Electron beam welding of rectangular copper wires applied in electrical drives

Abstract

The so-called hairpin winding technology, which is specially tailored to electrical traction components, deploys rectangular plug-in copper wires in the stator. The fusion welding of the adjacent wire ends is associated with challenges due to the high thermal conductivity as well as the porosity formation of the copper. During this study, the electron beam (EB) welding of electrolytic tough pitch (ETP) and oxygen-free electronic grade (OFE) copper connectors was investigated. Subsequently, the specimens underwent X-ray computed tomography (CT) and metallographic examinations to characterize the joints. It was discovered that the residual oxygen content of the base material is responsible for the pore formation. With only a very low level of oxygen content in the copper, a porosity- and spatter-free welding can be reproducibly realized using the robust EB welding technology, especially for copper materials. By optimizing the parameters accordingly, joints exhibiting a low level of porosity were achieved even in the case of the alloy containing a high amount of residual oxygen. Beyond this, detailed analyses in terms of pore distribution were carried out and a good correlation between technological parameters and welding results was determined.