Combination structure of hexagonal conductors in cable

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of cables, in particular to a combined structure of hexagonal conductors in a cable. The cross section of each hexagonal conductor is in the shape of a regular hexagon or an axisymmetric hexagon, the side lengths of all the hexagonal conductors are equal, the number of the hexagonal conductors in the cable is larger than or equal to 2, adjacent hexagonal conductors share one side, the hexagonal shape enables surface contact between conductor single wires, the pressing process is not needed, and the conductor single wires can be tightly pressed. And the compression coefficient can reach more than 99%, so that the use of conductor raw materials is greatly reduced, the necessary compression step in the traditional production process is reduced, the efficiency is improved, the cost is saved, and the competitiveness of enterprises is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of cables, and in particular to a combined structure of hexagonal conductors in cables. Background Art

[0002] A conductor is a material with very low resistivity that easily conducts electric current. Conductors contain a large number of freely mobile charged particles called carriers. Under the influence of an external electric field, these carriers move in a directional manner, forming a significant current. In the cable industry, conductor shapes have evolved from circular to fan-shaped and tile-shaped, primarily driven by the need to reduce cable outer diameter, lower material costs, and optimize structural compactness.

[0003] Traditional round conductors require a large amount of filler material to ensure roundness during the cabling of multi-core cables. This not only increases the cable's outer diameter but also increases the amount of material used in subsequent processes, such as armor and sheathing. The advent of sector-shaped conductors has changed this situation. Their insulated cores naturally form a round shape after cabling, significantly reducing filler material and the overall outer diameter of the cable, thereby saving on materials such as steel tape and sheathing. Tile-shaped conductors take this a step further, offering a more compact structure and an outer diameter approximately 10% smaller than round or sector-shaped conductors. This material savings is even more significant, particularly in multi-core cables (such as 4+1 and 3+2 core cables), addressing the limited applicability of sector-shaped conductors. Furthermore, with increasing market demand for high-quality, low-cost cable products, manufacturers are seeking to unlock potential through design optimization. By reducing material consumption and outer diameter, sector-shaped and tile-shaped conductors effectively lower cable manufacturing costs and enhance company competitiveness. For example, the use of sector-shaped or tile-shaped conductors in multi-core cables can reduce the use of filler, tape, armor, and sheathing materials, achieving significant economic benefits. Tile-shaped conductors not only save material but also improve the compactness and stability of cable structures, making them suitable for more complex scenarios. Compared to round conductors, sector-shaped and tile-shaped conductors can better adapt to space constraints in multi-core cables and meet the cable dimensional requirements of specific installation environments. However, due to their poor versatility, sector-shaped and tile-shaped conductors do not offer significant cost advantages.

[0004] From a manufacturing perspective, wire and cable processing generally includes wire drawing, annealing, stranding, compacting, extrusion, and cabling. Conductor processing determines the mechanical and electrical properties of the cable and plays a key role in product cost. To better utilize conductor raw materials while ensuring that the conductor's DC conductivity meets regulatory requirements and meeting mechanical and other regulatory requirements, the industry has seen numerous improvements and refinements in conductor processing, from round wire drawing and annealing to stranding. These improvements include compacting the stranded conductor to create a fan-shaped or compacted circular conductor cross-section, which reduces conductor material and increases mechanical strength. In recent years, to further optimize performance, an increasing number of companies have adopted the shaped-wire stranding method for conductor processing. This denser conductor not only reduces conductor raw material usage but also reduces the use of other materials, such as insulation and sheathing, due to the reduced outer diameter of the resulting cable.

[0005] As mentioned above, initially, round-wire stranded conductors, due to their round shape, had large gaps between the strands after stranding, resulting in a compression coefficient of only about 78%. This resulted in high contact resistance between the strands, resulting in a larger cross-section after the final cable was completed. This meant that more conductor material was required to produce the same length of cable, leading to high cable costs. To further improve this situation, compressed conductors (conductors with fan-shaped and compressed circular cross-sections) were developed, further improving the compression coefficient to around 90%. This further reduced the use of conductor raw materials, insulation, and sheathing materials. More recently, shaped-wire stranded conductors (shingle-shaped conductors) have emerged. These single-wire strands, with a circular center section, have each layer extending outwards to form a more compact round conductor. This compression coefficient can reach around 94%, significantly reducing the use of conductor, insulation, and sheathing materials. However, during the compression step of the compressed conductor manufacturing process, the conductor undergoes deformation. This deformation is a form of cold working, which causes work hardening of the conductor, increasing its resistance, a key property of the conductor, and reducing its electrical conductivity. Often, it is necessary to use conductors with larger diameters for compaction to obtain conductors that meet the conductivity requirements. Regarding stranded conductors, there are also four issues that need to be improved:

[0006] 1. Due to the irregularity of the conductor cross-section and the need for tight fit between the individual wires in the conductor stranding, the individual wires need to be pre-twisted during stranding. The pre-twisting and the twisting pitch will fluctuate, which can easily cause the individual wires to flip over (that is, the individual wires protrude from the predetermined wire slots), resulting in the risk of unqualified resistance of the integrated stranded conductor. Furthermore, when the individual wires flip over, the electric field will be uneven during use. Therefore, once flipping occurs, rework is necessary, resulting in reduced production efficiency.

[0007] 2. In order to prevent the conductor strands from unraveling and to reduce the occurrence of single-wire turning over during stranding, the conductors are also compressed to a certain extent during stranding. Since this compression is also a cold process, it will increase the resistance of the conductor. Accordingly, it is necessary to appropriately increase the cross-section of the single-wire conductor of the stranded wire to achieve the resistance after stranding that meets the standard requirements, which in turn increases the use of some conductor raw materials.

[0008] 3. Leftover bobbin wire from the production of stranded conductors is difficult to reuse due to its irregular shape and is generally discarded. Furthermore, the conductor dimensions of each layer of stranded conductors vary, resulting in a greater variety of bobbin wires, further increasing the variety and total volume of bobbin wires, resulting in considerable waste. While scrapped conductors can be remelted and reprocessed by conductor refineries, this adds additional costs.

[0009] 4. Due to the irregular shape of the wire conductor, the production and adjustment of the wire drawing mold are relatively complicated. Moreover, when producing the wire conductor, it is not possible to make a preliminary judgment and control of the resistance consistency based on the external dimensions as simply as for round wires. Therefore, the quality of the production process is difficult to control. Summary of the Invention

[0010] The object of the present invention is to provide a combined structure of hexagonal conductors in a cable to solve the problems of increased resistance caused by tight compression during conductor twisting, single wire turning over during conductor twisting, and waste of bottom line of the shaped wire conductor coil.

[0011] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0012] A combined structure of hexagonal conductors in a cable, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the hexagonal conductors is a regular hexagon or an axisymmetric hexagon, the sides of all hexagonal conductors are equal, the number of hexagonal conductors in the cable is greater than or equal to 2, and adjacent hexagonal conductors share a common side.

[0013] Preferably, the hexagonal conductor combination structure in the cable is a double-layer structure, including a central layer conductor combination structure and an outer layer hexagonal conductor combination structure wrapped around the central layer conductor combination structure. Each hexagonal conductor in the outer layer has at most one contact surface with a single hexagonal conductor in the central layer. At the same time, there is also one contact surface between adjacent hexagonal conductors in the outer layer, forming a honeycomb-shaped stacked layout.

[0014] Preferably, when the number of the central layer conductor combination structure is 1, the number of the outer layer hexagonal conductor combination structure is 6; assuming the number of the central layer conductor combination structure is n, when n is 2, 3, 4, 6, or 9, the number of hexagonal conductors in the outer layer hexagonal conductor combination structure is n+6.

[0015] Preferably, the hexagonal conductor combination structure in the cable is a multi-layer structure, including a central layer conductor combination structure and several layers of outer layer hexagonal conductor combination structures wrapped around the central layer conductor combination structure. Each hexagonal conductor in the outer layer has at most one contact surface with a single hexagonal conductor in the adjacent layer. At the same time, there is also one contact surface between adjacent hexagonal conductors in the outer layer, forming a honeycomb-shaped stacked layout.

[0016] Preferably, the number of the center layer conductor combination structure is n; the number of hexagonal conductor layers is a, the number of hexagonal conductor layers is counted from the center layer hexagonal conductor, the number of the center layer hexagonal conductor layers is 1, and the number of hexagonal conductor layers increases outwards in sequence;

[0017] When the number of the central layer conductor combination structure is 1, the number of the outer layer hexagonal conductor combination structure is 6 (a-1);

[0018] When n is 2, 3, 4, 6, or 9, assuming that the number of the central layer conductor combination structure is n, the number of hexagonal conductors in each hexagonal conductor combination structure in the outer layer is n+6(a-1).

[0019] Preferably, when the number of the central layer conductor combination structures is 2, the central layer conductor combination structure is symmetrically shaped like a letter "1", and the number of adjacent surfaces between the hexagonal conductors in the central layer conductor combination structure is 1;

[0020] When the number of the central layer conductor combination structures is 3, the central layer conductor combination structures are symmetrical triangles, the number of mutually contacting surfaces between the hexagonal conductors in the central layer conductor combination structures is 2, and two contacting surfaces of the hexagonal conductors in the same central layer conductor combination structure are adjacent;

[0021] When the number of the central layer conductor combination structures is 4, the central layer conductor combination structures are symmetrical cross-shaped, the number of mutually contacting surfaces between the hexagonal conductors in the central layer conductor combination structures is 2, and two contacting surfaces of the hexagonal conductors in the same central layer conductor combination structure are adjacent;

[0022] When the number of the central layer conductor combination structures is 6, there are two types of central layer conductor combination structures: the first type is a symmetrical triangle, in which each side of the triangle is composed of three hexagonal conductors, and adjacent sides of the triangle share a hexagonal conductor; the second type is a hollow flower-shaped structure, in which the number of mutually contacting surfaces of the hexagonal conductors in the central layer conductor combination structure is 2, and the two contacting surfaces of the hexagonal conductors in the same central layer conductor combination structure are separated by one surface;

[0023] When the number of the central layer conductor combination structure is 9, the central layer conductor combination structure is a symmetrical triangle, each side of the triangle is composed of four hexagonal conductors, and adjacent sides of the triangle share one hexagonal conductor.

[0024] Preferably, the central layer conductor combination structure is a basic combination unit and can be reassembled. The reassembly includes the reassembly of central layer conductor combination structures with the same number of central layer conductor combination structures and the reassembly of central layer conductor combination structures with different numbers of central layer conductor combination structures.

[0025] Preferably, the same number of center layer conductor combination structures: when the number of the center layer conductor combination structures is 6, in the case of forming a hollow flower-shaped center layer conductor combination structure, 7 such hollow flower-shaped center layer conductor combination structures are spliced together to form a hollow flower-shaped structure in which one is located in the center and the remaining 6 are arranged around the center.

[0026] Different numbers of center layer conductor combination structures: the number of the center layer conductor combination structures is 6 and forms a hollow flower-shaped center layer conductor combination structure, and the number of the center layer conductor combination structures is 4, and the combination structure is a symmetrical cross-shaped center layer conductor combination structure, which is spliced to form a symmetrical cross-shaped center layer conductor combination structure with 1 hollow flower-shaped structure located in the center and 6 hollow flower-shaped structures arranged around the center.

[0027] Preferably, the edges of the hexagonal conductor are rounded.

[0028] Preferably, the cable further comprises a circular conductor, and a circular conductor of the same diameter can replace the hexagonal conductor in the structure.

[0029] In summary, the present invention adopts a combination of conductor structures with a cross-sectional shape that is nearly a regular hexagon or an axisymmetric hexagon. The hexagonal shape allows the conductor wires to be in surface contact with each other, eliminating the need for a compaction process. The compaction coefficient can reach over 99%, significantly reducing the use of conductor raw materials and the essential compaction step in traditional production processes. At the same time, it improves efficiency, saves costs, and enhances the competitiveness of the enterprise. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the first combination when the number of hexagonal conductors in the present invention is 6;

[0031] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the second combination when the number of hexagonal conductors in the present invention is 6;

[0032] Figure 3 2 is a schematic diagram of the combined structure when the number of non-regular hexagonal conductors is 2 in the present invention;

[0033] Figure 4 2 is a schematic diagram of the combined structure when the number of non-regular hexagonal conductors is 3 in the present invention;

[0034] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the combined structure when the number of non-regular hexagonal conductors is 4 in the present invention;

[0035] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the third combination structure when the number of hexagonal conductors in the present invention is 6;

[0036] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the combined structure when the number of non-regular hexagonal conductors in the present invention is 9;

[0037] Figure 8 There are 7 Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the spliced structure;

[0038] Figure 9 There are 7 Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the spliced structure;

[0039] Figure 10 yes Figure 8 and 6 Schematic diagram of the structure after the hexagonal conductors are assembled;

[0040] Figure 11 yes Figure 1 With regular hexagonal conductor type Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the structure after splicing;

[0041] Figure 12 yes Figure 1 With regular hexagonal conductor type Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the structure after splicing;

[0042] Figure 13 yes Figure 12 and 6 Schematic diagram of the structure after the hexagonal conductors are assembled;

[0043] Figure 14 It is a schematic diagram of the combined structure of 3 groups of 22 regular hexagons;

[0044] Figure 15 yes Figure 14 and 3 Schematic diagram of the structure after the hexagonal conductors are assembled;

[0045] Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram of the first structure in which a circular conductor and a hexagonal conductor are combined;

[0046] Figure 17 This is the second schematic diagram of the combination of circular conductors and hexagonal conductors;

[0047] Figure 18This is the third schematic diagram of the combination of circular conductors and hexagonal conductors;

[0048] Figure 19 This is the fourth schematic diagram of the combination of circular conductors and hexagonal conductors;

[0049] Figure 20 It is a schematic diagram of the combined structure of 3 groups of 16 regular hexagons;

[0050] Figure 21 It is a schematic diagram of the combined structure of symmetrically distributed regular hexagons in two groups of 22 and two groups of 13;

[0051] Figure 22 It is a schematic diagram of the combined structure of 3 groups of 25 regular hexagons;

[0052] Figure 23 It is a schematic diagram of a combined structure with a regular hexagon in the center and 6 groups of 10 regular hexagons surrounding it;

[0053] Figure 24 It is a schematic diagram of the combination of pentagonal conductors;

[0054] Figure 25 It is a schematic diagram of the combination of heptagonal conductors;

[0055] Figure 26 It is a schematic diagram of the combination of octagonal conductors. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0056] In order to explain the technical content, achieved objectives and effects of the present invention in detail, the following is an explanation in conjunction with the implementation methods, but it does not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0057] The key processes in conductor production that influence electrical resistance include wire drawing, annealing, stranding, compression, and cabling. Circular stranding, due to the lack of compression, has larger gaps between the strands, resulting in a lower compression coefficient and higher contact resistance. This leads to the use of more conductor material for the same length of cable. However, due to work hardening, compressed conductors also increase conductor material usage for the same length of cable. For shaped stranded conductors, the combined compression process and scrapping of bobbins during production also results in a certain decrease in conductor material utilization.

[0058] To avoid the aforementioned problems in conductor production, the present invention utilizes a single-wire conductor structure with a cross-sectional shape that is nearly a regular hexagon or an axisymmetric hexagon. Preliminary calculations show that this can save approximately 3% of conductor material. On the one hand, this nearly regular hexagonal or axisymmetric hexagonal single-wire conductor is very compact during stranding, with virtually no gaps, and a compression coefficient of over 99%. The single wires are in surface contact, with a very large contact area, resulting in very low contact resistance. On the other hand, since this hexagonal conductor is almost completely tight during stranding, no compression is required, reducing the increase in conductor resistance caused by compression. Thirdly, since the conductor single wires are regular regular hexagons or axisymmetric hexagons of uniform size, compared to shaped wire conductors, the remaining coiled bobbins during production can be processed and reused like round wire single wires, thereby improving the comprehensive utilization rate of conductor materials.

[0059] See also Figure 1-Figure 23 The present invention adopts a combined structure of hexagonal conductors in a cable, and the shape of the hexagonal conductor is a regular hexagon (see Figure 1 ) or an axially symmetrical hexagon (see Figure 2 ), the sides of all hexagonal conductors are equal, the number of hexagonal conductors in the cable is greater than or equal to 2, and adjacent hexagonal conductors share one side.

[0060] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the hexagonal conductor combination structure in the cable is a double-layer structure, including a center layer conductor combination structure and an outer layer hexagonal conductor combination structure wrapped outside the center layer conductor combination structure. Each hexagonal conductor in the outer layer has at most one contact surface with a single hexagonal conductor in the center layer. At the same time, there is also one contact surface between adjacent hexagonal conductors in the outer layer, forming a honeycomb-shaped stacked layout.

[0061] Specifically, when the number of the center layer conductor combination structure is 1, the number of the outer layer hexagonal conductor combination structure is 6; let the number of the center layer conductor combination structure be n, when n is 2, 3, 4, 6, 9 (see Figure 3 、 Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 ), the number of hexagonal conductors in the outer hexagonal conductor combination structure is n+6.

[0062] Various basic combination units (center layer conductor combination structure) see Figure 1-Figure 7 , can be flexibly used in combination according to specific needs, and the quantities listed in the present invention are not intended to limit the scope of protection.

[0063] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the hexagonal conductor combination structure in the cable is a multi-layer structure, including a central layer conductor combination structure and several layers of outer layer hexagonal conductor combination structures wrapped outside the central layer conductor combination structure. The side lengths of all hexagonal conductors are equal, and each hexagonal conductor in the outer layer has at most one contact surface with a single hexagonal conductor in the adjacent layer. At the same time, there is also one contact surface between adjacent hexagonal conductors in the outer layer, forming a honeycomb-shaped stacked layout.

[0064] Specifically, let the number of center layer conductor combination structures be n; let the number of hexagonal conductor layers be a, the number of hexagonal conductor layers is counted from the center layer hexagonal conductor, let the number of the center layer hexagonal conductor layers be 1, and the number of hexagonal conductor layers increases outwards in sequence;

[0065] When the number of the center layer conductor combination structure is 1, the number of the outer layer hexagonal conductor combination structure is 6 (a-1);

[0066] When n is 2, 3, 4, 6, or 9, assuming the number of the central layer conductor combination structure is n, the number of hexagonal conductors in each hexagonal conductor combination structure in the outer layer is n+6(a-1).

[0067] Since the arrangement of hexagonal conductors is similar to that of circular conductors, the most basic organization is Figure 1 Figure 2 As shown, the number of single lines in each layer is exactly the same as that of circular lines.

[0068] Specifically, when the number of the center layer conductor combination structure is 2, the center layer conductor combination structure is symmetrically shaped like a letter "1". Figure 3 , the number of mutually contacting surfaces of the hexagonal conductors in the center layer conductor combination structure is 1;

[0069] When the number of the center layer conductor combination structure is 3, the center layer conductor combination structure is a symmetrical triangle. Figure 4 , the number of mutually contacting surfaces of the hexagonal conductors in the center layer conductor combination structure is 2, and the two mutually contacting surfaces of the hexagonal conductors in the same center layer conductor combination structure are adjacent;

[0070] When the number of the center layer conductor combination structure is 4, the center layer conductor combination structure is symmetrical cross-shaped. Figure 5 , the number of mutually contacting surfaces of the hexagonal conductors in the center layer conductor combination structure is 2, and the two mutually contacting surfaces of the hexagonal conductors in the same center layer conductor combination structure are adjacent;

[0071] When the number of center layer conductor combination structures is 6, there are two types of center layer conductor combination structures; the first type is a symmetrical triangle, where each side of the triangle is composed of three hexagonal conductors, and adjacent sides of the triangle share a hexagonal conductor. Figure 6 ; The second type has a hollow flower-shaped structure, see Figure 1 and Figure 2 The number of mutually contacting surfaces of the hexagonal conductors in the center layer conductor combination structure is 2, and the two contacting surfaces of the hexagonal conductors in the same center layer conductor combination structure are separated by one surface;

[0072] When the number of the center layer conductor combination structure is 9, the structure is as follows: Figure 7 The center layer conductor combination structure is a symmetrical triangle, each side of the triangle is composed of four hexagonal conductors, and adjacent sides in the triangle share a hexagonal conductor.

[0073] Specifically, the central layer conductor combination structure is a basic combination unit and can be reassembled. The splicing methods include the same number of central layer conductor combination structures and different number of central layer conductor combination structures. The structure after splicing is shown in FIG. Figures 8-13 Various basic combination units (center layer conductor combination structure) see Figure 1-Figure 7 , can be used flexibly according to specific needs.

[0074] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the same number of center layer conductor combination structures: when the number of center layer conductor combination structures is 6, in the case of forming a hollow flower-shaped center layer conductor combination structure, 7 such hollow flower-shaped center layer conductor combination structures are spliced together to form a hollow flower-shaped structure with one located in the center and the remaining 6 arranged around the center. Figure 8 、 Figure 9 , Figure 10 Therefore Figure 8 Based on the 1.5mm diameter hexagonal conductor, 6 single hexagonal conductors are added to improve the roundness;

[0075] Different numbers of center layer conductor combination structures: the center layer conductor combination structure with 6 center layer conductor combination structures forming a hollow flower-shaped center layer conductor combination structure and the center layer conductor combination structure with 4 center layer conductor combination structures forming a symmetrical cross-shaped center layer conductor combination structure are spliced together to form a symmetrical cross-shaped center layer conductor combination structure with 1 hollow flower-shaped structure in the center and 6 hollow flower-shaped structures arranged around the center. For the structure, see Figure 11 .

[0076] In order to meet different customer needs and improve production efficiency, various combinations can be made based on the basic models that have been produced to meet different characteristics. For details, see Figures 8-11 .like Figure 8 , that is, 6 conductors in groups of 4 are twisted outside the 7 twisted conductors to form a larger conductor. The hollow part of the hollow flower structure here can also be filled with conductors, or placed with coolant and other related operations.

[0077] Since the hexagonal structure is very stable, the present invention can also increase the thermal conductivity of the conductor by setting a hollow flower-shaped structure (the hollow part of the hollow flower-shaped structure can also be left unused, leaving space without affecting the structural stability of the overall conductor), which can be applied in some special scenarios. For example, in some scenarios with higher current carrying capacity requirements, the thermal resistance can be reduced by filling with materials with better thermal conductivity (leaving space for heat dissipation through air), thereby increasing the current carrying capacity of the cable. Figures 8-11 In addition, for high-voltage, ultra-high-voltage, and ultra-high-voltage cables produced by cross-linking, the vacant channels can be used to directly blow in heated gas, thereby improving degassing efficiency and saving the construction of additional degassing equipment.

[0078] Specifically, the edges of the hexagonal conductors are chamfered. Considering that perfectly regular hexagonal corners are more likely to damage the surfaces of other conductors during production, the present invention adopts a design with chamfered edges. If the conductor surface strength is not affected, or if there is a special need, a regular hexagonal shape can also be used. The choice is based on the needs.

[0079] Specifically, the cable also includes round conductors. Round conductors of the same diameter can replace the hexagonal conductors in the structure. Figure 16-Figure 19 .

[0080] The conductor of the present invention can also be mixed with a round conductor. Figure 16-19 ; Figure 16 The center of the middle structure is a circle, the second layer is the hexagonal conductor splicing structure of the present invention, and the third layer is a circular conductor.

[0081] The roundness of the conductors in this invention is slightly different from that of round and shaped wires. This roundness has a certain impact on insulation and electric field uniformity, and has a certain impact on the production of outer insulation and sheathing. However, this can be improved by adding individual hexagonal conductors to increase roundness, or by rotating and compacting the conductors during stranding.

[0082] During stranding, the conductors are subjected to rotational compression, causing partial tangential deformation of their outer shape, resulting in a compression coefficient approaching 100%. Although compression increases conductor resistance, due to the stability of the regular hexagonal structure, the center conductor remains unchanged, while only the outer conductors experience slight tangential deformation, which has a very limited impact on the conductor resistance. Furthermore, compression further reduces the contact resistance between the outermost conductors, further contributing to a reduction in resistance. Overall, the impact of compression on conductor resistance is minimal.

[0083] See also Figure 12-13 , Figure 12 To adopt Figure 1 and Figure 4 It is composed of regular hexagonal structures with the same combination method. Figure 13 exist Figure 12 Six individual hexagonal conductors are added to the conductor in the circuit, and the overall roundness of the conductor is significantly improved.

[0084] See also Figure 14-15 , Figure 14 It is a combination of 3 groups of 22 regular hexagons; Figure 15 exist Figure 14 In the conductor combination structure, three single hexagonal conductors are added, and the roundness of the entire conductor is significantly improved.

[0085] See also Figure 8 、 Figure 10 When the number of center layer conductor combination structures is 6, in the case of forming a hollow flower-shaped center layer conductor combination structure, 7 such hollow flower-shaped center layer conductor combination structures are spliced together to form a hollow flower-shaped structure with 1 located in the center and the remaining 6 arranged around the center. The structure is shown in FIG. Figure 8 , Figure 10 Therefore Figure 8 Based on the 1.5mm diameter 1.5mm, 6 single hexagonal conductors are added to improve the roundness.

[0086] In addition, if you want to further improve the roundness of the conductor appearance, you can use round wire to twist the outermost layer of the conductor, such as Figure 19 If the outermost layer is twisted with round wires, the outermost layer of the conductor is exactly the same as that of the round twisted conductor.

[0087] The combination structure of the present invention is not limited to the above mentioned, there are many other ways of splicing, such as the combination structure of 3 groups of 16 regular hexagons (see Figure 20 ), 3 groups of 25 regular hexagonal structures (see Figure 22 ); 2 groups of 22 and 2 groups of 13 symmetrically distributed regular hexagonal structures (see Figure 21 ), a regular hexagon in the center, surrounded by 6 groups of 10 regular hexagons (see Figure 23 ).

[0088] Because the present invention utilizes a nearly regular hexagonal conductor, the compression process can be eliminated during production, fundamentally reducing the increase in conductor resistance. This, in turn, allows for greater savings in conductor raw material when producing cables of the same length. Calculated savings are approximately 1-6% compared to previous compressed conductors (depending on requirements such as conductor cross-section and insulation grade). This represents a significant savings for the cable industry, where conductor costs account for approximately 90% of cable costs. This translates to a 0.9-4.5% increase in gross or net profit margins.

[0089] At the same time, a comparison is also made regarding the structural selection, including pentagonal, heptagonal, and octagonal stranded conductor cross-sections. The single wires of the pentagonal conductor can be in surface contact, but the gaps between the wires are larger than those of the round wire. See Figure 24 Some of the single wires of the heptagonal conductor are in line contact, which is unstable and the gaps between the wires are relatively large. Figure 25 Although the single wires of the octagonal conductor can also be in surface contact, the contact surface is narrow and the gap between the wires is relatively large. Figure 26 So from the perspective of regular shape, the hexagonal conductor single wire has the largest contact area. The round wire only has point contact, while the hexagonal conductor single wire can achieve surface contact. At the same time, compared with existing products, it has the highest compression coefficient and the most stable structure.

[0090] The present invention has the following advantages over the prior art:

[0091] 1) Due to the nearly regular hexagonal and axisymmetric hexagonal structure, no special pressing process is required, and the pressing coefficient can reach over 99%, significantly reducing the use of conductor raw materials and eliminating the pressing step that is essential in traditional production processes. This reduces the number of processes while improving efficiency, saving costs, and enhancing the company's cost competitiveness.

[0092] 2) The remaining bobbin thread in production has the same shape and specifications, so it can be treated in the same way as round wire conductors and can be retained and used. Shaped wire conductors generally need to be scrapped due to their diverse specifications and versatility. Therefore, the invention improves the comprehensive utilization rate of conductor materials;

[0093] 3) Only one size of single wire can be used in the same cable, with fewer types of bobbin wires, thus reducing production costs;

[0094] 4) The conductor twisting method is flexible and diverse, and it can also be mixed with round conductor single wires in various ways;

[0095] 5) The conductors of the present invention are symmetrical in shape, making and adjusting the wire drawing die very simple. In the conductor drawing production, the conductor resistance consistency can be simply controlled by the conductor's external dimensions, thereby improving the quality of the production process and increasing production efficiency.

[0096] 6) Due to the stability of the hexagonal structure, some space can be left when twisting the conductors for special applications, such as filling with materials with better thermal conductivity (leaving space for heat dissipation through air can also reduce thermal resistance and thus increase the current carrying capacity of the cable;

[0097] 7) For large outer diameter cables such as high-voltage, ultra-high-voltage, and ultra-high-voltage cables, the degassing process after cross-linking production is often time-consuming and energy-intensive. The present invention can accelerate the degassing effect and process by leaving appropriate spaces and blowing hot gas directly into the channels of the spaces, thereby saving production costs and improving production efficiency. At the same time, due to the improved efficiency, the construction of additional degassing equipment can be avoided.

[0098] 8) Compared with the shaped wire conductor, the conductor used in the present invention has a very dense structure between the conductors, and a single wire is unlikely to turn over, thereby improving production efficiency and reducing the generation of defective products.

[0099] The above embodiments merely illustrate several implementations of the present invention, and while the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the patent. It should be noted that a person skilled in the art would be able to make various modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit of the present invention, all of which fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the patent for this invention shall be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A combined structure of hexagonal conductors in a cable, characterized in that: The cross-sectional shape of the hexagonal conductor is a regular hexagon or an axisymmetric hexagon, the side lengths of the cross-sectional areas of all hexagonal conductors are equal, the number of the hexagonal conductors in the cable is greater than or equal to 2, and adjacent hexagonal conductors share one side.

2. The combined structure of hexagonal conductors in a cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hexagonal conductor combination structure in the cable is a double-layer structure, including a central layer conductor combination structure and an outer layer hexagonal conductor combination structure wrapped around the central layer conductor combination structure. Each hexagonal conductor in the outer layer has at most one contact surface with a single hexagonal conductor in the central layer. At the same time, there is also one contact surface between adjacent hexagonal conductors in the outer layer, forming a honeycomb-shaped stacked layout.

3. The combined structure of hexagonal conductors in a cable according to claim 2, characterized in that: When the number of the central layer conductor combination structure is 1, the number of the outer layer hexagonal conductor combination structure is 6; assuming the number of the central layer conductor combination structure is n, when n is 2, 3, 4, 6, or 9, the number of hexagonal conductors in the outer layer hexagonal conductor combination structure is n+6.

4. The combined structure of hexagonal conductors in a cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hexagonal conductor combination structure in the cable is a multi-layer structure, including a central layer conductor combination structure and several layers of outer layer hexagonal conductor combination structures wrapped around the central layer conductor combination structure. Each hexagonal conductor in the outer layer has at most one contact surface with a single hexagonal conductor in the adjacent layer. At the same time, there is also one contact surface between adjacent hexagonal conductors in the outer layer, forming a honeycomb-shaped stacked layout.

5. The combined structure of hexagonal conductors in a cable according to claim 4, characterized in that: Let n be the number of the center layer conductor combination structure; let a be the number of hexagonal conductor layers, the number of hexagonal conductor layers starting from the center layer hexagonal conductor, let 1 be the number of the center layer hexagonal conductor layers, and the number of hexagonal conductor layers increases outwards in sequence; When the number of the central layer conductor combination structure is 1, the number of the outer layer hexagonal conductor combination structure is 6 (a-1); When n is 2, 3, 4, 6, or 9, assuming that the number of the central layer conductor combination structure is n, the number of hexagonal conductors in each hexagonal conductor combination structure in the outer layer is n+6(a-1).

6. The combined structure of hexagonal conductors in a cable according to claim 3 or 5, characterized in that: When the number of the central layer conductor combination structures is 2, the central layer conductor combination structure is symmetrically shaped like a letter "1", and the number of adjacent surfaces between the hexagonal conductors in the central layer conductor combination structure is 1; When the number of the central layer conductor combination structures is 3, the central layer conductor combination structures are symmetrical triangles, the number of mutually contacting surfaces between the hexagonal conductors in the central layer conductor combination structures is 2, and two contacting surfaces of the hexagonal conductors in the same central layer conductor combination structure are adjacent; When the number of the central layer conductor combination structures is 4, the central layer conductor combination structures are symmetrical cross-shaped, the number of mutually contacting surfaces between the hexagonal conductors in the central layer conductor combination structures is 2, and two contacting surfaces of the hexagonal conductors in the same central layer conductor combination structure are adjacent; When the number of the central layer conductor combination structures is 6, there are two types of central layer conductor combination structures: the first type is a symmetrical triangle, in which each side of the triangle is composed of three hexagonal conductors, and adjacent sides of the triangle share a hexagonal conductor; the second type is a hollow flower-shaped structure, in which the number of mutually contacting surfaces of the hexagonal conductors in the central layer conductor combination structure is 2, and the two contacting surfaces of the hexagonal conductors in the same central layer conductor combination structure are separated by one surface; When the number of the central layer conductor combination structure is 9, the central layer conductor combination structure is a symmetrical triangle, each side of the triangle is composed of four hexagonal conductors, and adjacent sides of the triangle share one hexagonal conductor.

7. The combined structure of hexagonal conductors in a cable according to claim 6, characterized in that: The central layer conductor combination structure is a basic combination unit and can be reassembled. The splicing method includes the splicing between central layer conductor combination structures with the same number and the splicing between central layer conductor combination structures with different numbers.

8. The combined structure of hexagonal conductors in a cable according to claim 7, characterized in that: The same number of center layer conductor combination structures: When the number of the center layer conductor combination structures is 6, in the case of forming a hollow flower-shaped center layer conductor combination structure, 7 such hollow flower-shaped center layer conductor combination structures are spliced together to form a hollow flower-shaped structure with 1 located in the center and the remaining 6 arranged around the center. Different numbers of center layer conductor combination structures: the number of the center layer conductor combination structures is 6 and forms a hollow flower-shaped center layer conductor combination structure, and the number of the center layer conductor combination structures is 4, and the combination structure is a symmetrical cross-shaped center layer conductor combination structure, which is spliced to form a symmetrical cross-shaped center layer conductor combination structure with 1 hollow flower-shaped structure located in the center and 6 hollow flower-shaped structures arranged around the center.

9. The combined structure of hexagonal conductors in a cable according to claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 7 or 8, characterized in that: The edges of the hexagonal conductor are rounded.

10. The combined structure of hexagonal conductors in a cable according to claim 9, characterized in that: The cable also includes round conductors, which of the same diameter can replace the hexagonal conductors in the structure.

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