Performance comparison and selection analysis of aluminum Insulated conductor bars and copper Insulated conductor bars
There are two types of Insulated conductor bars: copper Insulated conductor bars and aluminum Insulated conductor bars. What is the difference between the two types of Insulated conductor bars?
There are two types of Insulated conductor bars: copper Insulated conductor bars and aluminum Insulated conductor bars. What is the difference between the two types of Insulated conductor bars?
1. Copper Insulated conductor rails
Advantages:
a. Coppe Insulated conductor rails uses red copper with low resistivity as conductor, which has good conductivity;
b. It has high mechanical strength, good rigidity, is not easy to bend and deform, can withstand large short-circuit impact current, and will not fail;
c. Copper conductor has good corrosion resistance and can be used in corrosive and water vapor environments.
Disadvantages:
a. Copper raw materials price are at a high level for a long time, the manufacturer has a small inventory, and the production and processing cycle is long;
b. The copper price is high;
c. The weight is large: it may cause some inconvenience during installation and transportation.
2. Aluminum Insulated conductor rails
Advantages:
a. It uses 6101A professional conductive aluminum from a state-owned enterprise as a conductor with good conductivity;
b. The aluminum conductor adopts a customized aging process, has high mechanical strength, and is highly adaptable to profile applications;
c. The price is more reasonable than that of copper Insulated conductor rails, and it is cost-effective;
d. The conductor is inlaid with 304# stainless steel strips, which has better wear resistance and long service life.
e. It is light in weight, which helps to reduce the weight of the entire system and is relatively more convenient in installation and transportation.
Disadvantages:
a. The strength is relatively weak, and the adaptability to corrosion and water vapor workshop environments is poor;
b. The conductivity is slightly inferior to that of copper Insulated conductor rails of overhead crane, which may cause certain restrictions in some occasions with high requirements for current transmission.
Combining the advantages and disadvantages of the two, when choosing a copper Insulated conductor rails or an aluminum Insulated conductor systems suitable for a specific application, you can also choose from the following aspects.
1. Current load requirements:
If the application needs to transmit a large current and has low requirements for power loss, copper Insulated conductor bars are usually a better choice because they are more conductive and can carry high currents more effectively.
For situations with smaller current loads, aluminum Insulated conductor bars may be sufficient to meet the needs and are cheaper.
2. Cost budget:
Copper Insulated conductor systems are relatively expensive. If the budget is limited and the performance requirements are not extremely demanding, aluminum Insulated conductor bars may be more suitable.
However, if the cost increase caused by factors such as power loss in long-term operation exceeds the initial material cost savings, copper Insulated conductor bars may still be more economical.
3. Working environment:
In harsh environmental conditions, such as high temperature, high humidity, and highly corrosive places, copper Insulated conductor bars may have more advantages in corrosion resistance and mechanical strength.
In general environments, aluminum Insulated conductor bars are usually competent.
4. System stability:
For applications with extremely high requirements for system stability and reliability, such as critical production processes or equipment that cannot be easily interrupted, the excellent conductivity and stability of copper Insulated conductor bars can better ensure continuous and stable power supply.
For applications with relatively low stability requirements, aluminum Insulated conductor bars can be considered.
5. Weight restrictions:
If the mounting structure has strict weight restrictions, the lighter weight of aluminum Insulated conductor bars may be an important advantage.
For example, in the main production line of a large steel plant, copper Insulated conductor bars are usually selected due to large current loads, harsh working environments and extremely high system stability requirements. In a small assembly workshop, where the current demand is small, the budget is limited, and the weight requirements are not high, aluminum Insulated conductor bars may be able to meet the needs.
If the service life is taken into account, the service life of aluminum and copper Insulated conductor bars is affected by many factors, so it is difficult to give an exact fixed time.
In general, if under normal working conditions and with proper maintenance and care, the service life of aluminum Insulated conductor bars may be around 5-8 years. However, if the working environment is harsh, such as the presence of a lot of dust, corrosive gases, frequent mechanical collisions, etc., its service life may be greatly shortened.
Due to the material properties of copper, the service life of copper Insulated conductor bars is usually longer than that of aluminum Insulated conductor bars, which may reach 8-12 years or even longer under good conditions.
However, it should be noted that the following conditions will have a significant impact on their service life:
1. Temperature and humidity of the working environment: Excessive temperature or humidity may accelerate the aging and corrosion of the Insulated conductor bars.
2. The size and stability of the load current: Long-term operation exceeding the rated current load will accelerate the wear and aging of the Insulated conductor bars.
3. The frequency and quality of maintenance and care: Regularly cleaning dust and debris, checking the tightness of the connection parts, and replacing worn parts in time can extend the service life.
For example, in a factory with a lot of dust but good maintenance, the aluminum Insulated conductor bars may be used for 6 years; while in a place with a good environment but frequent current load fluctuations, the copper Insulated conductor bars may be used for about 10 years.
Taking all the above factors into consideration, you can more accurately select the type of Insulated conductor bars suitable for a specific application.
If you are finally concerned about the choice of Insulated conductor bars type, please consult Demaelectric. Demaelectric has been focusing on the production of Insulated conductor bars for more than 20 years and has a professional team to provide you with services.