Applications
Overhead ground wire, shield wire protecting transmission lines against lightning damage.

Construction
Aluminum clad steel wire overhead ground wire has excellent corrosion resistance. Its strength and conductivity remain unchanged in any atmosphere where aluminum is satisfactory, especially those known to be corrosive from industrial or atmospheric conditions. This assurance against corrosion is obtained through the application of a thick covering of pure aluminum which provides a substantial barrier of protective metal. Minimum cladding thickness of aluminum clad steel wire is 10% of the radius of the wire. The cladding has a continuous, strong metallic bond to the steel core that will not crack or flake.

Aluminum clad steel wire also provides strength greater than or equal to other overhead ground wires. For commonly used wire sizes, the tensile strength of the individual wire can approach 200,000 pounds per square inch. When used in a strand for overhead ground wire, this high strength permits greater span lengths, less sag and heavier loads under storm loading conditions.

Aluminum clad steel wire is 15% lighter that a steel strand of equivalent size. This lighter weight, combined with high strength, permits aluminum clad steel wire to be installed to the same sags as steel with correspondingly lower tensions and tower stresses on the towers or supporting structures.

Specifications
• B415 Standard Specification for Hard-Drawn Aluminum-Clad Steel Wire
• B416 Standard Specification for Concentric-Lay-Stranded Aluminum-Clad Steel Conductors