Calmly look at the aluminum alloy boom in the wire and cable industry

On March 12, 2012, he participated in the "Seminar on the Promotion of Application of Aluminum Alloys in Transmission Lines" held by Shanghai Cable Research Institute. The meeting was chaired by Mao Qingchuan, chief engineer of Shanghai Cable Research Institute, and brought together the State Grid East China Power Grid Co., Ltd., Design Institute. , electric power companies, equipment manufacturers, and leading domestic companies in overhead conductor and aluminum alloy products, such as Far East Cable, Zhongtian Technology, Wuhan Cable, Qingdao Han Cable, Chongqing Taishan Cable, and dozens of companies, nearly 80 cable industry Experts participate.

As the highest testing organization in China's cable industry, Shangshang Cables Co., Ltd. plays an important role in leading the industry. Whenever Cables launches a new indicator or a new product type, most domestic companies will join its pilot and promotion teams. The application of five kinds of aluminum alloy core conductors promoted by Shangshang Cable in transmission lines is bound to trigger an upsurge of R&D and production of energy-saving aluminum alloy cores and related products. However, we should treat this "prosperous feast" with an objective and calm attitude.

In recent years, the country's vigorous development of the expansion of smart grids and the transformation of rural power grids is a great opportunity and challenge for the cable industry.

First, the price of copper has risen sharply from last year and has fallen sharply. This year, it has increased slightly. The volatility of supply and demand for copper metal has increased. The demand for aluminum-based copper has become higher and higher. Some companies and research institutes have put their eyes on it. On aluminum substitute copper projects;

Second, China’s power generation is the highest in the world, and electricity consumption is the second highest in the world. In 2011, the national power cuts and power shortages occurred in some provinces. From the perspective of cable companies, we have to think about the control of the conductor's current carrying capacity.

Third, from the comparison of copper and aluminum production and consumption, the demand for aluminum for electrical use is far less than the supply of aluminum for electrical use.

Fourth: The State Grid Corporation of China has implemented pilot applications for energy-saving transmission lines (steel core high conductivity aluminum conductors, aluminum alloy aluminum core stranded conductors, and medium strength all aluminum alloy stranded conductors) projects in various provinces across the country this year to promote energy conservation. Wires, especially aluminum alloys, are used in transmission lines.

The above four points constitute the background of this meeting, namely policy, cost, current carrying capacity, and energy saving. This is in line with the National Twelfth Five-Year Plan and is also in line with the mainstream of energy conservation advocated by the international community. In recent years, cable and related supporting industries have been vigorously enhancing innovation and improving the technical level of power grid construction. Therefore, in order to further reduce the loss of electrical energy in transmission lines and improve the utilization efficiency of electrical energy, the adoption of new energy-saving conductors is imminent.

At the meeting, Mao Qingchuan, chief engineer of Shanghai Cable Research Institute, and Huang Chuanshi, Chief Technology Officer of Far East Cable made an important speech. Among them, State Grid East China Power Grid Co., Ltd. made a report titled "Research on State Grid Corporation of the Year Relying on New Technology of Engineering Infrastructure - Application Research of Aluminum-Armstrand Aluminum Stranded Wires", and Shanghai Cable Research Institute made "Aluminum alloy wire for electrical use". "Technical Overview", Zhongtian Technology also made reports on related issues, and the atmosphere of the entire venue was warm.

Under the auspices of Mao Qingchuan, chief engineer of the Shanghai Cable Research Institute, representatives of various units spoke enthusiastically and made their own proposals in succession. These include: the basic characteristics of aluminum alloy cables, the performance comparison of various types of products in different environments (such as ice-covering capacity, maximum horizontal load, vertical load, etc.), optimization of aluminum alloy manufacturing equipment (such as supporting hardware and continuous casting Domestic and foreign comparison of rolling equipment, etc.), quality control points of aluminum alloy manufacturing process (such as alloy formulation, cooling temperature, speed, quenching temperature, artificial aging temperature time cooling control, wire drawing and stranding, etc.), detection of aluminum alloy conductors (eg Single-wire electromechanical performance, mechanical and electrical properties of stranded wires, design of aluminum alloy wire shop (such as fuel selection, temperature control of lubricating liquid and cooling liquid, storage location of finished product line, etc.), domestic and foreign aluminum alloy total supply and demand relations , Relying on engineering research, economic analysis of energy-saving wire technologies, etc.

The wire and cable industry is the main user of aluminum for electrical use. In recent years, China's annual output of 2 million tons of transmission lines and cable cores mainly use electrical aluminum conductors, but the amount of aluminum alloys has also increased slightly.

According to relevant statistics, in 2011, about 50,000 tons of aluminum alloy wire was used, of which about half were exported to foreign countries, and the remaining aluminum for electrical use was consumed by large aluminum alloy and related products.

There are several problems here. Since we want to promote energy-saving aluminum alloy products, will our electrician aluminum meet the needs of domestic companies? Can domestic enterprises produce qualified aluminum alloy cores and related products? Will the promotion of alloys in transmission lines lead to an increase in aluminum prices or a drop in copper prices? Aluminum alloy cores and related products are really as beautiful as the relevant departments describe? I think that as a cable industry, we should An objective and calm attitude to treat this seemingly "prosperous feast", starting from its own point of view, rationally allocating capacity structure, judging market trends, starting from the perspective of market and sustainable development, for China's cable industry Make your own contribution.

Quote from an expert: The manufacture of aluminum alloys is simple, but it is difficult to produce qualified aluminum alloys. We can't brag about our products. We should promote our products in a pragmatic manner so that we can create a harmonious industrial atmosphere and contribute to the Chinese cable industry.