Crushable Insulator

USES:
Crushable insulators are used to produce Mineral Insulated Metal Sheathed (MIMS) cable (in long lengths) or probes (typically shorter complete units).  The conductor wires may be thermocouple pairs, resistance wire for heating, RTD conductors, or simply extension wiring for extreme environments.  Crushable insulators are not suited for stand-alone applications and must be enclosed in a protective sheath.

Description
Crushable insulators are rigid tubes, rods, and multi-hole configurations available at lengths up to about 200 mm (<30:1 L/D recommended) and generally round (not required) configurations of constant cross-section (required).

These insulators are designed to be inserted into the metal sheath with conductor elements already threaded in them.  The assembly is then swaged or drawn to crush the insulator into a fine, flowable powder which will allow elongation of the cable and tightly compact to maintain separation and electrical insulation of the metallic components.

They may be designed to crush very easily to protect soft platinum components, or with more integrity to improve handling and performance properties. Please refer to the strength specifications.

Material/Purity
CSee specifications for purity analysis of standard Magnesium Oxide, Aluminum Oxide, and Hafnium Oxide grades. Other materials are available on request or by custom order.

The following are typical analyses or limits for powders used to produce extruded insulators. Most raw materials are high quality fused grain powders which are processed in-house to obtain optimum particle size distributions for end use as probes, cables, and heaters.

STRENGTH
Insulators are fired to uniform mechanical strengths which have been established for optimum handling and swaging characteristics for different applications. A true mechanical test does not exist to characterize “crushability”. A Modulus of Rupture measurement is normally provided for historical tracking purposes.  This test is a modified three point bending test performed according to ASTM standard E1652 Appendix 4 and has many limitations.