Client – Contractor for Government Funded Nuclear Research

Application requirements:

Electrical Feedthrough was required for connecting 9 foot conductor-cables inside a vessel.
Extended ceramic isolator was required to clear 2.5” thick vessel wall and mount-flange.
Assembly must be rated to 4160 VAC at 0.5 amps, while operating to 500 degrees F and 500 psi. 3X Safety factor required for pressure.

Critical Issues:

Standard power feedthroughs would not meet the extended ceramic isolation, or the mechanical strength to hold the heavy cables. Safety requirements for pressure added complexity to the assembly design, requiring a custom adapter for the ceramic-to-metal seal as well as custom mount.

Design Basis:

MPF designed custom adapters to produce a mechanical design sufficient to withstand the mechanical loads of the cables and internal pressure, even at high temperatures.
The adapters were designed to mate with an existing ceramic, which offered confidence in the seal design since the ceramic was a known variable. This also saved significant build-time and costs.

Results:

Modeling software allowed confirmation of the safety factor for pressure, and mechanical strength to hold heavy cable-connectors once installed.
The use of an available ceramic allowed MPF to offer lower costs and faster delivery than anticipated by the customer.