Just to add a bit more information, not directly related to the original application mentioned - but might be of interest to Engineering minds... Aluminium gets a couple of mentions in standards related to Explosive Atmospheres/Hazardous Locations.
>From IEC 60079-14 Electrical installations design, selection and erection: 9 Cable systems 9.2 Aluminium conductors Where aluminium is used as the conductor material, it shall be used only with suitable connections and, with the exceptions of intrinsically safe and energy-limited installations, shall have a cross-sectional area of at least 16 mm2. Connections shall ensure that the required creepage and clearance distances will not be reduced by the additional means which are required for connecting aluminium conductors. Minimum creepage and clearance distances may be determined by the voltage level and/or the requirements of the type of protection. Precautions against electrolytic corrosion shall be considered. And from IEC 60079-15 which covers the specific protection concept of non-sparking: Underneath 7.1 General requirements for connections facilities and terminal compartments is Note 1: NOTE 1 The use of aluminium wire may cause difficulties by compromising critical creepage and clearance distances when anti-oxidant materials are applied. The connection of aluminium wire to terminals may be accomplished by the use of suitable bi-metallic connection devices providing a copper connection to the terminal. Best Regards, Andrew Wood Compliance Manager - Hazardous Areas LAND Instruments International | Stubley Lane, Dronfield, Derbyshire, S18 1DJ, England DDI: +44 (0)1246 581592 | E-mail: [email protected]| Web: www.landinst.com -----Original Message----- From: Ralph McDiarmid [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 12 December 2016 19:50 To: [email protected] Subject: [Marketing Mail] Re: [PSES] aluminum vs copper wiring I've just come across this statement in a user manual for a small inverter product: "Do not use aluminum. It has about 1/3 more resistance than copper cable of the same size, and it is difficult to make good, low-resistance connections to aluminum wire" I think both statements are wrong. Science Data Book by Oliver&Boyd, lists resistivity of aluminum at about 1.5X that of copper. And, I don't see why electrical connections would be less reliable using aluminum, although, I do remember household wiring in the USA was done with Al some years ago with questionable success. Thoughts? Ralph McDiarmid Product Compliance Engineering Solar Business Schneider Electric ________________________________ This message was scanned by Exchange Online Protection Services. ________________________________ - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html (including how to unsubscribe) List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]> - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html (including how to unsubscribe) List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]>
