these types of products, since they may be highly filled with minerals since low viscosity is not required. Disadvantages are that the process is messy, and is more likely to result in worker exposure. It is time consuming, and labor intensive, and quality of the finished part is extremely dependent on the skill of the operator. Full encapsulation, casting and potting are similar in that the part is completely surrounded by a very thick layer of

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product. Sometimes parts are impregnated by other methods, prior to these processes, but sometimes the potting or casting compound performs the additional duty of impregnating, as well. Full encapsulation and casting are essentially the same thing, in that the part is placed in a mold, the compound is poured in arid allowed to penetrate, and is then cured, and the mold removed. Potting differs only in that the mold, or cup is usually open on top, and becomes part of the finished product. Full encapsulation is a term usually associated with stator end turns, while casting is often applied to items such as ignition coils. Potting is most commonly used for transformers and circuit boards. Vacuum, pressure, and heat may or may not be used to assist any of these processes, but the compounds are often simply poured into the part at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. All of these methods use more product in the manufacture of the part than any of the other methods, since the layer of compound between the part and its environment is quite thick. These methods are typically used when environrnental protection is of paramount concern. Disadvantages are added weight and potential thermal insulation of parts.

there are numerous choices of resin or varnish to achieve the desired properties. The best way to determine which product and process are best for the application is to manufacture samples which closely simulate the construction of the devices, and impregnate them through several of the methods described here, based of course, on engineering requirements and cost limitations. Often, many process variables must be varied, even once equipment and materials have been selected. These samples should then be tested, and even dismantled, to determine if the impregnation has had the desired results, and that the required level of penetration has been achieved. Your varnish or resin supplier should be able to provide excellent information and recommendations as to materials and processes.

IV. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author wishes to thank Gary Gray and John D. Craig for their valuable suggestions. Thomas Weege is currently the Manager of Operations for the Resin Divisions of The Epoxylite Corporation. He has been with the company since 1989, and has held the positions of Quality Control Manager, and Manager of Technical Services, as well as having developed many resin products. He has a BS degree in Chemistry from Northern Illinois University.

111. CONCLUSIONS
The selection of which method to use for a process is; highly dependent on the construction and required performance characteristics of the finished part. Even after the process is determined,

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