ASTM B399/B399M-99

Standard Specification for Concentric-Lay-Stranded Aluminum-Alloy 6201-T81 Conductors

SCOPE
1.1 This specification covers concentric-lay-stranded conductors, made from round aluminum-alloy 6201-T81 (hard: solution heat-treated, cold worked, and then artificially aged) wires, for use for electrical purposes. These conductors shall be constructed with a central core surrounded by one or more layers of helically laid wires (Explanatory Notes 1 and 2).  
1.2 The SI values of density and resistivity are to be regarded as standard. For all other properties the inch-pound values are to be regarded as standard and the SI units may be approximate.  
Note 1-The aluminum alloy and temper designations conform to ANSI H35.1. Aluminum-alloy 6201 corresponds to Unified Numbering System alloyA96201 in accordance with Practice E 527.

General Information

• Status: Historical
• Publication Date: 09-Apr-1999
• ICS: 29.240.20 - Power transmission and distribution lines
• Technical Committee: B01 - Electrical Conductors
• Drafting Committee: B01.07 - Conductors of Light Metals

Relations

• Replaced By: ASTM B399/B399M-04 - Standard Specification for Concentric-Lay-Stranded Aluminum-Alloy 6201-T81 Conductors
• Effective Date: 01-Sep-2004
• Referred By: ASTM B1006-17 - Standard Specification for Electrical Overhead Conductor Code Word Names
• Effective Date: 10-Apr-1999

Standards Content (Sample)

NOTICE: This standard has either been superseded and replaced by a new version or withdrawn.
Contact ASTM International (www.astm.org) for the latest information
Designation: B 399/B 399M – 99
Standard Specification for
Concentric-Lay-Stranded Aluminum-Alloy 6201-T81
Conductors
This standard is issued under the fixed designation B 399/B 399M; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year
of original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.
A superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
This standard has been approved for use by agencies of the Department of Defense.
1. Scope E 527 Practice for Numbering Metals and Alloys (UNS)
2.3 ANSI Standards:
1.1 This specification covers concentric-lay-stranded con-
ANSI H35.1, American National Standard for Alloy and
ductors, made from round aluminum-alloy 6201-T81 (hard:
Temper Designation Systems for Aluminum
solution heat-treated, cold worked, and then artificially aged)
ANSI H35.1[M] American National Standard Alloy and
wires, for use for electrical purposes. These conductors shall be
Temper Designation Systems for Aluminum [Metric]
constructed with a central core surrounded by one or more
2.4 NIST Standards:
layers of helically laid wires (Explanatory Notes 1 and 2).
NBS Handbook 100—Copper Wire Tables of the National
NOTE 1—The aluminum alloy and temper designations conform to 6
Bureau of Standards
ANSI H35.1/H35.1[M]. Aluminum-alloy 6201 corresponds to Unified
2.5 Aluminum Association Publication:
Numbering System alloy A96201 in accordance with Practice E 527.
Publication 50, Code Words for Overhead Aluminum Elec-
1.2 The values stated in inch-pound units or SI units are to
trical Conductors
be regarded separately as standard. The values in each system
are not exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used 3. Classification
independently of the other. Combining values from the two
3.1 For the purpose of this specification, conductors are
systems may result in nonconformance with the specification.
classified as follows (Explanatory Notes 1 and 2):
1.2.1 For density, resistivity and temperature, the values
3.1.1 Class AA—For bare conductors usually used in over-
stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard.
head lines.
3.1.2 Class A—For conductors to be covered with weather-
2. Referenced Documents
resistant materials.
2.1 The following documents of the issue in effect on date
of material purchase form a part of this specification to the 4. Ordering Information
extent referenced herein:
4.1 Orders for material under this specification shall include
2.2 ASTM Standards:
the following information:
B 263 Test Method for Determination of Cross-Sectional
4.1.1 Quantity of each size, stranding, and class,
Area of Stranded Conductors
4.1.2 Conductor size, area and aluminum 1350 equivalent
B 354 Terminology Relating to Uninsulated Metallic Elec-
size (if required) (Section 8 and Table 1, Table 2, or Table 3),
trical Conductors
4.1.3 Number of wires (Table 1, Table 2 or Table 3),
B 398/B 398M Specification for Aluminum-Alloy 6201-
4.1.4 Direction of lay of outer layer of aluminum wires if
T81 Wire for Electrical Purposes
other than right-hand (see 7.4),
B 682 Specification for Standard Metric Sizes of Electrical
4.1.5 Compressed stranding, if required (see 8.2),
Conductors
4.1.6 Special tension test, if required (see 9.2 and 14.2),
E 29 Practice for Using Significant Digits in Test Data to
4.1.7 Place of inspection (see 15.2),
Determine Conformance with Specifications
1 4
This specification is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee B-1 on Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 01.01.
Electrical Conductors and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee B01.07 on Available from the American National Standards Institute, 11 West 42nd St.,
Conductors of Light Metals. 13th Floor, New York, NY 10036.
Current edition approved April 10, 1999. Published June 1999. Originally Available from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal
published as B 399 – 63T. Last previous edition B 399 – 97. Rd., Springfield, VA 22161.
2 7
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 02.03. Available from the Aluminum Association, Inc., 900 19th Street NW, Suite 300,
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 14.02. Washington, DC 20006.
Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States.
B 399/B 399M
TABLE 1 Construction Requirements of Concentric-Lay-Stranded Aluminum-Alloy 6201 Conductors Sized to Have Diameter Equal to
ACSR, Class AA and Class A
NOTE 1—Metric values listed below represent a soft conversion and as such they may not be the same as those metric masses which are calculated
from the basic metric density.
Approximate Aluminum
Size and Stranding
Code 1350
Conductor Size of ACSR with Required Construction Mass Rated Strength
A
Words Size Having Equivalent
Equal Diameter
Resistance
Diameter of
Per
Size
Strand- Number Per km,
2 B 2 Wires
cmil mm cmil AWG mm Class 1000 ft, kips kN
ing of Wires kg
B 2 lb
cmil AWG mm in. mm
1 439 200 729.2 — 1 272 000 . . . 644.5 1 272 000 . . . 644.5 54/7 61 0.1536 3.90 AA 1342 1997 46.8 208
1 348 800 683.4 — 1 192 500 . . . 604.2 1 192 500 . . . 604.2 54/7 61 0.1487 3.78 AA 1258 1872 43.9 195
1 259 600 638.2 — 1 113 000 . . . 564.0 1 113 000 . . . 564.0 54/7 61 0.1437 3.65 AA 1175 1748 41.0 182
1 165 100 590.3 — 1 033 500 . . . 523.7 1 033 500 . . . 523.7 54/7 61 0.1382 3.51 AA 1086 1617 37.9 169
1 077 400 545.9 — 954 000 . . . 483.4 954 000 . . . 483.4 54/7 61 0.1329 3.38 AA 1005 1495 35.0 156
927 200 469.8 Greeley 795 000 . . . 402.8 795 000 . . . 402.8 26/7 37 0.1583 4.02 AA 864.6 1287 30.5 136
740 800 375.4 Flint 636 000 . . . 322.3 636 000 . . . 322.3 26/7 37 0.1415 3.59 AA 690.8 1028 24.4 108
652 400 330.6 Elgin 556 500 . . . 282.0 556 500 . . . 282.0 26/7 19 0.1853 4.71 AA 608.3 905.2 21.9 97.5
559 500 283.5 Darien 477 000 . . . 241.7 477 000 . . . 241.7 26/7 19 0.1716 4.36 AA 521.7 776.3 18.8 83.6
465 400 235.8 Cairo 397 500 . . . 201.4 397 500 . . . 201.4 26/7 19 0.1565 3.98 AA 433.9 645.7 15.6 69.6
394 500 199.9 Canton 336 400 . . . 170.5 336 400 . . . 170.5 26/7 19 0.1441 3.66 AA, A 367.9 547.4 13.3 59.0
312 800 158.5 Butte 266 800 . . . 135.2 266 800 . . . 135.2 26/7 19 0.1283 3.26 A 291.6 434.0 10.5 46.7
246 900 125.1 Alliance 211 600 0000 107.2 211 600 0000 107.2 6/1 7 0.1878 4.77 AA 230.2 342.6 8.56 38.1
195 700 99.2 Amherst 167 800 000 85.0 167 800 000 85.0 6/1 7 0.1672 4.25 AA, A 182.5 271.5 6.79 30.2
155 400 78.7 Anaheim 133 100 00 67.4 133 100 00 67.4 6/1 7 0.1490 3.78 AA, A 144.9 215.6 5.39 24.0
123 300 62.5 Azusa 105 600 0 53.5 105 600 0 53.5 6/1 7 0.1327 3.37 AA, A 114.9 171.0 4.27 19.0
77 470 39.3 Ames 66 360 2 33.6 66 360 2 33.6 6/1 7 0.1052 2.67 AA, A 72.24 107.5 2.80 12.5
48 690 24.7 Alton 41 740 4 21.1 41 740 4 21.1 6/1 7 0.0834 2.12 A 45.40 67.56 1.76 7.84
30 580 15.5 Akron 26 240 6 13.3 26 240 6 13.3 6/1 7 0.0661 1.68 A 28.52 42.44 1.11 4.92
A
Code words shown in this column are obtained from, “Publication 50, Code Words for Overhead Aluminum Electrical Conductors”, by the Aluminum Association. They
are provided here for information only.
B
Conversion factors: 1 mil 5 2.54 E-02 mm
1 cmil 5 5.067 E-04 mm
1 in. 5 25.4 mm
1 lb/1000 ft 5 1.488E+00 kg/km
1ft 5 3.048 E-01 m
1lb 5 4.536 E-01 kg
1 lbf 5 4.448 E-03 kN
4.1.8 Special package marking, if required (Section 16), 7.2 For Class A conductors, the lay of a layer of wires shall
4.1.9 Package size and type (see 16.1), and be not less than 8 nor more than 16 times the outside diameter
4.1.10 Heavy wood lagging, if required (see 16.4). of that layer, except that for conductors composed of 37 wires
or more, this requirement shall apply only to the two outer
5. Requirements of Wires
layers. The lay of the layers other than the two outer layers
5.1 The aluminum-alloy wire used shall conform to the
shall be at the option of the manufacturer, unless otherwise
requirements of Specification B 398/B 398M.
agreed upon.
7.3 Other lays for special purposes shall be furnished by
6. Joints
agreement between the manufacturer and the purchaser.
6.1 In conductors composed of seven wires, only cold-
7.4 The direction of lay of the outer layer shall be right-hand
pressure joints or electric-butt, cold-upset joints are permitted
unless specified otherwise by the purchaser.
in the six outer finished wires; no joints are permitted in the
7.5 The direction of lay shall be reversed in successive
center wire. In other conductors, cold-pressure welds, electric-
layers, unless otherwise specified by the purchaser.
butt, cold-upset welds, or electric-butt welds may be made in
the finished wires composing conductors, but such joints shall
8. Construction
be not closer than prescribed in Table 4. Following welding,
8.1 The cross-sectional areas and the numbers and diam-
electric-butt welds shall be annealed for a distance of at least 6
eters of wires in the concentric-lay-stranded conductors shall
in. [150 mm] on each side of the weld.
conform to the requirements prescribed in Table 1, Table 2, or
7. Lay
Table 3 as applicable (Explanatory Notes 2 and 6).
7.1 For Class AA conductors, the preferred lay of a layer of 8.2 Where compressed stranding is required in order that the
wires is 13.5 times the outside diameter of that layer, but the conductor may be properly insulated, one or more layers of any
lay shall be not less than 10 nor more than 16 times this stranded conductor consisting of 7 wires or more may be
diameter. slightly compressed, thereby reducing the outside diameter of
B 399/B 399M
TABLE 2 Construction Requirements of Concentric-Lay-Stranded Aluminum-Alloy 6201 Conductors Sized by Standard Areas, Class AA
and Class A
NOTE 1—Metric values listed below represent a soft conversion and as such they may not be the same as those metric masses which are calculated
from the basic metric density.
Conductor Size Required Construction Mass Rated Strength
Diameter of Wires
Number of
A 2
cmil AWG mm Class Per 1000 ft, lb Per km, kg kips kN
Wires
in. mm
1 750 000 . . . 886.7 61 0.1694 4.30 AA 1632 2429 56.9 253
1 500 000 . . . 760.0 61 0.1568 3.98 AA 1399 2081 48.8 217
1 250 000 . . . 633.3 61 0.1431 3.63 AA 1165 1733 40.6 180
1 000 000 . . . 506.7 37 0.1644 4.18 AA 932.5 1388 32.9 146
900 000 . . . 456.0 37 0.1560 3.96 AA 839.7 1249 29.6 132
800 000 . . . 405.4 37 0.1470 3.73 AA 745.6 1109 26.3 117
750 000 . . . 380.0 37 0.1424 3.62 AA 699.6 1041 24.7 110
700 000 . . . 354.7 37 0.1375 3.49 AA 652.3 970.6 23.0 102
650 000 . . . 329.4 37 0.1325 3.37 AA 605.7 901.3 21.4 95.0
600 000 . . . 304.0 37 0.1273 3.23 AA, A 559.1 832.0 20.6 91.5
550 000 . . . 278.7 37 0.1219 3.10 AA, A 512.7 762.9 18.9 83.9
500 000 . . . 253.4 19 0.1622 4.12 AA 466.1 693.6 16.8 74.7
450 000 . . . 228.0 19 0.1539 3.91 AA 419.6 624.4 15.1 67.3
400 000 . . . 202.7 19 0.1451 3.69 AA, A 373.0 555.1 13.4 59.8
350 000 . . . 177.3 19 0.1357 3.45 A 326.3 485.5 11.8 52.3
300 000 . . . 152.0 19 0.1257 3.19 A 280.0 416.6 10.5 46.8
250 000 . . . 126.7 19 0.1147 2.91 A 233.1 346.9 8.76 39.0
211 600 0000 107.2 7 0.1739 4.42 AA, A 197.4 293.7 7.34 32.7
167 800 000 85.0 7 0.1548 3.93 AA, A 156.4 232.7 5.82 25.9
133 100 00 67.4 7 0.1379 3.50 AA, A 124.1 184.7 4.62 20.5
105 600 0 53.5 7 0.1228 3.12 AA, A 98.43 146.5 3.82 17.0
66 360 2 33.6 7 0.0974 2.47 AA, A 61.92 92.14 2.40 10.7
41 740 4 21.1 7 0.0772 1.96 A 38.90 57.89 1.51 6.72
26 240 6 13.3 7 0.0612 1.55 A 24.49 36.44 0.949 4.22
TABLE 3 Construction Requirements and Rated Strengths of
Concentric-Lay-Stranded Aluminum-Alloy 6201-T81 Conductors
the conductor by not more than 3 %, provided that the area of
Sized by Standard Areas, Class AA and Class A
cross section after compressing is in accordance with Section
NOTE 1—Sizes were selected from Specification B 682.
12.
Required Construction
Rated
NOTE 2—The user’s attention is called to the claim that certain
Conductor Strength
Diameter
Number
compressed strand constructions may be subject to patent rights, for
Size, mm 6201-T81,
of Wires, Class
of Wires
example: Patents 3,383,704 and 3,444,684. kN
mm
630 37 4.66 AA 181
9. Rated Strength of Conductor
560 37 4.39 AA 161
500 37 4.15 AA 143
9.1 The rated strength of a conductor shall be taken as that
450 37 3.94 AA 129
400 37 3.71 AA 115
percentage, indicated in Table 5 of the sum of the strengths of
355 37 3.50 AA 102
the 6201 wires, calculated on the basis of the nominal wire
315 37 3.29 AA 90.2
diameter and the specified minimum average tensile strength
280 37 3.10 AA 83.9
250 19 4.09 AA 73.1
given in Specification B 398/B 398M.
224 19 3.87 AA 65.5
9.2 Tests for determining the breaking strength of a conduc-
200 19 3.66 AA, A 58.6
180 19 3.47 AA, A 52.6
tor are not required by this specification but may be made if
160 19 3.27 AA, A 46.7
agreed upon between the manufacturer and the purchaser at the
140 19 3.06 AA, A 42.9
time of placing an order. When tested, the breaking strength of
125 19 2.89 AA, A 38.3
112 7 4.51 AA 33.8
a conductor shall be not less than the rated strength if failure
100 7 4.26 AA, A 30.2
occurs in the free length at least 1 in. [25 mm] beyond the end
80.0 7 3.81 AA, A 24.1
63.0 7 3.39 AA, A 19.1
of either gripping device, or shall be not less than 95 % of the
50.0 7 3.02 AA, A 15.9
rated strength if failure occurs inside, or within 1 in. [25 mm]
40.0 7 2.70 AA, A 12.7
of the end of, either gripping device (Explanatory Note 3).
31.5 7 2.39 A 9.95
25.0 7 2.13 A 7.90
9.3 Rated strength and breaking strength values shall be
20.0 7 1.91 A 6.35
rounded to three significant figures, in the final value only, in
16.0 7 1.71 A 5.09
accordance with the rounding method in Practice E 29.
B 399/B 399M
TABLE 4 Minimum Distance Between Joints in the Completed
14.2 When requested by the purchaser at the time of
Conductor
purchase, tension tests of wires before stranding or of the
Number of Wires in Distance Between Joints,
conductor as a unit may be waived and tests made of aluminum
Conductor min. ft (m)
wires removed from the conductor. When so tested, individual
A
7 50 (15)
wires shall have minimum tensile strengths not less than 95 %
19 50 (15)
of the tensile strength prescribed.
37 25 (7.5)
61 25 (7.5) 14.3 All wires composing the conductors shall be capable of
A
Only cold-pressure welds and electric-butt, cold-upset welds are permitted in meeting the bending properties stated in Specification B 398/
the six outer wires of conductors composed of seven wires; no welds are permitted
B 398M after stranding. Routine production testing after
in the center or core wire.
stranding is not required unless agreed to between the manu-
facturer and the purchaser at the time of purchase.
TABLE 5 Rating Fac
...