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December 2005/January2006
Volume 6, Issue 6
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The Use of Silicone Materials in Close Proximity of

Electrical Motors and Mechanical Relays
By Frederic Gubbels / D. Varin / M. Onishi, Mode of Contamination with Silicone Materials
Dow Corning Corporation An excellent review about the various mechanisms by which
It is surprising to see that the commercial launch of sili- silicone contamination can occur has been published (5). These
cone-based materials dates back to 1943, and that the first mechanisms have been further investigated elsewhere (6-8).
article dealing with sili- When discussing silicone contamination, it is required to clearly
cone contamination of distinguish between fluid and volatile molecules. Part of the
electrical motors was confusion around silicone contamination is due to the fact that a
actually published in fluid is sometimes volatile and sometimes not volatile. In order
1944(1)! In the following to clearly separate the two types of contamination, the following
years, more publications discussion will make the distinction between:
Linear VMS referred to as Ln+2 were issued on that topic
(2,3). The following sen-
tence from L.E.
Moberly(4) sounds very
contemporary: “With the
increasing demands for
high temperature materi-
als, it is natural that
Cyclic VMS referred to as Dn
Silicones, whose reten-
tion of properties at high
temperatures is well
known, should be applied
in many new equipment
and apparatus
designs…(sic)…The fact Figure 2: Vapour pressure of various silicone volatiles. L2 to
that silicone vapors L10 are linear silicone oligomers with degree of
affect the performance of polymerization from 2 to 10, while D3 to D9 are cyclic
silicones having 2 to 9 monomer units.
Branched VMS: eg contacts has been recog-
Tetra(trimethylsiloxy)silane nized for some time.
However, who could • A silicone volatile VMS (volatile methyl siloxane), which
up to the degradation temperature of the polymer has a low mol-
Figure 1: Types of volatile methyl guess that this was writ-
siloxanes (VMS) ten in 1960? These arti- ecular weight and a measurable amount of molecules in the
cles were published, vapor phase. And
years before silicone contamination issues were happening • a silicone fluid, which up to the degradation temperature of
with relays in the telecommunication industry and years the polymer has a very high molecular weight (above 1000) and
before silicone contamination in the car painting industry. does not have any molecule in vapor phase.
Although both cases are completely different, most people Therefore, the ambiguity that is implied by the terms “sili-
think that the root cause is the same. In reality the first case cone volatile fluid” is excluded in the above-mentioned defini-
is caused by “volatile contamination”, while the second case tion since a volatile fluid is classified as a silicone volatile
is caused by “fluid contamination”. Because contamination (VMS). There are three categories of VMS according to its
of electrical motors and relays are occurring most of the time chemical structure as depicted in figure 1, i.e. linear, volatile and
through volatile contamination, the present article will prin- branched VMS.
cipally deal with this mode of silicone contamination and its Low molecular weight silicones - with a low polymerization
prevention. Today, there are multiple ways to resolve these degree n - will display a finite vapor pressure, while silicone
issues and recent developments have addressed both volatile polymers with n above 20 can be considered as pure “non-
and fluid contamination (8). volatile fluids”. The volatility of silicone materials depends on
temperature, molecular weight and molecular structure as illus-

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trated in figure 2: a linear molecule is less volatile than a potentiometers or failure in electrical motors due to abrasion of
cyclic molecule and a small molecule is more volatile than a the collector (1-4). If arcing is prevented volatile then silicones
large molecule. The volatility of silicone molecules is increases will not be degraded. In that case they will not represent any
with temperature, but is limited by the temperature of degrada- issue for the component. For instance, it is well known that
tion of the molecules. At 20ºC, L10 - having 10 silicon atoms volatile silicones are harmless for brushless electrical motors.
in the chain - can be considered as a pure fluid, but it will be Fluid contamination could also represent a problem for
as volatile at 100ºC as D6 at room temperature. Similarly, L10 relays, potentiometers and electrical motors if and only if the
will be as volatile at 200ºC as L3 at room temperature. It is fluid comes into direct exposure with the electrical contacts in
therefore required to consider the temperature factor when these parts. If a tight barrier is present as is the case for sealed
volatile contamination is concerned. relays, there will be no fluid contamination in these parts.
However even in sealed relays, especially with wave-soldered
relays, micro-cracks can occur, allowing for the silicone to
Types of Contamination migrate even more easily with increased capillary forces and
Now that a clear definition of a fluid and a volatile has been create contact resistance. Actually, fluid contamination of relays
established, it is possible to describe the contamination accord- and electrical motors is easily detectible and is leading to faster
ingly. There are basically 3 possible cases leading to two sepa- contact resistance than volatile contamination. The remedy is to
rate modes of contamination (figure 3): contamination can create a nonsurmountable barrier to the fluids.
occur with volatile silicones, with silicone aerosols and with sil-
icone fluids. The mode of contamination with volatile silicones
and aerosols is identical: it propagates through the air without How to Avoid Volatile Contamination with
direct contact. But the consequences are very different, as Silicones in Electrical Motors and Relays
aerosols can be made up of non-volatile fluids and hence induce It must be pointed out that all silicone-based materials before
fluid contamination. It is widely recommended to avoid the for- and after cure have a certain percentage of silicone volatiles. In
mation of aerosols or the use of spray cans
of any sort in coating or soldering produc-
tion areas as aerosols could end up on sensi-
tive substrates, via air conditioning ducts.
Apart from aerosols, fluid contamination
can only occur through direct contact and
cannot propagate through the air.
The KEY difference between fluid and
volatile contamination is that a volatile,
unless trapped in a process , mostly chemi-
cal, will escape very easily. A fluid will stay
on a substrate forever, unless removed by the
process. Volatile silicones can be an issue for
electrical motors, relays, potentiometers Figure 4: Life of electrical motors enclosed in a confined space containing volatile
where arcing degrades silicone species into silicones (D4-D10). The cyclic content in the air is the maximum content that is
siliceous compounds that deposit as an insu- coming out of the 2 g of silicone.
lating abrasive layer on the contacts. This
layer generates either contact resistance increase in relays and standard materials, this varies from 0.5 to 3 percent, but it can
be even more in some very low viscosity conformal coatings.
Recent technologies have been developed to reduce the amount
of silicone volatiles to a very low content; these materials are
commonly referred to as controlled volatility (CV) silicones.
Today, easily processable CV conformal coatings exhibit less
than 0.001 percent of silicone volatiles.
It has been demonstrated that there is a threshold in the ambi-
ent air below, which the formation of the siliceous layer will not
form in electrical motors, potentiometers and relays (8,9). This
critical level is around 10 to 30 ppm of silicone volatiles in the
air and has been discussed in details elsewhere (9). Figure 4 is
showing that in the case studied amounts below 30 ppm of sili-
cone volatiles did not have an impact on the motor life.
The amount of silicone volatiles present in various cured sili-
cone materials has been measured by Gas Chromatography with
a Flame Ionization Detector (GCFID) after calibration with
standards. The total VMS content obtained is listed in table 1
and show significant differences between the products studied.
Indeed controlled volatility materials are containing much less
Figure 3: Types of contamination with silicone materials silicone volatile materials than standard products. Generally,

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 Table 1: Measured content of volatile methyl siloxane (VMS) in various of this tool, while taking a conservative approach,
cured silicone materials from Dow Corning Corp. A 2 mm thick sheet has it is possible to determine whether the use of a cer-
been made and cured accoardingly to table 1. A fraction of the cured tain type of silicone is appropriate or not for a
material has been put in toluene for extraction of the volatile species and given application. Three example cases have been
then analyzed by GCFID. developed in order to illustrate typical scenarios
and values in table 2 have been used for calcula-
tion. One basic assumption for this calculation is
that the system has reached its equilibrium.

Example Case #1:

The use of Dow Corning 1-2577 Conformal
Coating to protect a printed circuit board PCB
containing relays or electrical motors.

Hypothesis:
• 1 liter totally hermetically closed device that
contains either (a) relay(s) or (an) electrical
motor(s). For the sake of simplification all relays
(even sealed relays) should be considered as not
tightly sealing against VMS. This is a conservative
approach, but this assumption enables user of sili-
cone to be sure about proper function of their
devices in the application.
• 10 by 10 cm2 PCB to be coated with 70 µm
thick coating
• Service Temperature of the device –40 to
150ºC
• Cure conditions according to table 1
• The bottom of the relay or motor is above the
level of silicone, which means that the silicone
conformal coating is not sealing the component. If
this would be the case, one had to consider the
component atmosphere separately.

due to their high filler content, thermally conductive materials Calculations:

exhibit a lower VMS content than standard silicones. At –40ºC, nothing should happen, as none of the species are
It is important to notice that content in linear silicone volatile volatile, but at 20ºC, there will be about 200 ppm of VMS in the
is very limited. Actually in most products studied the level of device and hence in the component. This is far above the threshold
these species is not detectable. In the products shown in table 1, value of 30 ppm. At 150ºC, the amount will double, i.e. 400 ppm.
only 3-1965 is containing a measurable amount of L3. The In the present case, there is enough VMS in the proximity of the
biggest part of the VMS content is composed of cyclic mole- relay and arcing will build a siliceous layer around the relay, which
cules. This can be explained by the fact that silicone cyclics are might result in contact resistance. We clearly would recommend
formed naturally by depolymerisation of the polymer. Linear the use of a CV silicone in the present case. This will be the pur-
molecules are not formed significantly during this process. pose of Example case #2, where everything is the same as example
They are only present if they are part of the initial formulation case #1, except for the product used.
of the product.
Example Case #2:
Illustrating Examples The use of Dow Corning HC2000 Controlled Volatility CV
Conformal Coating to protect a printed circuit board PCB con-
A tool has be designed in order to calculate the amount of
taining relays or electrical motors.
volatile silicones present in the air around the sensitive device,
according to the parameters such as temperature, volume, pres-
Hypothesis:
sure and silicone composition. This tool performs a calculation
• 1 liter totally hermetically closed device that contains either (a)
based on the perfect gas law from the vapor pressure of the
relay(s) or (an) electrical motor(s). For the sake of simplification
volatile species present in the materials after cure. With the help

Table 2: Detailed VMS composition of two conformal coatings for illustrating examples

Reprinted from the December/January 2006 issue of e-Drive Magazine

©Webcom Communications Corp., 7355 E. Orchard Road, Suite 100, Greenwood Village, CO 80111, U.S.A, Phone 720-528-3770
all relays (even sealed relays should be considered as not tightly case, the use of a CV silicone is recommended.
sealing against VMS. This is a conservative approach, but this In any case, we strongly recommend the reader that would
assumption enables user of silicone to be sure about proper func- like to design such a unit to contact us for assistance. We will
tion of their devices in the application. not take responsibility for any misuse of the content of this
• 10 by 10 cm2 PCB to be coated with 70 µm thick coating article. To be complete, it must be noted that other ways to pre-
• Service Temperature of the device –40 to 150ºC vent contact resistance have been published (10). This alterna-
• Cure conditions according to table 1 tive technology is preventing the formation of the siliceous
• The bottom of the relay or motor is above the level of sili- layer around the contact.
cone, which means that the silicone conformal coating is not
sealing the component. If this would be the case, one had to
consider the component atmosphere separately. Conclusions
Recently developed silicone technologies (e.g. controlled volatili-
Calculations: ty) allow the use of silicone in close proximity to sensitive devices,
At –40ºC, again nothing should happen, as none of the such as relays, electrical motors, or potentiometers. In some cases,
species are volatile. At 20ºC, the maximum amount of VMS is controlled volatility materials can be applied safely even in very con-
about 0.46 ppm, which is far below the threshold value of 30 fined environments. In some cases standard silicone materials can
ppm. At 150ºC, the amount will raise up to 0.64 ppm, which is even be used. Today, the risks are well known and very much
also far below the threshold value. The amount of volatiles pre- reduced by recent process techniques and materials technologies. In
sent is way too low to build a siliceous layer on the contacts case of doubt, analytical methods are available to quantify and con-
and there will be no impact on the functioning of the relay. We trol any element of the risk.
are confident that there will be no issue with this product in this
application. Now does it mean that 1-2577 can never be used in References
close proximity of relays or electrical motors? Actually in some 1. Carbon brush contact films, C.Von Brunt, General Electric
cases it can be used, we will focus on this particular case in Review 47 July 1944 pp 16-19.
example case # 3, describing a system similar to example case 2. Effect of silicone vapor on brush wear, J.Maraden, AIEE
#1, but where the device is opened to the air. Transactions, vol 67, 1948, pp. 1186-90
3. Effect of Commutator Surface Filme Conditions on
Example Case #3: Commutation, C.Lynn, AIEE Transactions, vol 68, 1949, pp.
The use of Dow Corning 1-2577 Conformal Coating to 106-12
protect a printed circuit board PCB containing relays or 4. Performance of silver contacts in atmosphere containing
electrical motors. silicone vapors, L.E.Moberly, Insulation, April, 19-24, 1960
5. Silicone Contamination, H.Anderson et al., IVF Report
Hypothesis: 97/49
• 1 liter totally open device that contains either (a) relay(s) or 6. L.H.U. Andersson, T.Hjertberg, J.Appl.Polym.Sc. (2003),
(an) electrical motor(s). For the sake of simplification all relays 88, 2073-2081
(even sealed relays) should be considered as tightly sealing 7. L.H.U. Andersson, P.Johander, T.Hjertberg,
against VMS. This is a conservative approach, but this assump- J.Appl.Polym.Sc. (2003), 90, 3780-3789
tion enables user of silicone to be sure about proper function of 8. F.Gubbels, M.Onishi, Global SMT & Packaging (2004),
their devices in the application. 4(6), 10-14.
• 10 by 10 cm2 PCB to be coated with 70 µm thick coating 9. Safe level of silicone contamination for electrical contact,
• Service Temperature of the device –40 to 150ºC T.Tamai, M.Aramata, IEEE Holm Conf. Electric
• Cure conditions according to table 1 Contacts, pp 269-73, 1993.
• The bottom of the relay or motor is above the level of sili- 10. H.Asai et al., Japanes Patent JP 225229/89 Dow Corning
cone, which means that the silicone conformal coating is not Toray Silicone Co. (1989).
sealing the component. If this would be the case, one had to
consider the component atmosphere separately.

Calculations:
Basically the calculation would lead to the same figures as
example case #1. However, the present assumption is considering
an open-to-the-air box. The kinetic theory of gases predicts here Contact Dow Corning at
that all silicone volatiles present in the air will be escaping
through a hole of 1 mm2 in less than 1 day. This means that the
electronics@dowcorning.com
level of VMS in the air will never reach the threshold value,
because the volatile species can easily escape. It is therefore possi-
ble to apply a standard silicone in proximity to relays and electri-
cal motors. There are many existing applications using standard
silicones to protect PCBs that are either containing relays or elec-
trical motors without any trouble for this reason. Actually, the sen-
sitive cases are the ones where the electronic device is sealed and
therefore hermetically close to prevent water ingress. In such a

Reprinted from the December/January 2006 issue of e-Drive Magazine

©Webcom Communications Corp., 7355 E. Orchard Road, Suite 100, Greenwood Village, CO 80111, U.S.A, Phone 720-528-3770