Analysis of AC resistance in non-ferrous bimetallic solid conductors

Abstract

This paper provides an analysis of the AC resistances obtained for non-ferrous bimetallic solid conductors. Specifically, the two most common power conductor metals are used: aluminum and copper. The effects on AC resistance for designs of aluminum conductors with copper cores and copper conductors with aluminum cores are examined. The mathematics influencing the increased AC vs DC resistance are provided along with current industry practices used to mitigate the increase of the AC/DC resistance ratio. On large power conductors, normal practice to reduce the AC/DC resistance ratio is to divide the conductor into multiple segments. In this paper the effectiveness of this segmented technique is discussed, followed by an analysis of the novel idea of using bimetallic conductors.