TECHNOLOGY
“ We are very aware that , without access to affordable , reliable , and hopefully clean energy , there is really no country in the world that can successfully develop competitive economies ”
DAVE BRYANT Director of Technology hopefully clean energy , there is really no country in the world that can successfully develop a competitive economy . When you have rolling blackouts due to lack of electricity generation , it ’ s very difficult for businesses to thrive .”
Innovative design and aerospace technology From the late 1800s to early 1900s , overhead conductors typically used copper wire as a conductive material . However , in the wake of World War I , copper was reserved for war materials and so aluminium became the material of choice , with steel core wires often added for strength . Most of the grid still uses this dated structure and , due to electric resistance , it often loses a substantial amount of energy as a result of heat loss and thermal expansion . This poses an industry-wide challenge , and it is one that CTC Global has tackled head-on .
“ With a background in aerospace materials , we looked into replacing the steel core of overhead power lines with a composite core using high strength carbon and glass fibres ,” explains Bryant . “ This not only offers a very low coefficient of thermal expansion to mitigate thermal sag under heavy electrical voltage conditions , it is also about 70 % lighter than steel , which allows ACCC to incorporate about 28 % more conductive aluminium without a weight or diameter penalty .”
This innovative design not only helps the product
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