Showing papers in "Transactions of The American Institute of Electrical Engineers in 1900"

The Use of Aluminium Line Wire and Some Constants for Transmission Lines

Abstract: Until the present time, discussions of the use of aluminium wire in line construction have been devoted to a consideration of the relative prices of copper and aluminiunm wires, the con,ductivity, tenisile strength and other proportions of the alliminium wire being only consideredas: determining its relative price. -During the past year the manufacturers of aluminiumn have demonstrated their ability to sell this wire at a price well below twice the price of copper per pound, and in consequence the new material has forced itself upon our notice and has demanded that we consider careftilly'all of its iproperties independent of any consideration of price. I{aving recently been forced into the purchase; of a considerable amount of this wire by reason of the: high price of copper and the low price of aluminium, the writers have made a careful study of the wire supplied,, and now present the results obtained in hope that they may be of service to other engineers. Somne of these results have already, been, published,' but in these publications there have been so mnany mispriTts that it seems advisable to present the whole, matter anew. The line for which this wire was purchased is abont forty-three miles in length, and the, coulntry through which it, runs varies in elevation from about one hundred feet above the sea level to at least two thousand feet ; one-half lying in almost a straight line through