The Performance or Bare Aluminum Wire as Armoring Material for Submarine Cables

Some instances of use of bare aluminum wire for armoring submarine cables are cited. Particular emphasis is placed on an early installation of ALCAN 57S (AA5052) armored cable between the British Columbia mainland and Bowen Island. Several supporting experimental installations of the same cable, tested up to 10 years, showed loss of mechanical properties of the armoring to be very slight. Additional tests of simulated cable under a wide variety of conditions gave conclusive evidence that aluminum is satisfactory for this application.