Aluminum as a Cable Material
Aluminum is an ideal material for building power cables due to its light weight, high electrical conductivity, and corrosion resistance properties. It has almost double the electrical conductivity of copper, making it highly efficient for transmitting electricity over long distances. Weighing roughly one-third as much as copper, aluminum cables allow greater current carrying capacity for the same cable size. This helps reduce material and installation costs compared to copper equivalents.
Electrical and Physical Properties
Aluminum has a conductivity of approximately 61% of copper by volume. While lower than copper, its conductivity is still very high for efficiently carrying large electrical loads. Aluminum Cables also displays outstanding corrosion resistance compared to other common cable materials like steel. Properly manufactured aluminum cables maintain their electrical and mechanical properties even after decades of use without signs of corrosion damage.
The light weight of aluminum is another major advantage. For the same current capacity, a cable made from aluminum will weigh roughly half as much as one made from copper. This reduces strain on supporting structures and allows longer spans between poles for overhead transmission lines. It also improves handling, installation costs and requires smaller conduit sizes for underground applications.
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