The Flexible Busbar Advantage 5 Ampacities N A (mm) B (mm) Length (mm) Rated Ampacity Temp. Rise of 1) Part No. 70°C 50°C 30°C 8 6 35650150.5 2000 195 165 125
TECH PAPER: The Flexible Busbar Advantage The Flexible Busbar Advantage Executive Summary What is Flexible Busbar? Flexible busbar consists of pure electrolytic copper laminates within a protective PVC jacket. The individual laminates slide smoothly against one another allowing the flexible busbar to be easily shaped, twisted and bent to fit a wide range of panel layouts. When compared to standard round cable, flexible busbar offers space saving advantages due to a tighter bend radius and the ability to replace multiple round conductors with a single piece of flexible busbar. Modification of fewer conductors and the elimination of ring terminals can result in significant cost reduction. 2 The Flexible Busbar Advantage The Flexible Busbar Advantage Space Advantage o Requires less wire bending space than cable. o With greater ampacities, a single piece of flexible busbar can replace multiple runs of cable. o Protective PVC jacket allows the flexible busbar to be mounted in tight areas where rigid busbar could not be used. Time Advantage o Eliminates the need for lugs which reduces installation time and cost. o Can replace rigid busbar designs eliminating the time spent engineering and fabricating rigid busbar. o Easier to bend and shape than large cables, so installation is quicker. Operating Advantage o Greater surface area is utilized when making connections with flexible busbar, so the connection points are at a lower operating temperature. o Ring terminals are no longer needed. Simply punch or drill through the exposed end of the flexible busbar to bolt to rigid bus or electrical components. Aesthetic Advantage o Increases design flexibility. o Neatly organizes hard-to-make connections. 3 The Flexible Busbar Advantage Applications Low Voltage Power Distribution and Control Applications Busbar Systems Motor Control Centers Drive Systems Switchboards Transformers Panelboards Control Panels Power Supplies Electrical Machinery UPS Systems Technical Specifications Agency Approvals o cURus o CSA Certified Conductor o 99.9 % pure copper (tinned copper available on request) o Conductivity: 57 S x m/mm2 o Resistivity: 0.01758 mm2/m Insulator o Special high-quality PVC o Self-extinguishing per UL 94 VO o Thickness of 1.6 mm o Dielectric strength of 20 kV/mm o Elongation 370% o Temperature range: -20 to 105 C dry o UL operating voltage 600 VAC and 750 VDC o IEC operating voltage 1000 VAC and 1500 VDC 4 The Flexible Busbar Advantage Ampacities Rated Ampacity Temp. N A B Length (mm) (mm) (mm) Rise of 1) Part No. 70°C 50°C 30°C 8 6 0.5 2000 195 165 125 3565015 6 9 0.8 2000 285 250 180 3565005 4 15.5 0.8 2000 330 275 210 3567005 6 15.5 0.8 2000 415 350 265 3568005 10 15.5 0.8 2000 575 480 365 3569005 5 20 1 2000 525 435 330 3570005 5 24 1 2000 605 510 385 3571005 10 24 1 2000 920 770 585 3572005 5 32 1 2000 770 645 485 3573005 10 32 1 2000 1155 965 730 3574005 5 40 1 2000 930 780 590 3575005 10 40 1 2000 1370 1145 865 3576005 5 50 1 2000 1125 940 710 3577005 10 50 1 2000 1635 1365 1030 3578005 10 63 1 2000 1950 1610 1230 3579005 1) The conductor temperature of the laminated copper busbar is derived from the sum total of the ambient temperature and the temperature increase. 5 The Flexible Busbar Advantage Cable Comparison Ampacity (at 50°C rise) 165 250 275 350 480 435 510 770 645 965 780 1145 940 1365 1610 Part No. 3565015 3565005 3567005 3568005 3569005 3570005 3571005 3572005 3573005 3574005 3575005 3576005 3577005 3578005 3579005 Configuration (NxAxB) 8x6x0.5 6x9x0.8 4x15.5x0.8 6x15.5x0.8 10x15.5x0.8 5x20x1 5x24x1 10x24x1 5x32x1 10x32x1 5x40x1 10x40x1 5x50x1 10x50x1 10x63x1 Substitute For These Comparable Cable Sizes #1 AWG 1 x 3/0 or 2 x #3 AWG 1 x 4/0 or 2 x #2 AWG 1 x 350 kcmil or 2 x 1/0 or 3 x #3 AWG 1 x 600 kcmil or 2 x 3/0 or 3 x #1 AWG 1 x 400 kcmil or 2 x 2/0 or 3 x #2 AWG 1 x 600 kcmil or 2 x 3/0 or 3 x 1/0 AWG 1 x 2000 or 2 x 400 kcmil or 3 x 3/0 AWG 1 x 1000 or 2 x 300 kcmil or 3 x 2/0 AWG 2 x600 or 3 x 300 or 4 x 250 kcmil 1 x 2000 or 2 x 400 kcmil or 3 x 4/0 AWG 2 x 800 or 3 x 400 kcmil 2 x 500 or 3 x 250 kcmil 2 x 1250 or 3 x 500 or 4 x 400 kcmil 3 x 800 or 4 x 600 or 5 x 400 kcmil 6 The Flexible Busbar Advantage Electrical Connections Flexible busbar surface conditions The surface of the flexible busbar should be flat but not polished. Clean the surface of the flexible busbar so that it is free of oxide and grease. Connection overlap The recommended overlap is at least 5 times the thickness of all of the laminates. Ampacity (at 50°C rise) 165 250 275 350 480 435 510 770 645 965 780 1145 940 1365 1610 Recommended Bolt Sizes Configuration Min. Overlap Part No. (NxAxB) mm 3565015 8x6x0.5 20 3565005 6x9x0.8 24 3567005 4x15.5x0.8 16 3568005 6x15.5x0.8 24 3569005 10x15.5x0.8 40 3570005 5x20x1 25 3571005 5x24x1 25 3572005 10x24x1 50 3573005 5x32x1 25 3574005 10x32x1 50 3575005 5x40x1 25 3576005 10x40x1 50 3577005 5x50x1 25 3578005 10x50x1 50 3579005 10x63x1 50 Bolt Qty Size 1 clamp 1 clamp 1 clamp 1 clamp 1 clamp 1 5/16-18 1 7/16-14 1 7/16-14 2 7/16-14 2 7/16-14 2 1/2-13 2 1/2-13 2 1/2-13 2 1/2-13 3 1/2-13 Clamping torque values Using an SAE Grade 5 bolt along with flat and contact washers on both sides of the connection: Torque (lb-ft) Recommended Torque Specs Bolt Size 1/4-20 5/16-18 7/16-14 1/2-13 9 18 50 75 9/16-12 110 5/8-11 150 7 The Flexible Busbar Advantage Additional Recommended Fabrication Procedures Holes - The minimum distance of the flexibar edge to nearest edge of hole is 3/16 in. o Tip: When drilling through the flexible busbar, clamp the laminates together so that they do not ride up the drill bit. Bending Radii The bend radius should be greater than or equal to 1/2 in. or the radius should equal 1/8 in. x the number of laminates. o Tip: Since the copper laminates will slide freely within the insulating jacket, follow the below procedure when shaping a piece of flexible busbar. Strip the insulating jacket on one end of the flexible busbar. Clamp the copper laminates and drill the bolt hole(s) in the exposed end of the flexible busbar. Only drill holes in one end of the part. Insert a temporary "holding" bolt into the hole, that has been drilled, then form the flexible busbar into the desired shape. Cut the flexible busbar at the unexposed end to the desired length then strip that same end to reveal the copper laminates. Clamp the laminates together and drill the required bolt-holes. Twisting When twisting flexible busbar along its length, it is recommended that the part is not twisted greater than 90 degrees. The length allowance for a 90-degree twist should be at least three times the width of the flexible busbar (including the insulating jacket). 8 The Flexible Busbar Advantage The "Flexible" solution... This reliable alternative to cable or rigid bus will allow more "flexibility" in panel designs as well as save space and build-up time. 9 rittal@rittal.usMicrosoft Word 2010