PD characteristics and microscopic analysis of polyimide film used as turn insulation in inverter-fed motor

Polyimide nano-composite film (Kapton 100CR) is a special type of engineering plastic film, which is widely used in turn insulation of form-wound inverter-fed motor. Partial discharge (PD) caused by high-frequency surge impulse is one of the key factors leading to premature failure of turn insulation of inverter-fed motors. Aging experiments on turn insulation samples under repetitive bipolar square impulse voltage were carried out in this study. Experimental results show that, in the presence of PD, the damage to the structure of the polyimide nano-composite film under impulse voltage is concentrated on the surface layer of the sample. Moreover, the results indicate that with the increase of aging time, the discharge phase distribution becomes broader. Therefore, the appearance of the discharge at higher phase would be the reflection that the insulation of the sample reaches its terminal stage. Surface microscopic images taken by the scanning electron microscope (SEM) show that, because of PD erosion, the polymer matrix was carbonized and volatilized, the residual nano-fillers remained on the surface and formed a screen layer to resist further damages caused by PDs. It is a symbol that faults expand rapidly when the floccules and voids appear on the surface layer, which indicates the insulation could be breakdown soon.