Bulletin No.

5600PD9601
July 1996
Oxford, OH, USA
Product Data Bulletin

MYLAR ® BUS BAR INSULATION—A THIRTY YEAR TRACK RECORD

For more than 30 years, Square D has used Mylar ® to insulate bus bars in I-Line®
and I-Line II Busway. The purpose of this paper is to provide information
demonstrating that Mylar is both a proven and reliable insulation system.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

What is Mylar ®? Mylar is a polyester film made from polyethylene terephthalate, the polymer
formed by the condensation reaction of ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid.
Mylar has an average dielectric strength of 7,000 volts for 1 mil film, a tensile
strength of 23,000 psi, and an excellent resistance to most chemicals and
moisture. Mylar also remains flexible throughout temperature extremes from
–60° to 150°C and does not become brittle with age.

Does Mylar ® meet To meet to Underwriters Laboratory (UL) requirements, UL Listed busways
UL requirements? cannot exceed a total operating temperature of 95°C in an ambient temperature
of 40°C at full load. This requirement applies to the complete busway system, not
just a single busway component. At loads up to and including the full load rating
and at 40°C ambient temperature, I-Line and I-Line II Busway will not exceed a
total operating temperature of 95°C. Actual supplier testing (DuPont #EL-63-2)
has proven Mylar to have a conservative Class B, 130°C thermal rating, which is
35°C above the approved operating temperature of UL Listed busways.

What about reliability? I-Line and I-Line II bus bars are insulated with two layers of 7.5 mil Mylar. Once
assembled, every busway length and fitting must pass a 7,000 Vdc (4,950 Vac)
hi-potential test before shipment from the factory. The factory test is conducted
at eight times greater than the maximum operating voltage to ensure the highest
quality insulation with every section of busway delivered.

Mylar has many electrical applications in addition to insulating bus bars. Many
manufacturers also use Mylar as insulation in transformers and electric motors.
In fact, one of the largest electric motor manufacturers in the United States has
used Mylar as a stand-alone insulator in Class B motors for over 35 years.
Laminates containing Mylar are commonly used in Class F motors with ratings
of 115°C and higher.

ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES With an excellent balance of chemical, thermal, and physical properties, the
OF MYLAR ® electrical properties of Mylar offer unique design capabilities to the electrical
industry.

Film Thickness The average dielectric strength for 1 mil film is 7,000 volts. For 7.5 mil film, the
dielectric strength is approximately 2,700 volts/mil for an excellent dielectric
strength of 20,250 volts. I-Line and I-Line II Busway use two layers of 7.5 mil film
for a total insulation thickness of 15 mil. As with most materials, the ac dielectric
strength of Mylar film in volts/mil decreases as film thickness increases. This is
illustrated in Figure 1, page 2. After being tested at a 500 volts/second rate of
rise, corona occurs within seconds and the film begins to melt before the actual
breakdown occurs.

 1996 Square D All Rights Reserved

Bulletin No. 5600PD9601 Mylar ® Bus Bar Insulation—A Thirty Year Track Record
July 1996

40,000
30,000

20,000

Dielectric Strength, V/mil

10,000
8,000

6,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000
14 1/2
/ 1 2 4 6 8 10 14 20
Film Thickness, mil

Figure 1: Dielectric strength vs. thickness

Insulation Resistance Another outstanding property of Mylar is its high insulation resistance over a
wide temperature range. As shown in Figure 2, the dielectric strength remains
constant over a temperature range from 25°C up to 150°C.

8,000

7,000
Dielectric Strength, V/mil

6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000
7.5 mil

2,000

1,000

0
25 50 75 100 125 150
(77) (122) (167) (212) (257) (302)
Temperature, °C (°F)

Figure 2: Dielectric strength vs. temperature

2  1996 Square D All Rights Reserved

Mylar ® Bus Bar Insulation—A Thirty Year Track Record Bulletin No. 5600PD9601
July 1996

Humidity Humidity has a nominal effect on the dielectric strength of Mylar. Figure 3
illustrates that for 7.5 mil film, varying the relative humidity from 20% to 80%
causes less than a ±10% change in dielectric strength from the value obtained at
the target rate of 35% relative humidity (ASTM D-149 and ASTM D-2305).

10,000

Dielectric Strength, V/mil

8,000
20% RH
6,000

80% RH 35% RH
4,000

2,000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Film Thickness, mil

Figure 3: Dielectric strength at various humidities

Arc Resistance The arc resistance test results suggest that Mylar has an advantage over
insulating materials, which track because of momentary overvoltages of a few
seconds. The effect on Mylar is noncumulative, as long as sufficient cooling time
occurs between arcs. Arc resistance tests (ASTM D-495) show that Mylar will not
fail when narrow tracks form on its surface. Mylar has an arc resistance time
between 73 and 94 seconds.

Corona Threshold Voltage
Corona in ac electrical systems is an ion bombardment that erodes materials.
Corona is not observed with Mylar polyester film at ac voltages below the corona
threshold voltages plotted in Figure 4. Having one of the highest resistances to
corona of all plastic films, Mylar can withstand corona that may occur during the
short surges of overvoltages common to many electrical systems.

1,400

1,200

1,000

800
V, rms

600

400

200

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Film Thickness, mil

Figure 4: AC corona threshold voltage

 1996 Square D All Rights Reserved 3

Bulletin No. 5600PD9601 Mylar ® Bus Bar Insulation—A Thirty Year Track Record
July 1996

PHYSICAL AND THERMAL Mylar polyester film retains good physical properties over a wide temperature
PROPERTIES OF MYLAR ® range from –60° to 150°C. Its shear strength is significantly higher than published
data for other polymeric insulating materials. Mylar is also resistant to electrical
creepage.

Shear Strength Shear strength was measured by a punch-type test according to ASTM D-732.
This measurement is reported in pounds of force required to shear divided by
the product of the circumference and the thickness. These tests showed that 5
and 10 mil Mylar films have shear strengths of 15.0 (21.5) and 13.6 (19.5) kg/mm2
(kpsi), respectively.

Heat Aging and Service Life The film manufacturer’s maximum service temperature usually recommended
for Mylar polyester film is 150°C. UL Listed busways are designed not to exceed a
total operating temperature of 95°C. Where extensive exposure, severe
environmental conditions, or unusual physical requirements such as severe
flexing are involved, reducing the service life of Mylar may be necessary.
Because the Mylar in I-Line and I-Line II Busway is totally enclosed within the
housing, the Mylar is protected against extensive exposure, severe
environmental conditions, and flexing. As a result of this protection and when
subjected to normal operating conditions, long life can be expected.

CHEMICAL PROPERTIES Mylar polyester film exhibits good resistance to the action of many chemical
OF MYLAR ® reagents, solvents, varnishes, and other contaminants and is virtually
impermeable to the liquid phase of most chemicals and reagents. Oils and
greases such as penetrating oil, lard, cottonseed oil, and motor oil will not
penetrate through 1 mil film even after two months of constant exposure at room
temperature. Mylar is relatively insensitive to moisture absorption, absorbing
less than 0.8% moisture when totally immersed in water over a 24-hour period
(ASTM D-570-63).

SUMMARY Many types of bus bar insulation systems can exceed the maximum allowable
operating temperature as required by UL. It is important to understand that
UL Listed busways are designed not to exceed a total operating temperature of
95°C, which falls into Class A limits. Thus, high quality busway designs, like
I-Line and I-Line II Busway, will never reach operating temperatures of 130°C
under normal operating conditions. Unlike our competitors, Square D uses
full-size bus bars in I-Line and I-Line II Busway. Full-size bus bars contribute to
cooler operation of the busway system, lower voltage drop, and higher electrical
efficiency. This equates to a lower operating cost and long life.

Today, I-Line and I-Line II Busway installations are in operation throughout the
world, dating back to the early 1960s. Test data for new insulation systems is
generated in laboratory conditions. Historical data generated from actual
applications is the most relevant and valuable data available. With more than 30
years of both laboratory and historical data along with proven performance,
Square D Busway with Mylar insulation has proven reliability in the industry.

Source: DuPont Films Enterprise

I-LINE, SQUARE D, and are Registered Trademarks of Square D Company.
Mylar is a Registered Trademark of E. I. DuPont.
 1996 Square D, all rights reserved. This bulletin may not be copied in whole or in part, or
transferred to any other media, without the written permission of Square D Company.

Square D Company
5735 College Corner Road
Oxford, OH, 45056 USA
Order No. 5600PD9601 5C FP 8/96 Printed in USA
4  1996 Square D All Rights Reserved