Electrical systems are being engineered for surface and subsurface platforms to meet expanding goals: more efficient, greater power density, and cost effective electric machinery is desired. Polymer-based electric insulation is a critical constituent in power-dense electric machinery and in the power modules, as well. In both cases, the components suffer from aging of the polymeric insulation materials. Thermal and mechanical aging of electrical insulation has been recognized for decades as limiting power density in the machinery designs. Wide bandgap power electronic modules will soon be utilized to achieve performance improvements. Concurrently, industry is rapidly producing new co-polymer and nanostructured insulation materials, many boasting improved resistance to aging. As machine environments become more power-dense, understanding, characterizing, and predicting the aging of insulation is critical for successful machine design and performance. This paper will describe current research on insulation aging, the dominant materials challenge.
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