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Wire Products

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© 2016, AFL, all rights reserved. PP-3-00817, Revision 4, 9.20.17

Specications are subject to change without notice.

AFL's Copperclad Steel Wire is the ideal solution for grounding wire for power type

applications. Composed of a steel core with coppercladding, the steel wire gives the

wire its strength and the consistent layer of copper provides electrical conductivity and

resistance to corrosion.

Features

• Demonstrates the same corrosion-resistant properties as copper while maintaining the

high strength of steel

• Reduces damage caused during installation or fatigue from vibration or bending

• Special heat treat process results in a very malleable wire called Dead Soft Annealed (DSA)

• Copper permanently bonded to the steel core prevents corrosive of the steel core.

• Very little scrap value, discouraging theft and leaving the grounding system intact

• Compliant with IEEE 80, ASTM B258, ASTM B910/B910M, ASTM B339, ASTM B227

Single strand Copperclad Steel Wire

in large and small diameters

each wire. Copperclad provides the same conductivity and corrosion resistance as copper

while maintaining the high strength of steel. Dead Soft Annealed (DSA) Copperclad Steel

Wire is very exible for easy preparation and installation.

When compared to solid copper, Copperclad Steel Wire has faster impedance to

ground for better protection of lines and equipment plus a higher resistance to thermal

expansion failures. It also reduces the fatigue damage caused by more than 10 times

that of annealed solid copper.

Copperclad Steel Wire is an excellent solution for areas with high rates of copper theft as

the amount of copper used in the bonding process is minimal—6% to 10% depending

on the conductivity. When Copperclad Steel Wire is used in place of copper, the

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When selecting a conductor for a ground grid, it must meet the maximum fault current for the

identied duration and meet a minimum breaking load as required by the substation design

(typically 5,000 pounds). The key to properly sizing copperclad steel wire is the actual fault current

requirement. Often copper is physically oversized to gain the physical strength needed in the

application. With Copperclad, the physical strength is inherent to the product so the primary

consideration is electrical. Table 2 below compares the ampacity ratings of copper and Copperclad

Steel Wire which allows the user to visually select the Copperclad equivalent. For example:

typical maximum fault current for a distribution substation is ~18 kA at 30 cycles. Most

engineers upsize to 4/0 copper in order to meet the mechanical strength requirement.

instead of the larger size 4/0 copper commonly used for ground grids. The conductor safety

margin for 7#6 Copperclad Steel Wire is 30% and meets the fault current and mechanical

strength requirements.