Issue 9/2014 - Celanese joins forces with the Southern Line to develop a new transmission conductor

Celanese joins hands with the Southern Line to develop a new transmission conductor

Celanese and Southwire, a large North American wire and cable manufacturer, have jointly launched an affordable utility transmission conductor, the C7TM overhead conductor, which consists of multiple strands of Celstran continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic wire (CFR-TPR
).

Celstran?CFR-TPR uses a patented pultrusion process to achieve the best level of impregnation of
reinforcing fibers.
By optimizing different resin matrices as well as fiberglass, carbon fiber, aramid fibers and various additives, Celstran CFR-TPR composites can be customized to meet a variety of specific application requirements
.

According to Michael Ruby, Global Composite Business Manager at Celanese, the C7TM overhead conductor is designed for utilities that require greater flexibility, reliability and ease of installation, and uses a Celstran CFR-TPR composite material made of carbon fiber compounded with a high-temperature resistant Fortron polyphenylene sulfide matrix, and then coated
with a high-performance polyetheretherketone layer 。 Therefore, the overhead conductor has seven key advantages: the thermal expansion is the lowest among the composites known to be developed for high-power transmission low-arc vertical conductors; Light weight, high specific strength; Using multi-component core, compared with a single-component structure, no single point of failure occurs; It has the same installation method as traditional wires, does not require special training and equipment, and is flexible to use; The use of all thermoplastic composite core, with high temperature resistance (180 °C ~ 225 °C) characteristics; Can be customized for various installation requirements, with a variety of wire construction schemes; Traditional two-piece pressed fittings are used for easy operation
.

Compared to steel core aluminum stranded wire of the same diameter, the C7TM overhead conductor has almost doubled its conveying capacity, but produces a smaller
sag of the curve.
In addition, the high-performance carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite used in the conductor has a service life of more than 40 years under severe service conditions, and because of its excellent heat resistance, it can achieve cost savings and performance improvements
in both new line construction and old line modification.
(Yi Qi)