Influence of Water Ingress on Surface Discharges Occurring on the Silicone Gel Encapsulated Printed Circuit Boards Developed for Deep-Sea Applications

Saravanakumar Arumugam (), Yvonne Haba, Petrus Jacobus Pieterse, Dirk Uhrlandt and Sascha Kosleck ()
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Saravanakumar Arumugam: Institute of Marine Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Marine Engineering, University of Rostock, 18059 Rostock, Germany
Yvonne Haba: Institute of Marine Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Marine Engineering, University of Rostock, 18059 Rostock, Germany
Petrus Jacobus Pieterse: High Voltage and High Current Technologies, Faculty of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, University of Rostock, 18059 Rostock, Germany
Dirk Uhrlandt: High Voltage and High Current Technologies, Faculty of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, University of Rostock, 18059 Rostock, Germany
Sascha Kosleck: Institute of Marine Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Marine Engineering, University of Rostock, 18059 Rostock, Germany

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 14, 1-24

Abstract: This paper discusses the influence of water ingress on the electrical discharges that arise on the surface of printed circuit boards that are developed for deep sea applications. The primary concern is the electrical discharges arising on the surface of the PCB bridging localized spots/areas between conductive traces, high voltage terminal, mounting hole options, and so on. The current literature focuses on electrical discharges arising on the surface of PCB at low-pressure environments emulating aircraft and space applications. Extending the same approach to deep-sea environments is not feasible since the pressure is very high and the temperatures are very low. In all, a meager attempt has been made to investigate the possible application of such gel-encapsulated PCBs in adverse high-pressure, salt/sea water, low-temperature, deep-sea environments. This experimental study focuses on studying the influence of deionized and sea water on electrical discharges arising on the surface, between conductive tracks of PCB. A group of PCBs with different gaps between the conductive tracks was produced and immersed in deionized and seawater for a specific duration at standard pressure. Afterward, the discharge characteristics were measured the using partial discharge (PD) test method and the respective phase-resolved PD pattern was studied and analyzed. Pertinent experiments revealed that the PD process and eventual failure manifests as a typical and substantial pattern. The apparent charge measured during the PD inception and near-by failure condition, influenced by deionized and seawater, reveals a regular trend. Naturally, a simple observation of the PD pattern might help to identify the intricacy and to initiate a preventive measure well before the complete system suffers a premature failure. Also, based on these results, making slight structural modifications on the PCB at crucial locations might help in retaining the dielectric integrity of the material.

Keywords: printed circuit boards; dielectric gel; water ingress; high voltage; partial discharge; PRPD pattern; breakdown voltage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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