Copper-clad aluminum wire not only exerts the excellent […]
Copper-clad aluminum wire not only exerts the excellent electrical conductivity of copper and the light weight of aluminum, but also overcomes the shortcomings of aluminum’s easy oxidation, high contact resistance, and difficult welding of joints, which greatly saves my country’s scarce copper resources and reduces the cost of conductors.
The ratio of the copper layer area on the cross-section of the copper-clad aluminum wire is called the "copper layer volume ratio". Copper-clad aluminum wire can be divided into copper layer volume ratio: 10% is 8%-12% copper layer volume; copper layer volume is 13%-17%, 15%.
The copper-clad aluminum wire can be divided into a hard conductor that maintains a work-hardened state during drawing; a soft conductor that eliminates work-hardening by annealing. The physical and mechanical properties of copper-clad aluminum wire are between those of copper wire and aluminum wire.
In terms of chemical properties, the surface of the copper wire has better oxidation resistance; the surface of the aluminum wire is easily oxidized to form aluminum oxide, which increases the contact resistance of the wire;
The copper layer on the surface of the round enameled aluminum wire cuts off the contact between the surface of the aluminum wire and the air, so the oxidation resistance is better. However, the ends of the wires expose two metals: copper and aluminum. Since the electrode potentials of the two are very different, electrochemical corrosion is easy to occur in a humid medium, so be careful when using them.
