To the Issue of Low-Alloyed Copper Alloys for Contact Wires

Abstract

This paper is about a comparative analysis of the requirements of the Russian standard, the standard of the European Union and the PRC for overhead contact wires for electrified high-speed railways. New generation contact wires must have a high level of mechanical, electrical and operational properties. The Russian standard does not regulate the chemical composition of alloys used for the contact wires manufacture. Unlike the standards of the European Union and China, the Russian standard regulates the maximum value of the relative creep. Compositions, mechanical properties, electrical resistivity and recrystallization temperature for the contact wires with a cross section of 120 mm2 are given. The requirements for the material for the contact wire are presented. The need to use more durable conductive materials instead of copper is noted since mechanical loads and operating temperatures are constantly increasing. The values of mechanical properties, recrystallization temperature and creep of contact wires made of copper alloys are given. Based on the analysis results of the literature data and the experiments, alloys of the Cu-Mg system are recommended as a material for the contact wire manufacture for an overhead network system for high-speed railways.