NSW Annual Seminar and Exhibition

Metals for Busbars

Technical Manager Austral Wright Metals

Alex Gouch

Metals for Busbars

Why copper ? Copper conductor metallurgy The proof of the pudding

Copper for Busbars

Why copper ?
Aluminium is much cheaper Overhead conductors are now mostly aluminium Copper has
Better electrical properties Better mechanical properties Better thermal properties Better corrosion resistance Better ease of fabrication Uses smaller cabinets Reliable, long lasting connections

Copper busbars give a more reliable result

Electrical Properties & Price

Copper C11000
Electrical conductivity (annealed) Electrical resistivity (annealed) Temperature coefficient of resistance (annealed) Thermal conductivity at 20 C Coefficient of expansion Tensile strength (annealed) Tensile strength (half-hard) 0.2% proof stress (annealed) 0.2% proof stress (half-hard) Elastic modulus Specific heat Density Melting point

Aluminium AA1350 61
2.83 0.004 230 23 x 10-6 50 - 60 85 - 100 20 - 30 60 - 65 70 900

Units
% IACS cm / C W/mK / C N/mm N/mm N/mm N/mm kN/mm J/kg K g/cm C 1 N/mm2 = 1MPa

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1.72 0.0039 397 17 x 10-6 200 - 250 260 - 300 50 - 55 170 - 200 116 - 130 385

8.91
1083

2.70
660

At the same DC resistance the weight of an aluminium conductor is about half that of a copper conductor.

Mechanical Properties
Copper C11000
Electrical conductivity (annealed) Electrical resistivity (annealed) Temperature coefficient of resistance (annealed) Thermal conductivity at 20 C Coefficient of expansion Tensile strength (annealed) Tensile strength (half-hard) 0.2% proof stress (annealed) 0.2% proof stress (half-hard) Elastic modulus Specific heat Density Melting point 101 1.72 0.0039 397 17 x 10-6

Aluminium AA1350
61 2.83 0.004 230 23 x 10-6

Units
% IACS cm / C W/mK / C N/mm N/mm N/mm N/mm kN/mm J/kg K g/cm C 1 N/mm2 = 1MPa

200 - 250
260 - 300

50 - 60
85 - 100

50 - 55
170 - 200 116 - 130 385 8.91 1083

20 - 30
60 - 65 70 900 2.70 660

Copper more robust Copper much easier to handle in the workshop

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Mechanical Properties Creep

Material Aluminium (1080) annealed HC Cu annealed Testing Temp. C Min. Creep Rate % per 1000 h 0.022 0.022 Stress MPa 26 26

20 150

Copper is much less likely to fail at bolted connections by creep or stress relaxation. Copper more tolerant of higher operating/fault temperatures.

Fatigue
Material Fatigue strength N/mm annealed half-hard (H8) HC Copper annealed half-hard No. of cycles x 106 50 50 300 300

HC Aluminium

20 45 62 115

Copper better able to withstand repeated mechanical stresses.

Thermal Properties
Copper C11000
Electrical conductivity (annealed) Electrical resistivity (annealed) Temperature coefficient of resistance (annealed) Thermal conductivity at 20 C Coefficient of expansion Tensile strength (annealed) Tensile strength (half-hard) 0.2% proof stress (annealed) 0.2% proof stress (half-hard) Elastic modulus Specific heat Density Melting point 101 1.72

Aluminium AA1350
61 2.83

Units
% IACS cm / C W/mK / C N/mm N/mm N/mm N/mm kN/mm J/kg K g/cm C 1 N/mm2 = 1MPa

0.0039 397 17 x 10-6

200 - 250 260 - 300 50 - 55 170 - 200 116 - 130 385 8.91

0.004 230 23 x 10-6

50 - 60 85 - 100 20 - 30 60 - 65 70 900 2.70

1083

660

Copper less liable to hot spots. Copper needs less support. Copper less prone to thermal fatigue failure.
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Thermal Properties
Self-extinguishing arcs in copper and aluminium busbars
Copper Minimum busbar spacing, mm Maximum current per busbar, A 50 4,500 Aluminium 100 3,220

Contact Properties Copper has better corrosion resistance. Copper corrosion products are more conductive. Copper contacts are more forgiving. Copper contacts are much more reliable in the long run

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Copper & Aluminium Use

Copper
28% 12% 9% 9%
Electrical/Electronic Construction Transport Consumer/General Industrial Machinery

42%

17,974,300 tonnes (2007)

Aluminium
26%

14%

8%

8% 22%

22%

Electrical/Electronic Construction Transport Consumer/General Industrial Machinery Packaging

38,108,700 tonnes (2007)

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Busbar Materials
Why copper ? Copper conductor metallurgy The proof of the pudding

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IACS
International Annealed Copper Standard
Standardised in 1913 Volume resistivity = 1.7241 m..cm

Materials standards written around 97% IACS

Allows use of hard-drawn C11000

Modern HC copper is typically 101.5% IACS

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Copper for Conductors

Conductivity %IACS

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Effect of cold work

C11000

Hard drawn busbar only loses about 2 3% IACS.

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Grades of Copper
Alloy Name ETP HC Oxygen free Copper Other Conductivity Minimum (Annealed) 100% IACS 100% IACS

C11000 C10200

>99.90% >99.95%

Oxygen -

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Busbar Purity
Feed for meltshop can be cathode, electrowon or electrical scrap Purest is cathode
Purest of all is ISA Cathode

Riskiest is electrical scrap

Gloves, nails, tube, coke cans etc

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OC-ETP Copper vs Others

Frequency
25 20 15 10 5 0

100.0

100.5

101.0

101.5

102.0

102.5

103.0

Oriental Copper maintain this standard only use best quality cathodes

Standard Busbar

OC-ETP Busbar

Conductivity, %IACS
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103.5

97.0

97.5

98.0

98.5

99.0

99.5

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Tensile Strength, MPa

Softening in service
C11000

Elongation, %

Metals soften when they recrystallise. There is a recrystallisation temperature, which varies a little depending on the prior cold work.
Conductivity, % IACS

Annealing temperature, oC

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Making Busbars
Raw material cathode Reheat Cold draw

Extrude Melt

Busbar

Cast

Underwater runout

[Tin Plate]

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Extrusion Process

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Bending
Effect of Copper Structure
Copper Grain Size

Bending of OC-ETP : Smooth surface

Bending of other copper 1 : Orange peel

Microstructure of OC-ETP (Grain size = 25 microns)

Microstructure of other copper 1 (Grain size = 75 microns)

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Where to use tin plated

Climate (Temperature / Humidity) Acidic or Alkaline condition Chloride / Sea water condition Industrial / Polluted area condition

If subject to bad environment, the use of Tinplated Copper Busbar is required.

Bare Copper Busbars

Tinplated Copper Busbars

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Busbar Materials
Why copper ? Copper conductor metallurgy The proof of the pudding

So what ? Effect of higher %IACS

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Thank you for your attention

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