Engineering Flexibility Without Sacrificing Strength

Every engineering breakthrough reaches a point where research begins transforming into design.

After establishing a deeper understanding of grounding conductor performance through laboratory testing, Copperweld engineers identified an opportunity to rethink one of the defining characteristics of Copper-Clad Steel (CCS) grounding conductors: flexibility.

Traditional CCS grounding conductors have long been valued for their mechanical strength and durability. However, field experience and customer feedback revealed an opportunity to improve installation without sacrificing the resilience that makes CCS well suited for substation grounding applications. By increasing strand count and optimizing conductor construction, engineers discovered a configuration that maintained the strength advantages of steel while significantly improving handling characteristics during installation.

Those discoveries ultimately led to ArcAngel®, a new family of high-strand-count Copper-Clad Steel grounding conductors engineered specifically for modern substations. Rather than optimizing a single performance characteristic, ArcAngel represents the balance of electrical performance, mechanical reliability, flexibility, corrosion resistance, and long-term value that the research program had been pursuing from the beginning.

Continue the Engineering Journey

Improving flexibility was only one objective. The next challenge was establishing a clear set of engineering targets that would guide every remaining design decision.

Next: Part 7 – Defining the Engineering Targets