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Home > News & Blog > Blog > What is the difference between aluminum strip foil and copper foil strip for transformer winding?
Aluminum foil strips for transformers, also called aluminum transformer strips foils, are mainly used for dry and oil-immersed transformer windings, and the main aluminum transformer strip alloys are 1050, 1060, 1070, 1350. Aluminum foil strips for transformers have high conductivity, good corrosion resistance and beautiful appearance, are essential materials in the process of producing transformers. The thickness of aluminum foil strips for transformers ranges from 0.2mm to 3.5mm and the width ranges from 10mm to 1600mm. The alloys of copper strips foils for transformers are mainly C1100, C11000, T2. There is a big difference between aluminum strips and copper strips for transformers, depending on how they are used in transformers.
1.Chemical composition between transformer aluminum foilstrip and copper foilstrip
Chemical composition of aluminum foil strip for transformer
| Alloy | Al (%) MIN | Si (%) Max | Fe (%) Max | Cu (%) Max | Mn (%) Max | Zn (%) Max | Mg (%) Max | Ti (%) Max | Other elements (%) |
| 1050 | 99.50 | 0.25 | 0.40 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| 1060 | 99.60 | 0.25 | 0.35 | 0.05 | 0.03 | 0.05 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| 1070 | 99.70 | 0.25 | 0.04 | 0.03 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.03 | – | 0.03 |
| 1350 | 99.50 | 0.10 | 0.05 | 0.01 | 0.01 | – | – | – | 0.03 |
Chemical composition of copper foil strip for transformer
| Alloy | Cu + Ag | Bi | Sb | As | Fe | Ni | Pb | Sn | S | 0 |
| C1100/C11000 | 99.90 | 0.001 | 0.002 | 0.002 | 0.005 | – | 0.005 | – | 0.005 | – |
2.The difference between the characteristics of transformer aluminum strip and copper strip
Aluminum tape has several advantages over copper tape. It is more resistant to corrosion and heat, which makes it suitable for outdoor use.
The electrical conductivity of aluminum is lower than that of copper at room temperature but increases with increasing temperature. This means that aluminum is more effective at transferring heat than copper, making it ideal for heating elements and heat sinks.
Copper can be recycled many times without losing its properties, while aluminum loses its strength after many recycling cycles. Copper can be recycled indefinitely if there is no contamination in the mixture; however, pure aluminum corrodes easily when it is exposed to oxygen or water vapor in ambient air during melting and therefore cannot be recycled.
3.The cost difference between transformer aluminum strip and copper strip
Aluminum strips are much cheaper than copper strips and are more economical.
4.Density difference between transformer aluminum strip and copper strip
Copper has a density of 8.9 and aluminum has a density of 2.7. The difference in density between aluminum and copper can be used to determine how much material is needed for an application using aluminum instead of copper. For example, if you need 100 pounds per square foot (psf) of insulation on a transformer core, then you would need approximately 133 psf if it were made of aluminum instead of copper because 2.3 times the material is required by transformer manufacturers to achieve the same amount of insulation when comparing their densities.
5.Conductivity difference between transformer aluminum strip and copper strip
The resistivity of a material is a measure of its resistance to electric current. This property is important to transformers because it determines how much heat a material can withstand before melting or burning. The higher the resistivity, the more heat it can dissipate without reaching unsafe temperatures.
The conductivity of the aluminum strip is above 60%IACS.
The conductivity of the copper strip is 99.80% IACS.
Original Source: Transformer Aluminum Strip
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