Alcan Cable - Western Mining Electrical Association Papers/Aluminum Cable for Mining... ·...

Alcan Cable

grounded in servicewired to innovateSM

Stabiloy, Aluminum or copper?

Alex Mak, P.Eng.Applications Engineer, North WestOct 8, 2008

Alcan CableConfidential

CONTENTS

1.

ALUMINUM WIRING HISTORY2.

DEVELOPMENT STABILOY AND DUAL RATED LUGS3.

ECONOMICS4.

PROJECT PROFILES

Alcan Cable

grounded in servicewired to innovateSM

The Electrical Highway

From GeneratingStation

Transformer

Sub Station

ACSR, ASC, etc: AL is standard

Overhead and underground Service Entrance, AL is standard

MV Overhead

AL is standard

Inside, AL Building Wire is absolutely unacceptable!

Underground MV

AL is standard

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Aluminum is the standard conductor material for: From Generating Station to Sub Stations, aluminum high voltage transmission wire is the industry standard. From Sub Stations to the Distribution Transformers, aluminum is the standard conductor material for both overhead and underground medium voltage cables. There are some copper conductors used, but aluminum is by far the most used. From the distribution transformers to the service entrance of a house, aluminum service entrance cables are the industry standard. Very little copper cables are used in this application. Inside a house or facility is where copper is the primary conductor material.


Branch Circuit Wiring History

How the Wire and Cable industry took a product designed for Overhead Transmission Wire application and tried to

use it in branch circuit wiring applications

Imagine building an airplane out of copper!

Aluminum Wiring had a tainted past!

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Aluminum is not used as a standard building wire conductor because of its tainted pass. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, the wire and cable industry introduced an aluminum wire designed for transmission wire applications and used it for branch circuit wiring applications.


1.

Aluminum Wiring is brittle and difficult to install

2.

Aluminum Wiring is susceptible to thermal expansion issues and creates loose terminations

3.

Excessive Creep of aluminum wiring causes terminations to loosen

over time

4.

Aluminum conductors need to be much larger than copper conductors for equivalent ampacity

5.

Aluminum wiring oxidation creates high resistance termination

6.

Aluminum wiring corrodes and can not stand up in atmospheric conditions.

Common Beliefs relating to Aluminum Wiring

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Problems with the poor introduction of AA1350 aluminum wire for branch circuit application created 6 common beliefs that linger to this day.


1960’s and 1970’s Copper ShortageHigh Purity Aluminum Alloy AA 1350 (H19) designed for Transmission Wire applications was introduced for 8/10/12 AWG

Common Belief #1: Aluminum Wiring is brittle and difficult to install

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Before 1970, full hard EC (Electrical Conductor) grade 1350 aluminum was used. This EC grade aluminum was designed for transmission wire applications and continues to be used today for ACSR transmission wires. AA1350 has high electrical conductivity (62% IACS) but needs to be full hard to have the high tensile strength required for building wire applications. As a result of the full hard condition, this wire is very brittle and difficult to install.


WHAT IS 8030 Alloy / STABILOY?

To Combat Mechanical Deficiencies, Alcan specifically developed AA8030, known as Stabiloy for building wire applications

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Alcan developed Stabiloy AA8030 aluminum alloy to increase the tensile strength of the wire in a soft state.


0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

% M

ax

1350 8030

CuFeSiMnMgZnCrBTi

PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS

Copper:resistance stability at highTºIron: eliminates creep

Magnesium: generates « A » contact points

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Iron is the principal ingredient in increasing strength and reducing creep.


The Addition of Fe allowed AA8030 (Stabiloy):

1.

To be annealed to a softer state2.

Retain high tensile strength

3.

Eliminate Creep

Common Belief #1

Presenter

Presentation Notes


Aluminum Wiring is susceptible to thermal expansion issues and creates loose terminations

1960’s and 1970’s aluminum branch circuit wire was terminated in receptacles and devices designed for copper and made of copper and steel.

Aluminum’s thermal expansion is 30% greater than Copper.

Common Belief #2

Presenter

Presentation Notes

When EC 1350 aluminum wire was introduced into the branch circuit wiring market, the aluminum wire was terminated in devices made of copper and steel designed to be used with copper wire. Due to the fact that aluminum expands 30% more than copper and steel when heated, the resulting expansion difference caused the connection to loosen.

The mechanics of high temperature creep in EC1350 with steel screws

Expansionand cold flow

Relaxation

Deformation


Connector manufacturers developed AL-CU lugs suitable for both Copper and

Aluminum Wiring.

Solving the problems:


A short history of AL-CU lugs

1960’

CO/ALR receptacles and switches (12 & 14 AWG)1974: AL/CU connectors first introduced (tin or zinc

plated aluminum)1982: Connector manufacturers recertify their products to

meet stricter UL standard1985: All connectors UL approved

UL 486B requires connectors is an intense heat cycling test that uses EC1350 for testing.


Copper flash or electroplating

DESIGN OF MECHANICAL AL-CU LUGS

2024 alloy body

Tin plating

6061 alloy screw

Thermal expansions are identical – no flow

Presenter

Presentation Notes

The Dual rated connector is made or aluminum. As a result, the aluminum conductor and connector are now made of the same metal and will expand and contract at the same rate.


Creep

Relaxation

Common Belief #3

Excessive Creep of aluminum wiring causes terminations to loosen over time and requires aluminum terminations to be re-torqued

annually.


Mechanisms of Creep

Theoretical Actual

Face Center Cubic Crystal Structure of Cu, Al and Fe

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Copper, Iron and Aluminum all have a face centered cubic crystal structure. In theory, all the atoms should be there. In reality, there are always missing atoms or vacant spots. AA1350 grade aluminum has 20 times greater vacant spots than copper or steel. This creates a weaker structure. When exposed to a constant force over an extended period of time, the area directly under the force will tend to creep or flow away from the point of pressure.


Mechanisms of Creep

Constant Force, Elevated Temperature

CreepCreep


Solving the Creep Problem with the addition of Iron in Stabiloy

Constant Force, Elevated Temperature

Tensile Strength increases while Creep is minimized

Fe

Fe

Fe

Al

Presenter

Presentation Notes

The Iron atoms reinforces the entire crystal structure. This helped eliminate creep and allowed for a higher tensile strength at a softer state.


Common Belief #4

Aluminum conductors need to be much larger than copper conductors for equivalent ampacity

Cu Aluminum8 66 44 23 12 01 000 000

00 0000000 250

0000 300250 350300 400350 500400 600500 750750 1000

1000 1500

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Although aluminum has twice the conductivity of copper based on weight, it only has 60% the conductivity of copper on a volume basis. As a result, aluminum typically needs to be two sizes larger than copper to achieve equal ampacity.


SOLID

SMOOTH SURFACE 9,5% COMPACTION

COMPACTED(35 - 37 STRANDS)

FLATTENED SURFACE 3% COMPRESSION

COMPRESSED(37 STRANDS)

SERRATED SURFACE

TRADITIONAL (ROUND)(37 STRANDS)

STRANDING PATTERNS e.g. 500 kcmil

conductor

Stabiloy uses Compact stranding


Aluminum wiring oxidation creates high resistance termination

A thin film of corrosion products does form on an aluminu`m’s

surface spontaneously, acting as a barrier to further oxidation. This film is self limiting and is typically between 5nm to 200nm thick.

Aluminum Oxide is a perfect insulator! The Dielectric Strength is 16.5kV per mm!

At the limiting thickness of 200nm, it will take 3.3V to breakdown this oxide film.

Common Beliefs #5

Max 200nm or 200X10-9mAl

Oxide layer

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Aluminum forms an oxide film immediately when exposed to oxygen. This is known as passivation. This film is self limiting is will not grow beyond 200nm. On average, this film is 5nm to 200nm thick. Although aluminum oxide is a perfect insulator with a dielectric strength of 16.7kV/mm, due to the extremely thin film, the breakdown voltage is only 3 Volts. As such, this film can not cause a high resistance termination.


Aluminum wiring corrodes and can not stand up in atmospheric conditions.

The tightly bonded oxide layer serves as an indirect kinetic barrier.

Similar to Stainless Steel, this thin, protective layer of oxide

on aluminum conductors contributes to the excellent corrosion resistance of aluminum.

Common Beliefs #6

Presenter

Presentation Notes

The aluminum oxide layer forms a barrier that stops further corrosion of the aluminum. This is similar to the behaviour of Stainless Steel.


+ ANODICless noble

- CATHODICmore noble

GALVANIC SERIES

(why tin plating on AL/CU lugs?)

GALVANIC CORROSION

Metal Eo

(V)

Li −3.05

Na −2.71

Mg −2.38

Al −1.68

Mn −1.18

Sn −1.07

Zn −0.76

Fe −0.44

Ge −0.29

Si −0.14

Cu 0.34

Ag 0.8

Hg 0.85

Tl 1.25

Pb 1.69

Au 1.83

Ag 1.98


Mechanical

Compression

TYPES OF AL-CU LUGS


7 RULES TO PROPER CONNECTIONS


PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE

Visual inspection of insulation

near

lugsVisual inspection of cable

jackets, straps, and connectorsThermal scanningNO RE-TORQUING!


ALCAN US Cable Products Available in Feeder Sizes Only!

MC CableXHHW2Stabiloy Teck90 Cable

ACSR, AAC, etcMultiplexed

Overhead Service Feederplex XHHW-2

Presenter

Presentation Notes

When most people think of aluminum as an electrical conductor the first thing that comes to their minds is fires. Whether it is there grandmothers trailer home that burned down because of aluminum branch circuit wiring or their friends water heater that stop working due to aluminum wiring there is a great deal of fact and fiction that is associated with the old aluminum conductor's. The fires that were caused were due to improper terminations to a product that was not designed to be a building wire Many people believe that you cannot get a good connection with an aluminum conductor. 99% of the utility market is connected with aluminum conductors and 80% of the housing market use aluminum service entrance conductor. The problems with connections arose from the use of dissimilar materials (i.e. copper or brass lug and aluminum conductor) If you use aluminum then you will have yearly maintenance problems with aluminum connections. In the old aluminum creep was a problem, the 8000 series has effectively reduced the effects of creep. Some people believe that aluminum is a cheap product because it is less expensive than copper. refer to the opening statement. All of the above scenarios are myths intertwined with facts that have been propagated for over thirty years now. These myths are all based on a product called EC 1350 which is a pure aluminum conductor that is used in the utility industry. This product is very useful in utility applications but is not intended for building wire applications. In 1972 Alcan Cable developed an alloy called 8000 series that effectively eliminated the above problems.


CopperAluminum

ECONOMICS OF Stabiloy (Structural cost

advantage)

Trading

prices

as of Oct

2008

US $1.01/lbUS $2.45/lb


General Pricing Comparison (US)

Conductor Material OC

# Of

runs 4 Cond. GrndMin. EMT

Total LengthFeet

Total Costwith EMT

Total Cost MC Savings

Copper THHN 100 1 #3 #8 1 1/4" 100 $ 415.59

Stabiloy XHHW 100 1 #1 #6 1 1/4" 100 $ 260.56 37%

Stabiloy MC 100 1 #1 #6 100 $ 264.77 36%

Copper THHN 150 1 1/0 #6 1 1/2" 100 $ 723.53

Stabiloy XHHW 150 1 2/0 #4 2" 100 $ 374.16 48%

Stabiloy MC 150 1 2/0 #4 100 $ 346.58 52%

Copper THHN 200 1 3/0 #6 2" 100 $ 1,081.34

Stabiloy XHHW 200 1 4/0 #4 2" 100 $ 461.13 57%

Stabiloy MC 200 1 4/0 #2 100 $ 481.66 55%

Copper THHN 400 1 500 kcmil #3 3" 100 $ 3,031.75

Stabiloy XHHW 400 1 750 kcmil #1 3 1/2" 100 $ 1,434.57 53%

Stabiloy MC 400 1 750 kcmil 3/0 100 $ 1,389.86 54%

Copper THHN 600 2 350 kcmil #1 2 1/2" 100 $ 4,465.05

Stabiloy XHHW 600 2 500 kcmil 2/0 3" 100 $ 2,013.07 55%



General Pricing Comparison (US)

Conductor Material

OC Device (Amps) # runs

3 Phase and 1

Neutral Conductors Ground

Min. Size EMT

Total Length

FeetTotal Cost with

EMT Total Cost MC

Savings over

Copper THHN

Copper THHN 800 2 600 kcmil 1/0 3 1/2" 100 $ 7,511.60

Stabiloy XHHW 800 2 900 kcmil 3/0 3 1/2" 100 $ 3,695.51 51%



Copper THHN 1000 3 400 kcmil #3 3" 100 $ 7,499.79

Stabiloy XHHW 1000 3 600 kcmil 4/0 3" 100 $ 3,640.65 51%

Stabiloy MC 1000 3 600 kcmil 400 kcmil 100 $ 4,254.85 43%


Stabiloy XHHW 1200 3 900 kcmil 250 kcmil 4" 100 $ 5,632.92 51%



Stabiloy XHHW 1600 4 900 kcmil 350 kcmil 4" 100 $ 7,666.26 51%



Project Profiles


NUAL IN INDUSTRY

• ACME Steel, Riverdale, IL.• Fort Wayne Anodizingm

Fort Wayne, IN.• Beta Steel, Portage, IN.• Carondelet

Foundry, St. Louis, MO.• Koons

Steel, Parkesford, PA.• Super Steel, Milwaukee, WI.

• Laurel Steel, Burlington, ON.• McCoy

Foundry, Troy, ON.• Honda, Alliston, ON.• UBE Automotive, Sarnia, ON.• Formet

Industries, St-Thomas, ON.• Intier

Automotive, Halton, ON.• Péchiney, Norsk Hydro, Alcan Smelters, QC., BC.• Louisiana

Pacific, Domtar, Alliance Forest Products, QC, ON.• Falconbridge

Mining, Timmins, ON.• Lavo

Bleach, Montreal, QC.


COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL

• Alaska Airport

Authority• Whistler / Blackcomb

Mountain, 2010 Olympic

Ski Runs• Olympic Stadium, Atlanta GA, Georgia Dome, Atlanta GA• Rose Garden, Portland OR, Portland Convention Center,

Oregon• Doernbecher

Childrens

Hospital, Oregon• Columbia Tower, Seattle WA• Safeco

Stadium / Seahawks

Stadium –

Seattle• Royal Jubilee

Hospital

–

Victoria, Sacred

Heart

Hospital

–

Eugene, OR


PETROCHEMICALS

• IMPERIAL OIL (pump

jacks), Cold Lake, AB• SUNCOR (compressor

stations), Burnt

Lake, AB• CHEVRON OIL (gas

plants, pump

jacks)• MORRISON PETROLEUM (hydrogen

sulfide

extraction)

• PETRO CANADA (pump

jacks)• SHELL OIL (Scottford

refinery), AB• PETRO CANADA ( Montreal

Refinery

de-

sulphurisation)

• HUSKY OIL (Lloydminster SK and Minedosa

MB ethanol

refineries)• CNRL Primerose Facility

(ACWU on LV Motors)


THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

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