Aluminum is an ideal material for building power cable 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 cable 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 Cable also displays outstanding corrosion resistance compared to other common cable materials like steel. Properly manufactured aluminum cable 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.

Conductor Sizing and Current Rating

Due to aluminum's lower conductivity compared to copper, aluminum cable require larger conductor cross-sectional areas to achieve the same current ratings. The American Wire Gauge (AWG) sizing system specifies standard diameters for aluminum conductors. When adequately sized for a given current load, aluminum conductors can safely carry as much current as copper equivalents of the same ratings.

Get More Insights On Aluminum Cable

Naijamatta is a social networking site,

download Naijamatta from Google play store or visit www.naijamatta.com to register. You can post, comment, do voice and video call, join and open group, go live etc. Join Naijamatta family, the Green app.