Corrosion of Silver-Plated Copper Conductors - NEPP

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Figure 13. Influence of insulation material on corrosion rating of silver-plated strands Figure 14. Strand manufacturer and corrosion rating for silver-plated strands Figure 15. Wire and cable processor and corrosion rating for silver-plated strands Figure 16. Positions of strand in cable and corrosion rating (for silver-plated strands). 'Insulated wire' includes inner conductor of cables and hook-up wires 324 A possible explanation is thought to be that chlorine and fluorine have different influences on the metals present. The influence of the various types of insulation on the corrosion rating of wires and cables is illustrated in Figure 13. It appears that the high corrosion ratings (at least rating 4) are achievable in the test irrespective of the types of insulation used on the strands. FEP was mainly used as the loose-fitting outer jacket material on RF cables, and PTFE was mainly used as insulation material on inner conductors. PTFE had been sintered onto the strands and trapped only a minimal amount of air. The influence of the strand manufacturer on corrosion rating is illustrated in Figure 14. These results show no marked difference (average of A = 2.1, of B = 1.3). The influence of the wire and cable manufacturer on the corrosion ratings are illustrated in Figure 15. These results show that the accelerated test will produce corrosion on wires and cables from all manufacturers. The influence of strand position - whether braid or stranded wire - is illustrated in Figure 16. It seems that the accelerated test is likely to produce slightly more corrosion on the braided strands than on the inner conductor. The amount of air trapped within the insulations depends on both the construction of the cable and the method by which the insulation is applied. The braids are surrounded by a far greater volume of air than the inner conductors, thus permitting the ingress of greater quantities of oxygen and moisture during the test exposure. ESA Journal 1984, Vol. 8
Additional observations from accelerated testing are that: - Samples exposed to the test environment for 10d have only a slightly higher corrosion rating than the 4.5d samples (from visual inspection only). - Wire strands finished with either pure tin or pure nickel exhibit no form of corrosion from this test environment. - Wire strands finished with 'nickel plus' (nickel with a 0.2 μm silver flash) show only slight corrosion in isolated spots, i.e. to a maximum of code 2. Corrosion only occurred under cracks in the nickel plating. - Strands finished with 1 μm of silver tend to corrode more rapidly than those with a nominal 2 μm finish. - When corrosion does occur in the strands of a wire or cable, it is usual that the end exposed within the flask supports a black corrosion product, while the centre part of the sample corrodes more extensively and is covered predominantly in red corrosion products. Results of water analyses from accelerated tests The halide contents of' the water contained within the conical flasks during the 10d tests were noted to increase. The analytical results have been compared against the corrosion ratings for the wires or cables in Figures 17ab. These figures show that contaminated water from the wire ends is returned to the flask in the form of drips. This confirms that the halides determined by AES existed in an ionic form rather than as monomers or polymers. There is a certain resemblance between Figures 17a,b and 12a,b. Metallographic findings and case studies The results and discussions have so far concentrated on the subjective visual appearance of red-plague corrosion products adhering to the accelerated corrosion-test samples. It will be noted that single isolated defects in the silver-plated layer of copper strands can initiate galvanic corrosion. In the presence of water, the corrosion products may be dispersed over a wide surface area and, on drying-out, precipitate in the form of red and black crystals (Cu2O and CuO). This process renders inspection and quantitative evaluation of the extent of corrosion extremely difficult. A very important and complimentary aspect of the accelerated corrosion test programme has been the metallographic work. It was frequently found that microsections made transversely through wire strands that supported red plague failed to locate any corrosion of the copper core - only crystals of copper oxides were seen adhering to the outer silver surface. It therefore became standard laboratory practice to cut short lengths of red-covered strands from different corrosion sites on any one braid or stranded conductor. These lengths were distributed on the bottom of a mould then mounted and longitudinally sectioned. Often only one or two strands from the few dozen in the mount were noted to have actually corroded, and these sections were then photo- rnicrographed. Display of corrosion points selected in this manner can give an unduly pessimistic impression of' the real extent of' corrosion that exists in the total cross-section of conductor strands. Four 'worst cases' are shown in Figures 18 - 21 to illustrate the metallographic findings. ESA Journal 1984, Vol. 8 Figure 17a-b. Comparison of halide additions to water from test samples with their corrosion ratings 325
Page 1 and 2: B.D. Dunn, A. de Rooij & D.S. Colli
Page 3 and 4: (ii) Moisture may penetrate beneath
Page 5 and 6: that no area is covered with less t
Page 7 and 8: Extensive insulation stripping, vis
Page 9 and 10: plague corrosion on their braided s
Page 11 and 12: inspected. This was repeated for th
Page 13 and 14: . Insulation material and applicati
Page 15 and 16: Visual inspection (as-received) Eac
Page 17: Extrusion and sintering take place
Page 21 and 22: Figure 19. Transverse and longitudi
Page 23 and 24: Figure 21. Longitudinal sections th
Page 25 and 26: The above imperfections may range f
Page 27 and 28: programme (Fig. 12). When the graph
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Corrosion of Silver-Plated Copper Conductors - NEPP

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