AC Resistance Factor of Litz-Wire Windings Used in Low-Voltage High-Power Generators

New types of heavy litz wires with noninsulated or insulated strands are offered for high-power low-voltage electrical machines, where skin and proximity effects can cause serious problems if traditional windings are used. This paper evaluates the ac resistance of a litz wire and its usability in megawatt-range low-voltage electrical machines. The evaluation is made by finite-element analysis and by resistance measurements with an experimental test setup. A simple amplifier configuration was used to minimize current and voltage phase shift errors, which are critical in this kind of low-impedance and low-frequency measurement. A simple measurement device based on the aforementioned configuration was prepared to ensure a precise measurement result. Tests were done in a frequency range of 50-200 Hz, to cover a wide range of practical high-power low-voltage electrical machines. It is found that the measured litz wire with originally noninsulated strands can be used in large electrical machines up to about 120 Hz if about 50% increase in ac resistance compared to the dc resistance is allowed. Impregnation of the originally noninsulated litz wire with vacuum pressure impregnation improved the ac resistance in one test case, and in the other case, it seemed to have no effect on the ac resistance.