Seeking Advice for building a Power Distribution Board for 50 V and 1000 Amps

[Samarth-R]

TL;DR

I have designed a Power Distribution Board (PDB) intended to handle 50V and 1000A. The design consists of two 4mm thick, 99% pure copper plates, separated by three insulating layers (top, bottom, and middle). The top plate is VCC (+), and the bottom plate is ground (-). Components like ESE and motors will be soldered directly onto the plates.

My main concern is whether this setup is safe for handling the specified voltage and current

I have a Board design of PDB in which in theory should handle 50 V and 1000 amps of current. The Board consist of two copper plates sandwiched between 3 insulating plates , one on top ,one on bottom and one between copper plates, the copper is 99% pure and the thickness of each copper plate is 4mm. The top copper plate will be connected to VCC/+ve and bottom plate will be ground/-ve . The components (ESE and motors) will directly be soldered onto the plate. Is this process safe with amount of voltage and Current it is handling

 

[DaveE]

1) 50V requires very little insulation, provided it's actually present everywhere.
2) I suspect your real question is about reliability, even though you said safety. See below.
3) Safety (as nearly every standard I've ever seen says) is about failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA is the acronym). The generic assumption in most standards is that any single failure can't create a hazardous condition. There is some leeway for parts that are assumed to never fail, but these are special circumstances. You must assume that the insulation will fail at some point and have a second mechanism to prevent a hazardous situation. Also that power dissipation from an undersized or compromised conductor/connector will create a heat hazard. These normally mean electrocution or fire, plus other application specific hazards (mechanical, radiation, hot surfaces, etc.).

So, assume your insulation has failed and an arc forms. What is your scheme to insure that this will be safe? What if a connection is loose or contaminated, what will happen when it gets too hot?

I suggest you contact someone with product safety experience. Alternatively, spend an ungodly amount of time reading safety standards. It can be complicated. It can also be simple, if you can copy others that have gone before you.

Now, I know this seems like a useless and frustrating answer, but it's hard for us to comment on something as important as this without detailed information. Probably more detail than you can provide in social media like this. Also, probably more than you can expect free analysis from unvetted people like us. Sorry, "Is my unspecified design safe?" won't get a good answer here from anyone that you can trust.

 

[Rive]

I suggest you contact someone with product safety experience. Alternatively, spend an ungodly amount of time reading safety standards. It can be complicated. It can also be simple, if you can copy others that have gone before you.

That.

50V is not much, as far as insulation goes. What makes the problem is, that
- 50V 1kA is the category of a good, industrial grade welder: you need to be able to handle everything what you can imagine (and more) with welding gone wild
- even if the insulation required by 50V is not much, you need to protect it properly from mechanical and thermal harms, and that includes assembly time

So indeed, the best way would be to adapt and existing, certified solution.

 

[Baluncore]

Welcome to PF.

1000 amp. 4 mm thick. How wide?
Quick estimate; 5 amp per mm².
1000 / 5 = 200 mm².
200 / 4 = 50 mm minimum width.

The proposed insulated layers will prevent cooling of the bars. There should be air gaps between the bars to allow convection cooling. I would expect nylon insulated spacers between the plates, with nylon tube insulators on galvanised steel bolts supporting the bars.

You will be unable to solder directly to the copper, because too much heat will be required, and lost. So you should cut the bus bars with offset side tabs that can be attached with several small galvanised or brass bolts, say, 16 bolts per 1000 amp joint.

Copper oxide will be a problem later. Standard practice would be to galvanise the copper plate before assembly.

 

[Baluncore]

See the table here.
https://www.australwright.com.au/wp...Busbar-Rating-Table-Austral-Wright-Metals.pdf
For 4 mm thick. DC current 1000 amp.
Width required is closer to 80 mm, in free air, unenclosed.