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The substance utilized to create the conductor for the transmission line has a significant impact on the price and lifespan of the line.
Fremont, CA: The transmission line is a crucial component of the power system. The substance utilized to create the conductor for the transmission line has a significant impact on the price and lifespan of the line. Copper is the most significant and ideal material for transmission line conductors due to its high conductivity and strong tensile strength. Furthermore, it has high ductility. The price is the only restriction. Aluminum is the material that is used most frequently in transmission lines.
Aluminum has a conductivity that is adequate. Furthermore, it is lightweight. This causes less droop and a reduced conductor weight. Its poor tensile strength is its sole drawback.Aluminum conductors with steel cores, such as ACSR (Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced) conductors, are utilized to increase the tensile strength of the conductor to get around this restriction.
Materials Use for Transmission Lines
- Copper (Cu)
Copper is the highly conductive substance that is utilized most frequently as a conductor for electrical machinery or equipment. The most crucial characteristics of copper are malleability, weldability, and solderability. Copper has an excellent conductivity when it is pure. But because of impurities, normal grade copper has less conductivity.
- Aluminum (Al)
Aluminum is a metallic element that is silver-white, lightweight, ductile, soft, and non-magnetic. After oxygen and silicon, aluminum is the third most common element and the most common metal in the crust of the planet. Bauxite is the primary resource of aluminum. Aluminum is an ideal material to use as an electric conductor for the electricity distribution and transmission because of its low density, high ductility, superior corrosion resistance, and good conductivity.
- Cadmium Copper Alloy
Cadmium content ranges from 0.6 to 1.2percent in the cadmium copper alloys. Due to this little cadmium addition, copper now has greater tensile strength and corrosion resistance. Cadmium copper alloys have conductivities between 90 and 96% that of pure copper.
- Phosphor Bronze
A copper alloy with 3.5 to 10percentage tin and up to 1percentage phosphorus is called phosphor bronze. It is also known as "Phos-Bronze" at times. During melting, phosphorus is introduced as a deoxidizing agent. Phosphor bronze has tiny grains, a low coefficient of friction, and high strength and hardness. The inclusion of phosphorous increases the fluidity of the molten metal, improving the alloy's ability to be cast, and cleans up the grain boundaries, enhancing the metal's mechanical qualities.
- Steel Core Copper
It is also known as a steel conductor with a copper coating sometimes. Steel is utilized as the conductor's core for applications requiring great tensile strength, while copper is added to boost the conductivity of the conductor. Here, copper serves as a protective coating to prevent steel from corroding due to atmospheric weather conditions in addition to providing conductivity.
