Transform your Autodesk Inventor into a High-Voltage Busbars Design Workbench

Bus Bars
By Kousseil Ben Ahmed | 26/04/2024

High-Voltage Busbars in Modern Power Systems

In the rapidly advancing sector of power distribution, high-voltage busbars stand out as crucial components for managing the increasing demands of efficiency and scalability. As power systems evolve to incorporate more complex and capable networks, high-voltage busbars are proving indispensable, particularly within the expanding realms of renewable energy grids and advanced data center architectures.

Busbar Model


Inventor Model of the Busbars and Housing

Advantages of High-Voltage Busbars

High-voltage busbars are engineered to enable low-impedance and high-current flow with minimal resistance, ensuring power is delivered where it’s needed without significant energy loss. Their design, characterized by a wide and flat cross-section, allows for an impressive current carrying capacity, mitigating excessive heating which can be a concern in densely packed power systems. This structural design, coupled with their flat and parallel arrangement, also minimizes electromagnetic interference (EMI), enhancing the overall stability and performance of electrical systems. Installation is made more straightforward through the assembly of single units, which also simplifies troubleshooting and maintenance—key considerations in operational downtime reduction. Furthermore, the durable nature of busbars, combined with their ease of maintenance and efficient power transmission, leads to a lower total cost of ownership, making them a cost-effective solution for modern electrical infrastructure demands.

Design Challenges of High-Voltage Busbars

Designing high-voltage busbars requires balancing thermal management to prevent overheating with the need to minimize inherent resistance and voltage drops. Busbars must be mechanically robust to resist vibration and short circuits, with proper spacing and insulation to avert arcing. Integrating protective devices like fuses and circuit breakers is essential for fault current and short-circuit protection. Cost-effectiveness also plays a crucial role, as material choices must meet performance and durability standards without exceeding budget constraints. Each design decision, from material selection to spacing, directly impacts the busbar’s efficiency, safety, and long-term viability in power distribution systems.

Designing Busbars in Inventor

EMWORKS, the exclusive electromagnetic plugin for Autodesk Inventor, is the key to overcoming the array of design challenges associated with high-voltage busbars. Serving critical industries like energy and transportation, EMWORKS provides a comprehensive simulation tool that empowers engineers to refine high-voltage system performance. By streamlining complex design workflows, it offers detailed insights into electromagnetic behaviors crucial for busbar efficiency. With its customizable simulation parameters, EMWORKS allows for the exploration of various scenarios, ensuring each busbar design upholds strict performance and reliability standards, essential for navigating the demanding design challenges in today’s dynamic operational environments.

EMWORKS Inside Inventor


Overcoming Busbars Design Challenges using EMWORKS

EMWORKS's specialized features, such as multi-configurations and the parametric study option, are integral to tackling the design challenges of high-voltage busbars. This software facilitates thorough analyses of critical parameters including heat dissipation, voltage drop, mechanical resilience, and spacing for insulation. By harnessing these tools, designers can meticulously adjust and calibrate specific variables to understand their influence on busbar performance. Such precise analysis is critical in refining busbar designs to ensure they are robust, efficient, and capable of withstanding the rigors of high voltage demands while mitigating issues like overheating and arcing. EMWORKS's simulation results demonstrate the software’s potential to navigate and surmount the complexities of high-voltage busbar design.


Eddy Current in the Busbars


Eddy Current in the housing

Interface to define multi-configurations linked to current magnitude.

Temperature Distribution in the Housing.

Lorentz Force on Busbars vs Current

In summary, the innovative use of Autodesk Inventor equipped with EMWORKS provides a groundbreaking approach to designing high-voltage busbars, essential for the modern demands of power distribution systems. This combination not only enhances the design and simulation process but also tackles the myriad challenges associated with busbar engineering—from thermal management and mechanical robustness to minimizing electromagnetic interference and optimizing cost-effectiveness. As industries continue to evolve towards more complex and demanding power systems, particularly in renewable energy and advanced data centers, the integration of these advanced tools ensures that engineers can achieve not only functional but also highly efficient and reliable busbar designs. Ultimately, EMWORKS within Autodesk Inventor stands as an indispensable resource, empowering engineers to push the boundaries of electrical system design and set new standards for operational excellence.