For over one hundred years electrical power has been transmitted over heavy steel and aluminum wire. This 19th century technology, Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced (ACSR), has been used in the vast majority (over 80%) of electric transmission lines. In 2001, CTC Cable Corporation began an intensive effort to improve conductor technology beyond that achieved by ACSR and bring electrical transmission into the 21st century.
In 2004, this effort met with success with the introduction of the ACCC® conductor. ACCC® conductor offers superior performance and longevity compared to any other conductor type; a superior alternative that combines more aluminum and higher temperature capability.
Built on the highly evolved foundation of aerospace proven carbon fiber hybrid composites, the ACCC® conductor utilizes a high-strength, light-weight and dimensionally stable, single strand, composite core that is wrapped with trapezoidal shaped aluminum strands. The ACCC® conductor offers greater performance and capacity compared to conventional conductors of the same diameter and weight.
ACCC® conductor's hybrid composite core resists degradation from vibration, corrosion, ultraviolet radiation, corona, chemical and thermal oxidation and, most importantly, cyclic load fatigue. Keeping in mind that that primary objective of the development of hybrid carbon composites in the aerospace community was to increase both the performance and longevity of airframes and key structural components, it is noteworthy that those objectives were shared by CTC Cable during the development and deployment of ACCC® conductor. A conductor, during its anticipated service life of several decades, sees a constant change in temperature, tension, and wind-induced Aeolian vibration. While the ACCC® conductor offers several advantages over other conductor types, its primary technical attributes are improved.