🔥 High temperature environment, aluminum alloy VS copper cable: who is the ultimate choice for power safety?
— Reveal the truth about the selection of materials in power engineering that 80% of engineers will ignore
🔥 Introduction: when high temperature meets electric current
In the steel plant next to the hot furnace, desert photovoltaic power station under the scorching sun, the cable as the power system “blood vessels”, bear the limit of the test. Choose the wrong material is light power cuts and production stops, or cause a fire! This article will use 15 years of industry data to take you through the marketing rhetoric to see the real performance of aluminum alloy and copper cables at high temperatures.
First, the life and death of the thermal stability comparison
** ▶ Aluminum alloy cable “Achilles heel” **
When the ambient temperature exceeds 90 ℃, the tensile strength of aluminum alloy to 0.3% per hour rate of decay. An accident report from a chemical plant shows that a 3-year old aluminum alloy cable was exposed to a 120℃ environment, and the contact resistance at the joints increased by 270% due to creep, which ultimately led to a short circuit.
** ▶ Copper cable “body of steel” **
Copper at a high temperature of 200 ℃ can still maintain 85% of the original mechanical strength. Measurement data show that: copper cable in the continuous 105 ℃ operating environment, 20 years of performance degradation of less than 5%.
Second, the conductivity of the century showdown
* * * aluminum alloy “size anxiety” * * *
To achieve the same amount of current-carrying capacity:
– 0.6/1kV line, aluminum alloy cross-section needs to be 60% larger than the copper cable
– At 80°C, the resistance of aluminum alloys grows by 40% more than that of copper.
**Elegant Transmission of Copper Conductors
Pearl River Cable laboratory tests show that:
– Under the same cross-section, the power loss of copper cable at 90℃ is 37% lower than that of aluminum alloy.
– In 10kV line, copper cable can reduce the cost of line loss by 2.8% per year.
Third, the mechanical properties of the protracted war
* * * aluminum alloy “chronic disease” * * *
– Creep rate at 70 ℃ is 8 times faster than copper
– Thermal expansion and contraction coefficient of 36% higher than copper
– An offshore wind power project: aluminum alloy connector 3 years loosening rate of 12%.
**The “time seal” of copper conductors.
Nanyang Cable 30 years of tracking data show:
– Copper connectors maintain >25N-m torque at high temperatures.
– No cracks in the conductor after 5000 cycles of thermal cycling test.
Fourth, the hidden killer: oxidation corrosion
* * * aluminum alloy “self-destruction” * *
– Oxidation rate at 150℃ is 15 times faster than normal temperature.
– In the sulfur environment, the resistivity increased by 50% in 1 year
– Case: a refinery aluminum alloy cable replaced 3 times in 2 years
**Copper’s “Golden Armor”.
Guangdong Cable Factory experiment proved:
– Copper oxide film conductivity to maintain 80%
– Salt spray test 3000 hours after only the surface discoloration
*Note: Data from the 2023 China Electric Power Industry Association Report **.
—
### Ultimate Decision Guide
✅ **Scenarios for Choosing Aluminum Cables**
– Short-term temporary power supply
– Light load low temperature environment
– Extreme budget constraints
✅ **Scenarios where copper cables are mandatory**
– Continuous operating temperature >70°C
– Corrosive environments
– Seismic/explosion-proof areas
– Power supply systems for centennial buildings
Electricity experts recommend
“Copper conductors are the only choice at critical nodes such as PV inverter outlets and data center bus bars. We have used a thermal imager to compare: under the same load, the temperature of aluminum alloy joints is 18°C higher than that of copper, which is an invisible safety hazard!”
**[🚨 Emergency Alert]**
Recently, there are false propaganda such as “high speed rail grade aluminum alloy” in the market, please recognize it when you buy it:
1. national standard GB/T31840-2015 certification
2. full cross-section electrician aluminum rods (EC grade)
3. Third-party high-temperature test report
**Need a professional selection program? **
👉 Click to get the White Paper on Cable Selection for High Temperature Environments
👉 24-hour engineer hotline: 18825290316
👉 Leave a message to get a free thermal stability test.
#Power Cables #High Temperature Cable Selection #Copper Core Cables #Industrial Safety #Cable Lifetime