Current carrying capability of polyester carbon coated for electrical conductor

Abstract

Copper and aluminum has been used as electrical conductor for power system transmission and distribution a long time ago. Due to higher demand of copper and aluminum in various sectors, copper and aluminum price has rose over a time and it has become a catalyst of cable theft activities. The utilities company throughout the world has lost billions of money due to cable theft activities. In this project, a carbon fiber based material known as polyester carbon coated is tested as replacement to copper and aluminum as electrical conductor. The conductor has been approved by SAE and used commercially as conductor in ignition cable for automotive sector. The main objective of this project is to study the characteristic and the current carrying capabilities of the polyester carbon coated as electrical conductor. A various type of test will be conducted on this conductor. Its include conductor resistance and resistivity, voltage drop by measurement and calculation and conductor current carrying capacity. The test that conducts meets British Standard requirement on power cable testing. The result of this project is a set of testing data which that will be analyzed in order to determine whether this conductor is suitable or not suitable to be used as conductor in power system and also a comparison of performance with existing materials.