Aplicação de metodologia de seleção de materiais para transmissão de energia elétrica em elementos condutores

Abstract

Due to the significant increase in the use of electrical energy over the last century, as well as the expansion of demand for energy supply, especially in areas far from the main energy generating centers, and the very conduction within cities, good electrical conductors become quite important for the efficiency in energy transport. It is known that a large part of the energy from major energy generators experiences significant energy losses due to the Joule effect during conduction. Various problems are also known in relation to the heating (from this same effect) of high-load electrical equipment, such as electrical panels, which are becoming larger and larger. It is also worth noting the high cost and environmental impacts that these conductors generate. Therefore, a structural study of conductive materials is essential to reduce these impacts and project costs, ensuring their efficiency in conduction and the safety of operators as well as the line; since it is exceedingly common for companies to use, in their initial project phase, an outdated reference material (usually copper or aluminum) without conducting a case study for material selection. This work aimed to identify the most suitable alloys for application as conductive elements in busbars of electrical panels and in transmission lines, through a material selection methodology, including sizing, economic analysis, and laboratory testing for validation. It was noted that, as currently applied, copper and aluminum alloys were the most suitable for use as conductive elements. In general, it is shown that aluminum has a lower linear cost than copper for both busbar applications and transmission line applications, but it can be disadvantaged by high contact resistance, making its use recommended only for transmission lines.