Aluminum Alloy Conductor for Communication Cable with Superior Creep and Stress-Relaxation Properties

The resistance to creep and stress relaxation of an aluminum-iron-magnesium alloy conductor (0.80 wt % Fe-0.11 wt % Mg) was found to be superior to that of EC-grade aluminum currently used for communication cables and compares favorably with that of commonly used ETP copper conductor. The aluminum-iron-magnesium alloy conductor, when suitably processed, has good tensile and yield strength as well as ductility. In addition, this material can be readily processed into telephone cables containing wire conductors smaller than 0.81 mm (20 AWG) while EC-grade aluminum cannot. Because of its improved resistance to creep and stress relaxation in the temperature range of interest, the aluminum-iron-magnesium alloy conductor adequately lends itself to pressure-type connections such as those used with telephone cable. The enhanced mechanical properties of this material further offer substantial advantages over EC-grade aluminum in field placement operations. This material, therefore, is believed to be an economically attractive, acceptable replacement for tough-pitch copper in telephone cables containing conductors 0.51 mm (24 AWG) and larger.