Testing of Silver-, Copper- and Electro-Graphite Brush Materials for Slip Ring Units

Erik Nordlund, Freddy Magnussen, Gamal Bassilious, Peter Thelin

KTH - Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

Department of Electrical Engineering, 100 44 Stockholm, E-mail: erik.nordlund@ekc.kth.se, Fax: +46 8 20 52 68

Abstract— In a novel hybrid propulsion system, the Four

Quadrant Transducer (4QT), a slip ring unit is required to
transfer alternating current to a rotating three-phase winding.
This is an automotive application with high demands on cost
effectiveness and reliability and the slip ring unit is one of the
potentially weak links in the system that has to be investigated
carefully. This paper investigates the impact on the performance
of a slip ring unit equipped with different brush materials. The
investigation focuses on the losses and the temperature rises in
the slip ring unit.

I. INTRODUCTION

T his paper describes the measurements carried out on slip

ring units equipped with brushes of different material
compounds. The set-up of the components, the testing
methods and the results are explained and analysed. The slip Fig. 1: The Four-Quadrant Energy Transducer (4QT) system.
rings are driven by a variable speed drive and the currents
through them are fed from a rotating three-phase converter. II. LOSSES OF SLIP RINGS
The performances are monitored for various current and speed The two dominating losses of a slip ring unit are the friction
conditions. The voltage, the current, the speed, the torque, the and electrical losses. This paper focuses on these two losses in
temperature and the total distance for the brushes are the the investigation. The electrical losses consist of the resistive
measured parameters. The temperatures are logged until a losses in the brushes and in the slip ring and the loss from the
stable slip ring temperature has been reached and the contact voltage drop between the slip ring and the brush.
procedure is repeated for a large number of operating points. The total friction losses are dependent of the brush area,
The current source is a 50 Hz rotating generator which number of brushes, friction coefficient, spring force and the
gives currents up to 200 A. The measurements are limited to speed of the slip ring. Both the friction coefficient and the
50 Hz in frequency since the frequency has low impact on the voltage drop are dependent of the complex nature of two
slip ring performance according to [1]. The current level is surfaces forced together. This process is described in [6]-[7]
tested in steps from a low value up to about three times the and occurs when the slip ring has the right operating
rated value for the slip ring unit. The speed of the slip rings is temperature and enough current is passing trough it. When
varied in steps from 0-5000 rpm. During these conditions this process starts it lowers the contact voltage drop and the
three different brush qualities are tested. friction coefficient.
A slip ring unit is required in the novel hybrid propulsion The friction and electrical losses are also dependent of the
system called the Four Quadrant Transducer (4QT) [2]-[5] to brush material. In this paper three different materials of
supply a rotating winding with a three-phase current. brushes shown in Table I have been investigated. To optimize
The 4QT system is shown in Fig. 1. The 4QT is mounted a brush for a certain slip ring unit and operation,
between the internal combustion engine (ICE) and the final considerations of both the friction and resistive losses have to
gear of a hybrid vehicle. The purpose is to keep the operation be done. This is done by choosing the appropriate brush
of the ICE at maximum efficiency during varying driving material and the optimal brush area for the specific slip ring
conditions. The inner rotor in Fig. 1. is equipped with a slip and operation.
ring unit.
 III. MEASUREMENTS TABLE I
MATERIAL DATA FOR THE TESTED SLIP RING
A. Laboratory set-up Component Material
A principle sketch of the laboratory test bench is shown in
Slip ring Brass
Fig. 3. The power slip ring and one signal slip ring are Brush holder Brass
mounted on the same shaft, which is driven by a variable Brush 1 Silver-graphite (Ag-C)
speed ABB integral motor 112 with an integrated inverter and Brush 2 Copper-graphite (Cu-C)
4 kW mechanical output power. Between the drive motor and Brush 3 Electro-graphite (C)
the slip ring unit a torque meter was mounted to measure the
friction of the slip ring. In addition to the bearings of the
electric motor, the shaft is supported by two bearings on each B. Test objects
side of the slip ring unit. The purpose of the signal slip ring is BGB Engineering Ltd. of England has manufactured the
to transfer the information from the temperature sensors glued tested slip ring and brush holder, while Carbex AB of Sweden
on the power slip rings to the data acquisition unit. has manufactured the three different brushes. A principle
The power slip rings are fed from a three-phase rotating sketch of the slip ring unit with three brushes per phase is
converter. The power slip rings are Y-connected as shown in shown in Fig. 4. The measurements described in Section IV.A
Fig. 3. This means that the AC source feeds a short circuit are performed with three brushes per phase, but only one
only with the resistance of the slip ring unit and the cables. brush per phase in Section IV.B in order to increase the
This requires current control of the AC source. current density capability for test purposes.
The impedances of the slip ring units are modeled as pure The brushes are manufactured with powder technology.
resistances. The friction losses of the brushes can also be This gives the opportunity to change the content of the
estimated pretty well by measuring the difference in losses mixture as desired. The brushes are usually a mixture between
with and without the brushes in contact with the slip rings. graphite and a metal. Typically, more metal content gives a
The instruments used during the measurements are given in lower resistivity, but higher friction, meanwhile more graphite
Table II. content gives lower friction, but higher resistivity.
The brush cross-sectional area is 16×32 mm2. The width of
Torque Slip rings Signal
meter
one slip ring is 20 mm, which is 4 mm longer than the brush,
Integral motor slip rings
while the slip ring diameter is 100 mm.
Each of the slip ring units is equipped with PT-100
Brushes temperature elements. These are glued or attached to the
To data cooling element of the brush holder, between the spring
A U logger for bracket and the brush and on the edge of the slip ring,
temperatures respectively. Because of the rotating slip ring the PT-100
AC element on the slip ring has to be measured through another
Current slip ring made for signal transmission mounted on the same
shaft.
Fig. 3: Laboratory set-up.
C. Test methods
A comprehensive description of test methods for the
measurement of brush characteristics is published by IEC [8].
Copper cable Brush holder The temperature rise is in this paper defined as
Connector
∆T = Tring − Tambient (1)
Air vents
for cooling
where Tring is the slip ring temperature and Tambient is the
Brush ambient temperature. The ring temperature is not necessarily
Spring
the hottest spot of the slip ring unit. For very high current
densities the maximum temperature is expected to be in the
middle of the brush. If the friction losses are more dominating
than the electrical losses, the maximum temperature will be
located closer to the contact surface.
The definition of a stable temperature is that it does not
Air gap change more than one degree Kelvin per hour. This condition
Slip ring
has not been achieved for all performed tests, but the
Fig. 4. Principle sketch of a slip ring unit (1 phase). temperatures have been reasonably stable. The reason for the
discrepancy is due to the complex nature of brush
 TABLE II
surface which is only 0,1% [6] of the total brush area at every
INSTRUMENTS USED DURING THE MEASURMENTS moment in time. These contacting areas are highly conductive
bridges through an insulating film of patina. This film comes
Component Manufacturer
from oxides that were formed on the slip ring when it was
Temperature logging instrument Hewlett Packard 34970A exposed to air before it was brought into contact. When this
Temperature sensors Heraeus M-FK 422 (PT-100) chemical process begins it lowers the friction and the contact
Torque meter ONO SOKKI SS-200
Torque meter decoder ONO SOKKI voltage drops between the brush and the slip ring.
Distance meter TARGA Sigma Sport The electrical losses shown in Fig. 7 are not significantly
Current and voltage meter Fluke 123 Scope Meter dependent on the rotational speed of the slip ring. For the
Current shunt Prova CM-05
lowest current density the electrical losses are almost constant,
but a slight increase in power losses at higher speeds can be
performance, which for instance can be expressed in a observed, mostly due to the higher temperature that implies a
temperature drop after extended operation with increasing higher resistivity of the materials. Looking more carefully at
temperature. Fig. 7, it shows a drop in the losses at the second measurement
point (2000 rpm), due to a reduced voltage drop over the slip
D. Measurements ring. The temperature rise in the copper-graphite brush is
To measure the friction power of the slip ring a torque shown in Fig. 8. If comparing Fig. 5 and Fig. 8 one can, as
meter is mounted between the drive motor and the slip ring. expected, see a correlation between the temperature rise and
To avoid the influence of friction from the bearings (support the total losses.
and motor) and the signal slip ring, the torque of the system
without the power brushes is first measured. This value is then
subtracted from the measured value of the friction torque of [W]
the power slip ring. 450
The temperatures of the slip ring, brushes and the holder are 500

measured with PT-100 sensors and then saved to a computer 450 400
with a Hewlett Packard logging instrument. 400
Total losses [W]

The current through and the voltage over the slip ring is 350 350
measured continuously throughout the test. 300
The ambient temperature and air humidity is measured with 250 300
a separate meter. 200
To measure the distance of slip ring that passed the brush a 150 250
normal bicycle computer is used. A small sensor is attached to 5000
the rotating shaft and the radius of the slip ring is fed into the 4000 15
200
bicycle computer. The computer then records the number of 3000 10
Speed [rpm] 2000 5
revolutions and calculates the distance covered by the brushes. 2
Current density [A/c m ]
1000 0

IV. RESULTS Fig. 5: Total losses in the slip ring unit equipped with copper-graphite
The measured results show the losses and temperature rises brushes.
of the different brush materials during different conditions. It
is also shown how the speed and current affect the operation
400
of the slip ring unit. 2.6 A/cm
2
2
5.2 A/cm
A. Current density and speed 350
7.8 A/cm
2
2
If only looking at the current density and speed for the 300
10.4 A/cm
2
13 A/cm
brush material copper-graphite, it can be seen that the total
Friction losses [W]

power losses shown in Fig. 5 is dependent on both the 250

rotational speed of the slip ring and the current density in the
brushes. 200

The friction losses from measurements with copper-

150
graphite are shown in Fig. 6. In Fig. 6 an almost linear
dependency of the speed can be seen for the friction losses. 100
According to Fig. 6 the friction losses have a deviation from
the linear behavior between 2000 and 3000 rpm, it is best 50
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
shown for the low current densities. This could be due to a Speed [r pm]

chemical process that occurs in the sliding contact between the Fig. 6: Friction losses in the slip ring unit equipped with copper-graphite
brush and the slip ring. This process takes place in the contact brushes.
 electrical losses meanwhile Brush 2 (Cu-C) has the lowest
250
friction losses. But when looking at Fig. 9 it can be seen that
Brush 2 (Cu-C) has the lowest total losses. The contact
200 voltage drop for the different brushes are shown in Fig. 12,
2.6 A/cm 2 there it can be seen that Brush 1 (Ag-C) has the lowest voltage
5.2 A/cm 2
Electrical Losses [W]

150
7.8 A/cm 2 drop, followed by Brush 2 (Cu-C) and Brush 3 (C) with the
10.4 A/cm 2
13 A/cm 2 highest contact voltage drop. The voltage drop for the three
brushes increases with the speed except for the Brush 2 (Cu-
100 C) at the highest speed. This does not seem to be totally
realistic, but due to test procedures it can’t be verified with a
50 second test. This voltage drop also has impacts on the
electrical losses and then on the total losses. One way to
confirm this could be to look at the brush temperature during
0
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 this test and notice the correlation between the brush
Speed [ rpm]
temperature and the total losses. The brush temperature rises
Fig.7: Electrical losses in the slip ring unit equipped with copper-graphite are shown in Fig. 13 for the case with 13 A/cm2 and speeds
brushes.
from 1000 to 5000 rpm. There it can be seen that the
temperature drops at the second point at 3000 rpm for Brush 1
80 (Ag-C) and Brush 2 (Cu-C) even though the total loss is
2.6 A/cm
2
increased.
75 2
5.2 A/cm
2
70 7.8 A/cm
10.4 A/cm
2 2) Current dependency
65 13 A/cm
2
The losses are not only dependent on the speed of the slip
Temperature rise [K]

60 rings, the losses are of course highly dependent on the current

through the slip rings. The slip rings have been tested with the
55
different brushes at different current levels. The electrical
50
losses at 3000 rpm and at different current densities in the
45 brushes are shown in Fig. 14. There it can be seen that the
40 electrical losses increases almost linearly with the current
35
density. In Fig. 15 the friction losses are shown. The friction
losses of electro-graphite brushes show an inverse dependence
30
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 on the current density, while the silver- and copper-graphite
Speed [r pm]
brushes are almost constant. The total losses are shown in Fig.
Fig. 8: Temperature rise in the copper-graphite brushes at different speeds and 16. The increase of electrical losses is larger than the decrease
current densities.
of friction losses. If looking at the temperature change at
different current densities as shown in Fig. 17, it is clear that
B. Different brush materials the temperatures are increased in the brushes with increased
The different brush materials that were used are shown in current density.
Table I and they were tested at different speeds and current
densities. This was done to get knowledge on the impact on
450
the friction and electrical losses when using different brush Brush 1
materials. A comprehensive study on the effect of combined 400
Brush 2
Brush 3
peripheral velocity and contact pressure on the lifetime of
carbon brushes is presented in [9]. 350
Total losses [W]

1) Speed dependency 300

Fig. 9, shows the total losses at a constant current density of

13 A/cm2 and at speeds from 1000 rpm to 5000 rpm. As can
250

be seen, the total losses increase with an increased speed. This 200
is mostly due to the increase in friction losses when increasing
the speed. If separating the losses into friction and electrical 150
losses Fig. 10 and 11 are generated. There it can be seen that
both the electrical and friction losses increase at increased 100
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
S pee d [rpm]
speed, except for Brush 2 (Cu-C) at high speed where it
actually have reduced electrical losses. If comparing the Fig. 9: Total losses at 13 A/cm2 for different brush materials.
(1: Silver-graphite, 2: Copper-graphite and 3: Electro-graphite.)
losses, it can be seen that the Brush 1 (Ag-C) has the lowest
 180
Brush 1
Brush 2
160 Brush 3

140
Electrical loss es [W]

120

100

80

60

40

20
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
S pee d [rpm]

Fig. 10: Electrical losses at 13 A/cm2 for different brush materials. Fig. 13: Temperature rise for the brushes at 13 A/cm2.
(1: Silver-graphite, 2: Copper-graphite and 3: Electro-graphite.) (1: Silver-graphite, 2: Copper-graphite and 3: Electro-graphite.)

350 300
Brush 1 Brush 1
Brush 2 Brush 2
300 Brush 3 Brush 3
250

250
Electrical loss es [W]
Friction losses [W]

200

200
150
150

100
100

50 50

0 0
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5 10 15 20 2 25 30
S pee d [rpm] C urre nt density [A/cm ]

Fig. 11: Friction losses at 13 A/cm2 for different brush materials. Fig. 14: Electrical losses at 3000 rpm and different current densities.
(1: Silver-graphite, 2: Copper-graphite and 3: Electro-graphite.) (1: Silver-graphite, 2: Copper-graphite and 3: Electro-graphite.)

1. 6 250
Brush 1
Brush 2
1. 4 Brush 3

200
1. 2
Friction losses [W]
Volta ge drop [V]

Brush 1
1 150 Brush 2
Brush 3

0. 8
100

0. 6

50
0. 4

0. 2 0
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5 10 15 20 2 25 30
S pee d [rpm] C urre nt density [A/cm ]

Fig. 12: Contact voltage drop at 13 A/cm2 for different brush materials. Fig. 15: Friction losses at 3000 rpm and different current densities.
(1: Silver-graphite, 2: Copper-graphite and 3: Electro-graphite.) (1: Silver-graphite, 2: Copper-graphite and 3: Electro-graphite.)
 V. CONCLUSION
450
In this paper it has been shown that the copper-graphite
Brush 1 brush material is the best choice regarding total losses and
Brush 2
400 Brush 3 temperature rises in the brushes for the considered application.
350
A strong dependency is shown between the current density
and the temperature rise due to the increased losses.
Total losses [W]

300 The correlation between the temperature rise and the speed
250
of the slip ring is smaller than between the temperature and
the current density. The silver-graphite brush has the lowest
200 electrical losses of the three different brush materials, mostly
due to lower resistivity.
150
The electro-graphite brush material performed inefficiently
100 for this type of operation.
50
5 10 15 20 2
C urre nt density [A/cm ]
25 30 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Fig. 16: Total losses at 3000 rpm and different current densities. The authors would like to express their gratitude to Mr.
(1: Silver-graphite, 2: Copper-graphite and 3: Electro-graphite.) Stefan Båverud and Mr. Michael Moulin of Carbex AB in
Sweden for their administrative and technical support. This
work was supported in part by Carbex AB.

REFERENCES
70
Brush 1 [1] F. Magnussen, E. Nordlund, S. Châtelet, C. Sadarangani,
65
Brush 2 ”Measurements on Slip Ring Units for Characterization of
Brush 3
Performance”, International Power Engineering Conference, Singapore,
60 November, 2003.
Brus h tempe rature rise [K]

[2] Patent. PAT No. 9804261-7, Energy converter with double rotors and
55
double windings
50 [3] F. Magnussen, S. Sadarangani, “Electromagnetic Transducer for Hybrid
Electric Vehicles”, Nordic Workshop on Power and Industrial
45 Electronics, Stockholm, Sweden, 12-14 August 2002.
[4] E. Nordlund, P. Thelin, C. Sadarangani. ”Four-quadrant Energy
40
Transducer for Hybrid Electric Vehicles”, 15th International Conference
35 on Electrical Machines, Brugge, Belgium, 25-28 August 2002.
[5] S. Eriksson, C. Sadarangani. ”A four quadrant hybrid electric drive
30 system”, Proceedings of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference,
Vancouver, Canada, September, 2002.
25
5 10 15 20 2 25 30 [6] E. I. Shobert, II, “Carbon Brushes”, Chemical Publishing Company.
C urre nt density [A/cm ] New York, 1965.
[7] Carbon Brushes and Electrical Machines, Morganite Electrical Carbon
Fig. 17: Brush temperature rise at 3000 rpm and different current densities.
Limited. Swansea. UK, 1978.
(1: Silver-graphite, 2: Copper-graphite and 3: Electro-graphite.)
[8] Test methods and apparatus for the measurement of the operational
characteristics of brushes, International Electrotechnical Commission
(IEC). Publication 773. Genève, 1983.
[9] A.M.F. El-Refaie, M.M. Abdel Aziz, S.A.Y. Khorsid, E.E.M. Abu
Elzahab, “Effect of Combined Velocity and Pressure on Life Time of
Carbon Brushes”, IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, Vol. 15,
No. 2, June, 2000.