Electrical conductor for aeronautical applications

Abstract

An electrical conductor has at least one conducting strand made up at least of a layer of copper and of a layer of silvered copper alloy, in which the silver content by mass is between 0.1% and 0.5%.

Claims

1. Electrical conductor consisting of: at least one uninsulated conducting strand made up of a singular layer of copper and of another singular layer of silvered copper alloy thereover, in which the silver content by mass is between 0.1% and 0.5%, wherein said electrical conductor has an outermost peripheral layer of several conducting strands made up at least of a layer of copper and of a layer of silvered copper alloy, in which the silver content by mass is between 0.1% and 0.5%, and wherein said electrical conductor further has at least one internal strand made from a singular layer of material to be selected from the group consisting of copper, aluminum, a copper alloy and an aluminum alloy, said internal strand being surrounded by said outermost peripheral layer.

2. Electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein said electrical conductor has a central strand made of high tenacity alloy, six intermediate strands surrounding said central strand and made of aluminum alloy, and twelve peripheral strands made up at least of a layer of copper and of a layer of silvered copper alloy of which silver content by mass is between 0.1-0.5%.

3. Electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein the conducting strands are covered with a layer protecting them against corrosion.

4. Electrical conductor according to claim 3, wherein the protective layer is a layer of nickel.

5. Electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein a cross section of each conducting strand is between 0.15 mm.sup.2 and 2 mm.sup.2.

6. Electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein the conducting strands are arranged together in such a way that the circular section of the said conductor is circular.

7. Electric cable comprising at least one electrical conductor according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) A detailed description of one preferred embodiment of an electrical conductor according to the invention is given hereinafter with reference to the single FIGURE.

(2) The single FIGURE is a view in cross section of an electrical conductor according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(3) For this particular embodiment, a conductor 1 according to the invention comprises in total nineteen elementary strands 2, 3, 4. Each type of strand 2, 3, 4 is created beforehand and separately according to a metallurgical method specific to it.

(4) With reference to the single figure, an electrical conductor 1 according to the invention comprises a central strand 4 made of high-tenacity copper alloy, six intermediate strands 2 made of aluminum and assembled around said central strand 4, and twelve peripheral strands 3 themselves made up of a layer of copper 6 and of a layer of silvered copper alloy 7 and which are assembled around said six intermediate strands 2. The silver content by mass of these peripheral strands 3 is between 0.1% and 0.5%.

(5) All of these strands 2, 3, 4 are coated with a layer affording protection against corrosion, which is applied by electroplating. For preference, this protective layer is made of nickel.

(6) The cohesion of these strands 2, 3, 4 on assembly is obtained by means of an assembly operation commonly referred to as stranding and which by twisting and with a preferential pitch length, allows the relative position of each strand 2, 3, 4 relative to the others to be maintained.

(7) A geometric distribution of nineteen strands 2, 3, makes it possible to make the conductor 1 as cylindrical as possible.

(8) By comparison with an existing conductor made from nineteen strands of copper alloy, a conductor 1 according to the invention offers the following features: a mass per unit length that is reduced by 25%, an equivalent strength per unit length, the same outside diameter.