Conductivity and Selection of Copper Clad Steel Wires for Grounding Applications

Copper clad steel wire (CCS) is primarily used for grounding applications to reduce the high incidence of copper ground conductor theft in electrical installations. The cross sectional area of the CCS is selected by relating the diameter equivalence to a copper conductor. The main difficulty is how to use a simple analytical relation to determine the right conductivity of CCS for a particular application. The use of Eddy-Current instrument for measuring conductivity is known but in most cases, the instrument is not readily available. The paper presents a simplified approach on how to size and determine CCS conductivity for a given application.

• George Eduful
• Kingsford J. A. Atanga

• Copper clad steel wire
• conductivity
• grounding
• skin effect.

[1] Cutting Out Copper Theft. Online source, date accessed: 15th January, 2017. Available at http://www.tdworld.com/overhead-distribution/cutting-out-copper-theft.
[2] D. Y. Dzansi, P. Rambe and L. Mathe, 2014: Cable Theft and Vandalism by Employees of South Africa’s Electricity Utility Companies: A Theoretical Explanation and Research Agenda. J Soc Sci, 39(2): 179-190.
[3] Facts: Utility-Associated Metals Theft. Online source, date accessed: 8th December, 2018. Available at https://www.waterinfo.org/node/8160.
[4] P. K. Sen et al., 2002: Steel Grounding Design Guide and Application Notes. 2002 IEEE Rural Electric Power Conference. May 5-7, 2002 Colorado Springs, Colorado.
[5] IEEE Standard 80, 2000: IEEE Guide for Safety in AC Substation Grounding.
[6] Marcus O. Durham and P E Robert A. Durham, 2008: Lightning, Transient & High Frequency Impact on Material Such as Corrugated Tubing.