Peak Substation Services is a trusted resource for all of your substation design and packaging needs. Established in 2006, our company packages electrical and structural materials for utility contractors and industrial customers across the United States. Peak Substation Services boasts 1000+ packages and more than 100 years of joint team experience in design, manufacturing, distribution, construction, procurement, and substation packaging. For this reason, we have become a go-to packager.
One of our specialty areas is overhead service conductors and lines. A conductor is a power transmission material that distributes electricity across long distances. Overhead service conductors consist of electrical charge carriers that transmit ions and electrons from one atom to another upon voltage application. As the name suggests, overhead conductors are suspended in the air, with a utility pole on one side and a service mast on the other. Conversely, underground conductors are buried underground, transmitting electricity while remaining out of sight.
Some metals are better suited for overhead service conductors than others. For instance, copper, silver, aluminum, iron, and gold stand out for their high electrical conductivity. Even so, it’s often preferred to opt for a cheaper metal with a lower density per unit volume. The material should also offer higher tensile strength to withstand strain.
Popular Conductor Materials
Let's compare different overhead service conductor materials.
This material is popular for its availability, durability, tensile strength, and high scrap value. It also has a high current density that increases its current capacity per cross-sectional area. That means copper conductors have a smaller cross-sectional area than other underground service and overhead service lines. Although copper is common in heavy power cables and small conductions, the high cost discourages its use in overhead distribution and transmission lines.
Besides a lower cost, aluminum is also lighter than copper, reducing the need for heavy-duty tower structures. However, aluminum offers around 45 percent lesser tensile strength than copper; you can solve this problem using alloys. Aluminum also has approximately 60 percent less conductivity than copper. With resistance remaining constant, aluminum's diameter is 1.26 times that of a copper conductor.
This alloy contains around 1.5 percent cadmium and 98 to 99 percent copper. Even one percent of cadmium can increase copper's tensile strength and conductivity by up to 50 percent and 15 percent, respectively. As such, cadmium-copper is ideal for long spans but such conductors are often highly expensive.
This conductor consists of a steel wire coated in copper. The idea is to get the best of both metals, that is, more tensile strength and higher conductivity at a lower cost. You'll be pleased to know you can increase conductivity to your desired level by adjusting the copper coating's thickness. Ordinarily, copper weld steel conductors are common in rural lines, overhead ground wire, and guy wire.
Because steel and pure iron corrode in open weather conditions, galvanized steel incorporates a zinc coating to prevent further reaction. You can consider this option when on a tight budget. However, galvanized steel offers high resistance and low conductivity, making it only useful for short distances and small power applications. Similarly, such conductors can only sustain longer spans.
Silver might offer more conductivity than copper, but its high cost makes it much less practical. You can also consider high-strength alloys like phosphor-bronze for extreme situations.Types Of Conductors
The following types of overhead service conductors transport electricity from power plants to end users.
This conductor is entirely made of aluminum and occurs as a strand of wire stacked above each other. Stranded conductors are generally preferred over solid wire because of the tendency of unstranded conductors to crystallize at the supporting point.
This conductor consists of aluminum alloy 6201, an Aluminum-Magnesium-Silicon alloy that matches the strength and conductor ampacities of ACSR (Aluminum Conductor, Steel Reinforced). However, AAAC is lighter than ACSR, making the All Aluminum Alloy Conductor ideal for distribution lines with lighter supports.
ACSR consists of a stranded or solid steel core surrounded by one or more spiral layers of aluminum 1350. Depending on the application, ACSR strands can be 91, 61, 37, 19, or 7. These strands are denoted as x/y/z, with 'x' being the number of aluminum wire, 'y' being the number of steel wire, and 'z' representing each strand's diameter.
ACAR is formed by wrapping aluminum 1350 (high-purity aluminum) strands on 6201 aluminum alloy, an aluminum-magnesium-silicon alloy. While ACAR is prone to corrosion, it's cheaper than AAAC. However, ACAR's mechanical and electrical properties are similar to ACSR conductors. You can use this conductor for overhead distribution and transmission lines as long as strength, ampacity, and reduced weight are priorities.Our Products
- ACSR
- AAC
- AAC/TW
- ACAR
- ACSR/AW
- ACSR/TW
- ACSS
- ACSS/AW
- ACSS/TW
Contact Peak Substation Services for a quote on price and lead-times for these overhead lines and service conductors or for other packaging, product, or component needs.
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