Carbon Nanotubes as an Alternative to Copper Wires in Electrical Machines: A Review

Vigneselvan Sivasubramaniyam, Suganthi Ramasamy, Manikandan Venkatraman, Gianluca Gatto and Amit Kumar ()
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Vigneselvan Sivasubramaniyam: Pollachi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore 642205, India
Suganthi Ramasamy: Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Cagliari, Via Marengo 2, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
Manikandan Venkatraman: Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University Road, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
Gianluca Gatto: Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Cagliari, Via Marengo 2, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
Amit Kumar: Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Cagliari, Via Marengo 2, 09123 Cagliari, Italy

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 9, 1-17

Abstract: The surge in electric vehicles (EVs) and their electrical appliances requires highly efficient, lightweight electrical machines with better performance. However, conventional wire used for electrical machine windings have certain limits to the current requirements. Copper is a commonly used material in electrical windings, and due to its ohmic resistance, it causes 75% of total losses in electrical machines (copper losses). The high mass of the copper results in a bulky system size, and the winding temperature of copper is always maintained at less than 150 °C to preserve the thermal insulation of the electric machine of the windings. On the other hand, carbon nanotubes and carbon nanotube materials have superior electrical conductivity properties and mechanical properties. Carbon nanotubes ensure 100 MS/m of electrical conductivity, which is higher than the copper electrical conductivity of 59.6 MS/m. In the literature, various carbon nanotubes have been studied based on electrical conductivity, temperature co-efficient with resistivity, material thickness and strength, insulation, and efficiency of the materials. Here, we review the electrical and mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes, and carbon nanotube composite materials are reviewed with copper windings for electrical wires.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes; carbon nanotube composite materials; electrical properties; mechanical properties; electrical wires (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
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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