Section I Aluminum-the Metal

Chapter I
Early and Present-Day Processing
Aluminum is the most abundant of all metals and. next
to oxygen and silicon. is the most abundant of some 90
elements found in the earth's crust. Aluminum is a ductile
metal, silver-white in color, which can be readily worked
by rolling, drawing, spinning. extruding, and forging. Its
specific gravity is 2.70. Pure aluminum melts at 6600(;
(I 2200F).
Aluminum has relatively high thermal and electrical
conductivities. The metal, in the presence of oxygen. is
always covered with a thin, invisible film of oxide which
is impermeable and protective in character. Aluminum,
therefore, shows stability and long life under ordinary
atmospheric exposure.
Because of its chemical activity and affinity for oxygen,
aluminum does not occur in nature in its metallic state;
it is always in combination with other elements. Many
gems are crystalline forms of aluminum compounds.
Rubies and sapphires, for example, are combinations
of aluminum and oxygen; garnets are aluminum and silica;
and jade is aluminum with sodium. oxygen, and silicon.
Alums are aluminum compounds which bave been in
widespread use since ancient times. Alums were employed
by Egyptians and Babylonians to compound medicines
and vegetable dyes.
In 1782, the French chemist, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier ,
stated his belief that alumine (alum) was an oxide of a metal
having an affinity for oxygen so strong that it could not
be isolated by then known means. In 1807, Sir Humphrey
Davy attempted to isolate aluminum electrolytically,
but was unsuccessful. However, he named the unisolated
element aluminum, and in 1809 produced an iron-
aluminum alloy by means of an electric arc.
In the year 1812, a body of aluminum ore was dis-
covered at Les Baux, France. Named after the town of
its discovery. bauxite is the most important commercial
ore containing hydrated aluminum oxide. In 1825, H. C.
Oerstedt succeeded in producing small bits of metallic
aluminum by heating an amalgam of aluminum chloride
and potassium. Twenty years later, FriedriCh Wohler
managed to produce aluminum particles as large as pin
heads. He enthusiastically noted, "The metal is light,
ductile, stable in air. and can be melted with a blow pipe."
In 1854, Henri Sainte-Claire Deville announced the
production of aluminum "lumps the size of marbles."
Limited production started, and the price of aluminum
dropped from $545 per pound in 1852 to $17 per pound
in 1859. In 1888, a German chemist, Karl Joseph
Meyer, was issued a patent for a process of making alu-
minum oxide (alumina) from low silicon-content bauxite.
Further research that made possible the present-day
processes was conducted in France by Paul Louis Herault,
and in America by Charles Martin Hall. Unknown to
each other. they independently found that electrolytic
reduction of alumina could readily be achieved if alumina
was dissolved in molten cryolite. Owing to the widespread
distribution of accessible fields of bauxite, many of which
can be mined by surface-strip methods, bauxite is readily
obtained. Research and development for the benefit of
both producers and users are economically practical.
The present-day process for primary production of
aluminum ingot, subject to variation depending on alloy
and properties required. is schematicaUy shown by Figure
I-I. The Bayer process is used to convert bauxite into
aluminum oxide, called alumina (upper part of Figure
I-I). The alumina is then reduced to metallic aluminum
by the Hall process (lower pari of Figure 1-I). The
subsequent conversion of the aluminum ingots into rods
for cold drawing of conductor wire or for making
extruded bus bars is performed in fabricating plants as
shown by Figure 1-2, subject to process variation by
individual fabricators.
Aluminum MetaJ.Womlll Precesses
As an aid to understanding the function of the equip-
ment shown on the flow sheet of Figure 1-2, a brief out-
line of the processes used for production of aluminum
conductors either as stranded cable or as bus shapes and
tubes is as follows (detailed consideration of many of these
processes is discussed in subsequent chapters):
Extruding. The aluminum is forced under pressure
through one or more die openings. To accomplish this,
the aluminum billets are heated and placed in a cylindrical
container filted at one end with a die having an opening
shaped to produce the desired section. A ram activated
by a hydraulic piston forces the metal of the biDet
through the die opening onto a run-out table so it appears
1-1
--
o/uminum--the me/ol
+ + + +
BAUXITE COAL FUEl OIL SODA LIME

.1

METAllURGICAL +TAR
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FURNAcr LINING
PETIIOLEUM + PITCH
'\, COK I

BAKED CARBON
,
..
4
:7
FLUORSPAR +SULPHUR

U
AlUMINUM flUORIDE
ALUMINUM SMElTER
Fig. 1]. What it takes to make aluminum: From bauxite to ingot.


12
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aluminum--the metal
in the required shape. Extrusions are used for many bus-
conductor shapes and also for preliminary stages of
production of rods that later are to be rolled and drawn
to small diameter as wires.
Rolling. Mills fitted with suitable rolls are employed to
reduce the diameter and increase the length of aluminum
biUets. A series of such roUing stands is required before
the diameter is reduced to 3/8 inch. This is the usual size
of rolled rod employed as stock for the wire-drawing
machines which reduce the aluminum to the required
final wire diameter.
Wire-drawing. In this operation the 3/8 inch diameter
redraw rod is drawn through a series of successively
smaller dies in a coarse-wire machine, and then through
a fine-wire drawing machine. Intermediate annealing,
coiling, and heat-treating may be done between the various
operations.
Stranding. In production of most bare cable, stranding
is the final operation. Aluminum conductor of 7. 19, 37,
or 61 strands is produced on stranding machines. When
these strandings surround an inner core of a single wire.
or a core of 7 or 19 wires, the various strandings
described in Chapter 3 are produced. Tubular or rigid-
frame stranding machines are used, the latter for applying
the last layers of wire. The various wires received from
coils are spun around a central core and brought out in
the shape of a cone. The apex of the COne is the core
around which the wires are spirally wrapped.
Auxiliary devices relating to coiling, cutting, safety cut-
outs, friction brakes, and the like are associated with
much of the described equipment.
Casting. The production of single aluminum castings for
conductor fittings is accomplished by pouring the desired
molten alloy into sand or permanent molds, or into a
die-casting machine. The castings may be heat treated,
quenched. and aged as required.
Large, thick aluminum bus bars for station circuits in
electrolytic plants and those of other large-current users
often are made by a continuous casting process: the melted
metal is run out through an orifice slightly larger than
the section desired. Water cooling is applied at the orifice,
and after shrinkage from cooling the required finished
size is obtained, as a solid bar of the desired length.
A modification of this continuous casting process is
also used for production of rod that is then finish-rolled
to redraw size (3 (8 inch diameter) for subsequent wire
drawing.
Sequence of Fabricating Operations
The aluminum ingots from the reduction plant (smelt-
er) shown in Figure 11, plus alloying materials, are
remelted as the first operation in the fabrication piant,
Figure 12. Subsequent operations vary according to the
endproduct desired. The flow sheet shows a typical
arrangement for the production of electrical conductors
in the form of stranded conductors. and extruded bus
bars and tubes. Fabricators may not have fully integrated
plants. For example, some cable fabricators start with
3/8-inch diameter round redraw rod of specified properties
(ASTM B 233). The redraw rods are the result of rolling
to that diameter by another fabricator. The finished
stranded conductor, including drawing from 3/S-inch rod
to the final wire diameter, is the work of the final
fabricator.
Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys for Electrical CondudOls
Aluminum and aluminum alloys are listed according to
the major alloying element, and are designated by four-
digit numbers. The first digit of the number designates
the major alloying element, and the remaining three-digits
represent modifications of the basic alloy, according to
its registration with The Aluminum Association. The alloy
listing based upon this method is as follows:
Principal Alloying Heat-
Element 4-digit Number Treatable
(99.0% pure lXXX no
aluminum
minimum)
Copper 2XXX yes
Manganese 3 XXX no
Silicon 4XXX no
Magnesium 5XXX no
Magnesium and
Silicon 6 X X X yes
Zinc 7XXX yes
Other Elements 8XXX some
Aluminum 1350, the form of aluminum most widely
used for electrical conductors, has a minimum aluminum
content of 99.50 percent, and because of this high purity
it is not considered to be an alloy. It has a conductivity
of approximately 61.0 percent lACS minimum. It is also
available with 62.0 percent lACS conductivity. Greater
strength, however, is obtained if certain alloying ingre-
dients are added, and though the resulting aluminum
alloy conductors have less conductivity than aluminum
1350, considerations in which strength is a factor justify
their use.
Practice has substantially limited wire for stranded
electrical conductors to the alloys shown in Table I-I
which also may be stranded in combination with steei
wires or with other alloys of aluminum wire.
Treatment for Improvement of Physical Properties
Improvement of strength. ductility, bending quality,
and corrosion resistance often may be achieved by the
addition of alloying elements, cold working (strain harden-
ing), and heat treatment. The means of increasing
strength classify the alloys roughly into two categories,
non-heat-treatable and heat-treatable.
The initial strength of non-heat-treatable aluminum
(1350,5005, and the 8XXX series alloys) depends partly
14
early and presentday pro,essing
TABLE11
Mechanicaland Physical PropertiesofAluminumand Aluminum Alloy
forUseinElectricalConductors(1) (2)
,
,
i
I
TensileStrength(3) Minimum ; YieldStrength IMinimum
I
ksi(
3
) Elongation ASTM ksi11000 Iblln2) Conductivity
,
(Typlcal)(4) '%in10in. % IACS(5)
Max Min Spec Temper
;
Designation
I
24.0 1.5 1350-H19 29.0 24.5 61.0 8 230 Hard
1350HI6or-H26 16.0 22.0 17.0 8 609 3/4 Hard
1350-H14or -H24
61.0
14.0 20.0 15.0 610 8509 1/2 Hard
1350-H12orH22 17.0 12.0 12.0 61.0 8 609 114 Hard
1350-0
20.0(6)
14.0 4.0 8.5 61.8 8 609 Fully
Annealed
6201-T81
I
3.0 Hard 460 52.5 8398
10.0(7)
21.0 8800 Intermediate
8030-H221 15.0
61.0
22.0 10.0 61.0 B 800 Intermediate
"".","_lJr
! 10.0 61.0 8176-H24 15.0
\
20.0 8800 Intermediate
8177-H221 15.0 22.0 10.0
!i
61.0 8800 ,Intermediate
, ,
,
!
.. ... i
(1) For reduction instrengthatjoints,see applicableASTM Specification.
(2) For strengthand conductivityofbus-conductorand boltalloys, see Tables 13-1 and B-2,Chapter13.
(3) There is a slight variation, depending on diameter. The listed strengths apply to wire between 0.1001 inch and 0.1100
inchdiameter.
(4)There is no yield in the generally accepted sense ofthe term. The listed values are typical ofstress when permanent
elongation is 0.002in.perin.
(5) Conductivity is measured in tenms of that of annealed copper as established by the International Electro-Technical
Commission as an InternationalAnnealedCopperStandard(lACS). See Chapter3. Commercialhard-drawncopperwirehas
conductivityof96.16% lACS.
(6) Approximate, notminimum.
(7) Shall notbe less than 10%.
onthe hardening effectofelements such as manganese,
silicon,iron, and magnesium. singly orincombinations.
Additional strengthening is obtained by various degrees
ofcold-working, inclUding thatofthewire-drawingpro-
cess. Heattreatmentduringprocessingdoesnotincrease
strength,exceptthatalloyscontainingappreciableamounts
ofmagnesium when supplied in strain-hardened tempers
are usuallygivena final elevated-temperature treatment
called stabilizing to insure stability ofproperties. This
heattreatmentsometimesalsoproducesacertainamount
ofannealing.
The strength of heat-treatable alloy 6201 is increased
by subjecting it to thermal treatment. The complete
process ofobtaining the T81 temper involves a combina-
lionofsolutionheat treatment, quenching, wire drawing,
andartificialaging. Strainhardeningduringwire-drawing
alsoisastrengtheningfactor.
Temper Designations
TheAluminumAssociationissuesacompilation*(also
ANSIH35.1-1988)ofdesignationsforalloysandtempers.
The alloy-number designations are those shown on page
1-4 hereof. The principal temper designations are the
H-numbers for non-heat-treatable alloys (1350 and 5005)
and T-numbers for heat-treatable alloy (6201) and alloys
used for bus conductors. Abstra.:ts of designations
applying to wrought el"'trical conductor aluminum or
aluminumalloysareasfollows:
-Aluminum Standards &: Dola; latest edition available from The
AluminumASSociation.Ofmembercompanies.
15
aluminum--the metal
TABLE 1-2
ChemicalComposition Limits(Maximum)forWroughtAluminum
AlloysforElectricalConductorsinPercent<1)
Aluminum-AlloyNumber.
Wire BusConductor Bolts
Principal
AlloyElement 1350 6201 8017 8030 8176 8176 6101 6063 6061
2024(2)
Copper
Iron
Silicon
Manganese
MagneSium
Zinc
Chromium
0.05
OAO
0.10
0.01
0.05
0,01
0.10
O.SO
0.50-{).9
0.Q3
0.6-0.9
0.10
0.03
0.10-0.20
0.55-0.08
0.10
0.01-{).05
0.05
0.150.30
0.30-0.8
0.10
0.05
0.05
0.40-1.0
0.03-0.15
om
0.04
0.250.45
0.10
0.040.12
0.05
0.10
O.SO
0.30-0.7
0.03
0.35-0.8
0.10
0.03
0.10
0.35
0.200.6
0.10
0.45-{).9
0.10
0.10
0.15-0.40
0.7
0.40-0.8
0.15
0.6-1.2
0.25
0.040.35
3.8-4.9
0.50
0.50
0.30-{).9
1.2-1.8
0.25
0.10
Soron 0.05 0.06 0.04 0.01-{).04 0.04 0.06
TItanium (2) (3) (4) 0.10 0.15
Other. each 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.Q3 0.05 0.03 003 0.05 0.05 0.05
Other, total 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.15 0.10 0.10 0.15 0.15 0.15
Aluminum 99.50 Remainder Remainder
(1) Composition inweightpercent unlessshownas arange.
(2) 0.02Vanadium plus TItanium.
(3) 0.003Ll1hium.
(4) 0.Q3 Gallium.
(5) Boltsof2024T4 alloyshould be anodized with adequatethickness and seal to impartadequatecorrosion resistancefor theapplication.
F: as fabricated. Applies to the shaping processes in
which no special control overthermal conditions
or strain-hardening is employed. For wrought
products.therearenomechanical propertylimits.
0: annealed, Applies to wrought products which are
annealed to obtain the lowest strength temper,
and to cast products which are annealed to im-
prove ductility and dimensional stability. The 0
may be followed by a digit other than zero.
H: strain-hardened (wrought products only). Applies to
products which have their strength increased by
strain-hardening, with or without supplementary
thermal treatments to produce some reduction
in strength. The H is always followed by two
or more digits. The first digit following the H
indicates the specific combinationofbasic opera-
tions,thus:
HI: strain-hardened only. without supplementary ther-
maltreatment.
H2: strain-hardened and then partially annealed. The
seconddigitfollowingHIorH2indicatesthefinal
degreeofstrainhardening. Theyrangefrom 0to
9. "9"designatesfully hard temperswhosemin-
imum ultimate tensile strength exceeds that of
the 8 temper by 2.0 ksi or more. The other
numbersrepresentultimatestrengthasrelatedto
"0"fully annealedand "8"representinghard.
Thus, "4"designates half-hard, "2"quarterhard,
and "6"three quarters hard.
The third digit when used indicates a variation of
two-digitH temper, thus:
Hill:strain hardened less than the amount required
forcontrolledHII temper.
1-6
H1l2: some temper acquired from the shaping process
but no special controloverthe amount ofstrain-
hardening or thermal treatment, but there are
mechanicalpropertylimits.
T: thermally treated to produce stable tempers other
thon F, 0, or H, with or without supplemen-
tary strain-hardening to produce stable tempers.
The T is always followed by one or more digits.
The numerals 1 through 10 following the Tin-
dicate specific sequences of basic treatments as
follows, applying to bus conductors or to 6201
alloy:
T6: solution heat-treated and then artificially aged.
Applies to products which are not cold worked
after solution heat treatment, or in which the
effect ofcold work in flattening Or straightening
maynotberecognized inapplicablespecifications.
T8: solution heat-treated, cold worked, and then arti-
ficially aged. Applies to heat-treated products
which are cold-worked to improvestrength, or in
which the effect of cold work is recognized in
applicablespecifications.
early and present-day processing
Additional digits, the first of which shall not be
zero, may be added to T6 or T8 to indicate a
variation of treatment which significantly alters
thecharacteristicsoftheproduct.
Anodizing
Aluminum bolts for bus-conductorassemblies, iflikely
tobeused undermoistureconditions,shouldbeanodized.
Anodizing is an electrolytic process which increasesoxide
layer thickness, first producing a porous layer which is
thensealed. Theresultisa surfacethatissmooth, hard,
and corrosion resistant. All aluminum bolts and nuts
require suitable lubrication to reduce friction, prevent
seizing, andimprove corrosionresistance.
Other Processes
The chapters in this book describe other processes re-
latedtothefabricationofelectricalconductorcomponents
and systems. Amongthesearewelding, plating, forming,
application of protective armor, and insulation, and
the many that are related to installation and connection
oftheconductors.
1-7