Methods of manufacturing coated conductors

Abstract

A method includes depositing a polymeric electrical insulation layer about at least a portion of a length of an electrical conductor that includes copper, depositing a barrier layer, which includes a sol-gel layer, about at least a portion of the polymeric electrical insulation layer to form at least a portion of a coated electrical conductor, and forming a submersible component that includes at least a portion of the coated electrical conductor.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 depositing a polymeric electrical insulation layer about at least a portion of a length of an electrical conductor that comprises copper;   depositing a barrier layer about at least a portion of the polymeric electrical insulation layer to form at least a portion of a coated electrical conductor,   wherein the barrier layer is made using an oxidation process; and   forming a submersible component that comprises at least a portion of the coated electrical conductor.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the barrier layer comprises a sol-gel layer. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the sol-gel layer comprises at least one metal oxide. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the barrier layer comprises a metallic barrier layer. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the metallic barrier layer comprises nickel. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the barrier layer comprises poly(p-xylylene). 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the barrier layer comprises at least one polymer selected from the group consisting of: polyaliphatic ketones, fluoropolymers, functionally modified fluoropolymers, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymers, and poly (arylene ether) polymers. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the depositing of the barrier layer comprises taping or extruding. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the depositing of the barrier layer comprises vapor deposition. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the depositing of the barrier layer comprises at least one of polymeric vapor deposition and metallic vapor deposition. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the barrier layer has a thickness greater than approximately 10 microns and less than approximately 50 microns. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the coated electrical conductor is a magnet wire that forms part of an electrical-mechanical component. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the polymeric electrical insulation layer comprises polyimide. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical conductor comprises a diameter greater than 28 AWG and less than 1 AWG. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising disposing a scavenger material in at least one layer of the coated electrical conductor, wherein the scavenger material comprises a water scavenger material, a H 2 S scavenger material, or a water scavenger material and a H 2 S scavenger material. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the scavenger material is configured to form at least one metal oxide. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the submersible component is at least one of an electric motor and a cable. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the coated electrical conductor has a dimension in a range of 3.7 mm to 9.3 mm. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the polymeric electrical insulation layer comprises a dielectric material. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the polymeric electrical insulation layer has a dimension in a range of 1.5 mm to 3.3 mm.