Selecting reliable wire for high-voltage demands

摘要

With the trend toward increasing power densities in airborne electronic systems, pressure is being placed on the system designer to package electronic components, such as wires carrying high voltages and currents, closer together, thus requiring a reduction in component size. As power densities increase, more effort is needed to select the appropriate wire as well as in designing its routing and termination in airborne and space-borne power applications to handle the increasing power densities. Power density increases coupled with high failure rates when wires are not properly selected precipitates the need to understand and predict the operating capacity of electrical wires. The key to this is to develop an approach to determine its capacity to withstand transient- and steady-state high voltages throughout the operating life of the system. Factor in temperature variations, moisture, vibration, and shock, and the task becomes even more daunting.