Current Ratings of Aircraft Cable

This paper presents the results of an investigation conducted to determine the continuous and short-time current ratings of copper aircraft cable, using visual indication of smoke as the limiting factor. Tests were made on several wire sizes at various ambient temperatures, using six types of aircraft cable. Curves were obtained showing the highest current which can be carried continuously by each size of cable at different ambient temperatures without evolvement of smoke. Thermal curves, with smoking and delayed smoking values, were obtained for various current overload applications. Procedure is given for interpolating smoking and delayed smoking curves for wire sizes not experimentally obtained. Results of this investigation indicate that present continuous current ratings are too high for most of the cable used during this investigation.