ASSIGNMENT-1

Q. Describe the properties and application of electrical engineering material:-

(A.) Conducting Material

(B.) Magnetic Material

(C.) Insulating Material

Ans.

(A.) Conducting Material

All those materials which are used for passing electric current through the machine apparatus,
with lowest possible resistance, are called as conducting materials. Silver, aluminum, copper
are some of the important conducting material used as conductor in electrical machines.

Silver has 10% more conductivity then copper but due to high cost silver never used in
electrical machine so copper is most widely used element as conductor. Due to lesser cost
aluminum is increasingly being used in electrical machine.

A good conductor should posses following properties:-

1. Low value of resistivity and high conductivity.

2. High tensile strength.

3. High melting point.

4. High resistance to corrosion.

5. Durable and cheap by cost.

6. Allow brazing, soldering or welding so that the joints are reliable.

7. Low value of temperature coefficient of resistance.

Copper:-
Copper is most widely used conducting material. It is reddish in color and is available in hard
drawn and annealed form. Hard drawn copper becomes soft after annealing it. Annealing
process involves heating at a specific temperature and then cooling.

:- When copper is exposed to atmosphere copper oxide layer is formed over it which acts as a
protective layer and prevents corrosion.
:- Copper provides a diverse range of properties: good thermal and electrical conductivity,
corrosion resistance, ease of forming, ease of joining and color.

:- At 20℃ , resistivity of copper is 0.017241 Ω/𝑚𝑚2 /𝑚2 and conductivity is 58.14*106 S/m.

:- Copper is highly malleable and ductile material.

:- Owing to its high mechanical strength, the hard drawn copper has important applications in
making bus bars, high voltage underground cables and over head conductors.

:- Annealed high conductivity copper is used for windings of electrical machines and
transformers and making coils for different purposes.

Aluminum:-
Aluminum is the next best conductor after copper. It is a soft metal and can be prepared in
hard drawn and annealed form.

:- Aluminum has 1.62 times more resistivity than copper and it has poor mechanical strength
than copper.

:- Increasing demand for conducting material can’t be fulfilled by only copper so aluminum is
joining ever increasing applications as a conductor for a number of economic and
engineering problems.

:- Aluminum is about 3.3 times lighter than copper, and being cheaper using it results in large
reduction in the cost of conductors.

:- Use of aluminum for transformer is increasing due to its immunity to attack by transformer
oil, thus oil in aluminum wound transformer deteriorate more slowly than in copper wound
ones.

:- Aluminum is extensively being used for making rotor bars of squirrel cage induction
motors.

:- Aluminum can be rolled into thinner and flexible sheets compared to copper, hence it is
being used to prepare foil type of windings for small rating transformers.
(B.) Magnetic Material
Materials which can be magnetized are called magnetic material. When magnetized, such
materials create a magnetic field around them.

Some of the properties that a good magnetic material should possess are:-

1. Low reluctance or should be highly permeable or should have a high value of relative
permeability.

2. High electrical resistivity so that the eddy EMF and hence eddy current loss is less.

3. Narrow hysteresis loop or low Coercivity so that hysteresis loss is less and efficiency of
operation is high.

4. A high curie point (Above curie point or temperature the material loses the magnetic
property or becomes paramagnetic.)

The characteristic of a material by virtue of which it allows itself to be magnetized is called

permeability. Materials other than magnetic material, have permeability equal to permeability
of free space (µ0)

µ0= 4π∗ 10−7

For magnetic materials the value of permeability µ is given by

μ = μ0 ∗ μr,

where µr is relative permeability.

Based on relative permittivity magnetic material are classified into 3 types:-

1. Diamagnetic Material

2. Para magnetic Material

3. Ferro magnetic Material

1. Diamagnetic Material:-
These materials have their relative permeability slightly less than unity.

:- Bismuth, silver, lead, copper, water are some of the examples of diamagnetic materials.
2. Paramagnetic Material:-
These materials have their relative permeability slightly greater then unity.

:- Air, aluminum, and palladium are some of the examples of paramagnetic materials.

3. Ferromagnetic Material:-
These materials have their relative permeability much greater then unity.

:- Nickel, Cobalt, Iron, Steel, Silicon steel, Permalloy and super-permalloy are some of the
ferromagnetic materials.

Because of very less relative permeability both diamagnetic and paramagnetic materials
have negligible applications in the field of electrical engineering, so from electrical
engineering point of view both can be considered as non- magnetic. Now it is the
ferromagnetic material which is important in the field of electrical engineering.

Further all ferromagnetic materials can be classified into two broad groups on the basis of
hysteresis loop, namely

(a) Hard magnetic material

(b) Soft magnetic material

Hysteresis loop or B-H curve

(a.) Hard Magnetic Material:-
Those materials which have a gradually rising magnetization curve and large hysteresis loop
area (consequently large energy losses) are called hard magnetic materials or permanent
magnetic materials.

:- These materials are used in making all kinds of instrument and devices requiring permanent
magnets.

Ex: carbon steel, tungsten steel, cobalt steel, alnico, hard ferrite etc.

Hysteresis loop for soft and hard ferromagnetic material

(b.) Soft Magnetic Material:-

Magnetic materials which have a steeply rising magnetization curve, relatively small and
narrow hysteresis loop and consequently small energy loss per cycle of magnetization are
called soft magnetic materials.

:- Soft materials are extremely useful in electrical engineering in making the commercial
machines. These materials are used for the construction of cores of electrical machines,
transformers and for making electromagnetic reactors, relays etc.
Ex: ⅰ) cast iron, cast steel, rolled steel, forged steel etc. (in solid form).

Generally used for yokes poles of dc machines, rotors of turbo alternators etc. where steady
or dc flux is involved.

ⅱ) Silicon steel (iron steel +0.3 to 4.5% silicon) in the laminated form.

Addition of silicon in proper percentage eliminates ageing & reduces core loss. Low silicon
content used in rotating electrical machines while high content silicon steel is used in
transformer.

(C.) Insulating Material

Insulating materials are used in electrical machines to provide insulation of current carrying
parts. To avoid any electrical activity between parts at different potentials, insulation is used.

In addition, the insulation provide mechanical support to conductors and helps in the transfer
of heat.

A good insulator should possess the following properties:-

:- should have high dielectric strength.

:- should with stand high temperature.

:- should have high thermal conductivity.

:- should not deteriorate due to high temperature and repeated heat cycle.

:- should have high resistivity.

:- should not absorb moisture.

:- should be flexible and cheap.

:- liquid insulators should not evaporate or volatilize.

Some common insulating materials are paper, cotton, silk, cardboard, empire cloth, mica,
Bakelite, resins, glass, quartz, transformer oil, varnish etc.
Insulating materials can be classified as solid, liquid and gas and vacuum. The term insulating
material is sometimes used in broader sense to designate also insulating liquids, gas and
vacuum.

Solid: Used with field, armature, and transformer windings etc. The examples are:
ⅰ) Fibrous or inorganic animal or plant origin, natural or synthetic paper, wood, card board,
cotton, jute, silk etc.

ⅱ) Plastic or resins. Natural resins- lac, amber, shellac etc.

Synthetic resins- melamine, polyesters, epoxy, PVC, Teflon etc.

ⅲ) Rubber: natural rubber, synthetic rubber- butadiene etc.

ⅳ) Mineral: mica, marble, slate etc.

ⅴ) Glass: soda lime glass, lead glass, silica glass.

ⅵ) Non-resinous: asphalt, bitumen, enamel etc.

Liquid: Used in transformers, circuit breakers, reactors, cables, capacitors etc. The
examples are:

ⅰ) Mineral oil(petroleum by product)

ⅱ) Synthetic oil askarels, pyranols etc.

ⅲ) Varnish, French polish etc.

Gaseous: The examples are:

ⅰ) Air used in switches, air condensers, transmission and distribution lines etc.

ⅱ) Nitrogen use in capacitors, HV gas pressure cables etc.

ⅲ) Hydrogen though not used as a dielectric, generally used as a coolant.

ⅳ) Inert gases neon, argon, mercury and sodium vapors generally used for neon sign lamps.

ⅴ) Halogens like fluorine, used under high pressure in cables.