IEC 63190:2023

IEC 63190
®

Edition 1.0 2023-08
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE


Railway applications – Fixed installations – Electric traction – Copper and
copper alloy catenary wires for overhead contact line systems

Applications ferroviaires – Installations fixes – Traction électrique – Câbles
porteurs longitudinaux en cuivre et en alliage de cuivre destinés aux réseaux de
lignes aériennes de contact

IEC 63190:2023-08(en-fr)

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IEC 63190

®


Edition 1.0 2023-08




INTERNATIONAL



STANDARD




NORME



INTERNATIONALE











Railway applications – Fixed installations – Electric traction – Copper and

copper alloy catenary wires for overhead contact line systems




Applications ferroviaires – Installations fixes – Traction électrique – Câbles

porteurs longitudinaux en cuivre et en alliage de cuivre destinés aux réseaux de

lignes aériennes de contact















INTERNATIONAL

ELECTROTECHNICAL

COMMISSION


COMMISSION

ELECTROTECHNIQUE


INTERNATIONALE





ICS 45.060.01  ISBN 978-2-8322-7370-8




Warning! Make sure that you obtained this publication from an authorized distributor.

Attention! Veuillez vous assurer que vous avez obtenu cette publication via un distributeur agréé.

® Registered trademark of the International Electrotechnical Commission
Marque déposée de la Commission Electrotechnique Internationale

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– 2 – IEC 63190:2023 © IEC 2023
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 4
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms and definitions . 6
4 Designation system . 8
4.1 Material designation . 8
4.2 Catenary wire designation system . 8
5 Characteristics of catenary wires . 9
5.1 Appearance and condition . 9
5.2 Configuration, type, cross-sectional area and catenary wire sizes . 9
5.2.1 General . 9
5.2.2 Calculations for alternative wire types and sizes . 14
5.3 Individual wire joint requirements . 15
5.4 Individual wire requirements . 15
5.5 Other catenary wire constructions . 16
6 Testing . 16
6.1 General . 16
6.2 Individual wire diameter . 17
6.3 Tensile strength and elongation . 17
6.4 DC electrical resistivity . 17
6.5 Reverse bend test . 18
6.6 Winding test . 18
6.7 Appearance, stranding quality, and structure . 18
6.8 Unit mass. 18
6.9 Lay ratio and direction . 18
6.10 Catenary wire diameter . 18
6.11 Catenary wire breaking load. 18
6.12 DC resistance . 19
6.13 Heat resistance test . 19
6.14 Verification of compliance . 19
7 Packaging and marking . 19
7.1 Packaging and handling . 19
7.2 Tolerance of catenary wire length . 20
7.3 Catenary wire drum markings . 20
Annex A (normative) Information to be supplied by purchaser . 21
Annex B (informative) Examples for possible constructions and chemical compositions . 22
Annex C (normative) Calculated breaking load . 25
Annex D (normative) Definition of unit mass and electrical resistance for various types
of catenary wires with different lay ratios . 26
D.1 Definition of stranding factor . 26
D.2 Definition of unit mass . 26
D.3 Definition of electrical resistance . 26
Annex E (informative) Special national conditions . 28
E.1 General . 28
E.2 Russian Federation, Belarus . 28
E.2.1 General . 28

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IEC 63190:2023 © IEC 2023 – 3 –
E.2.2 Relative creep test . 30
E.2.3 Vibration test . 31
E.3 China . 31
E.3.1 Vibration and fatigue test . 31
E.3.2 Indoors current-carrying capacity test . 32
E.4 Australia and New Zealand . 33
E.4.1 Joint requirements . 33
E.4.2 Verification of compliance . 33
E.4.3 Additional tests . 33
Bibliography . 34

Figure 1 – Direction of lay . 8
Figure E.1 – Connecting clamps . 31
Figure E.2 – Example of vibration and fatigue test rig arrangement . 32

Table 1 – Example wire designations . 9
Table 2 – Individual wire mechanical characteristics . 11
Table 3 – Individual wire electrical resistivity characteristics . 12
Table 4 – Individual wire electrical conductivity characteristics . 12
Table 5 – Reference constructions . 13
Table 6 – Lay ratio . 16
Table 7 – Types of testing . 17
Table B.1 – Examples for possible chemical compositions . 23
Table B.2 – Examples of common conductor constructions . 24
Table E.1 – Example compacted catenary wires . 29
Table E.2 – Compacted catenary wire construction . 30

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– 4 – IEC 63190:2023 © IEC 2023
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________

RAILWAY APPLICATIONS – FIXED INSTALLATIONS –
ELECTRIC TRACTION – COPPER AND COPPER ALLOY
CATENARY WIRES FOR OVERHEAD CONTACT LINE SYSTEMS

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote international
co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To this end and
in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications, Technical Reports,
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Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by agreement between the two organizations.
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8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
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shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
IEC 63190 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 9: Electrical equipment and systems
for railways. It is an International Standard.
The text of this International Standard is based on the following documents:
Draft Report on voting
9/2973/FDIS 9/2994/RVD

Full information on the voting for its approval can be found in the report on voting indicated in
the above table.
The language used for the development of this International Standard is English.

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IEC 63190:2023 © IEC 2023 – 5 –
This document was drafted in accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, and developed in
accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1 and ISO/IEC Directives, IEC Supplement, available
at www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs. The main document types developed by IEC are
described in greater detail at www.iec.ch/standardsdev/publications.
The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
stability date indicated on the IEC website under webstore.iec.ch in the data related to the
specific document. At this date, the document will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.

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– 6 – IEC 63190:2023 © IEC 2023
RAILWAY APPLICATIONS – FIXED INSTALLATIONS –
ELECTRIC TRACTION – COPPER AND COPPER ALLOY
CATENARY WIRES FOR OVERHEAD CONTACT LINE SYSTEMS



1 Scope
This document specifies the characteristics of copper and copper alloy catenary wires for use
on overhead contact lines.
This document also covers auxiliary catenary wires. It establishes the product characteristics,
the test methods, checking procedures to be used with the catenary wires, together with packing,
ordering and delivery conditions.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies.
For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any
amendments) applies.
IEC 60468, Method of measurement of resistivity of metallic materials
ISO 6892-1, Metallic materials – Tensile testing – Part 1: Method of test at room temperature
ISO 7801, Metallic materials – Wire – Reverse bend test
ISO 7802, Metallic materials – Wire – Wrapping test
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following
addresses:
• IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
• ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp
3.1
stranded conductor
conductor consisting of a number of individual uninsulated wires laid up together in left- and
right-hand alternating helical layers
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-466:1990, 466-10-03]

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IEC 63190:2023 © IEC 2023 – 7 –
3.2
catenary wire
messenger wire
longitudinal stranded conductor supporting the contact wire or wires either directly or indirectly
Note 1 to entry: The term "catenary wires" used in this document includes auxiliary catenary wires.
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-811:2017, 811-33-06, modified – In the definition, "cable" has been
replaced with "stranded conductor". Note 1 to entry has been added.]
3.3
individual wire
one of the wires of a catenary wire
3.4
compacted catenary wire
catenary wire in which the interstices between the individual wires have been reduced by
mechanical compression, or by drawing, or by suitable choice of the shape and disposition of
individual wires
3.5
length of lay
axial length of one complete turn of the helix of a wire in a stranded conductor
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-466:1990, 466-10-05]
3.6
lay ratio
ratio of the length of lay to the outer diameter of the helix
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-466:1990, 466-10-06, modified – In the definition, "outer" has been
added.]
3.7
measured wire diameter
diameter, determined from measurements
3.8
calculated cross-sectional area
sum of the cross-sectional areas of individual wires
3.9
nominal cross-sectional area
value used for designation purposes based on the calculated cross-sectional area rounded to
2
the nearest multiple of 5 mm
Note 1 to entry: Regional exceptions exist.
3.10
direction of lay
direction of twist of a layer of wires of a stranded conductor as viewed from the end
Note 1 to entry: The lay is said to be right-hand when the visible portion of the helix, together with the two cross-
sections limiting it, form the shape of a letter Z, and left-hand when they form the shape of a letter S, see Figure 1.

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– 8 – IEC 63190:2023 © IEC 2023

Figure 1 – Direction of lay
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-466:1990, 466-10-07, modified – Note 1 to entry from
IEC 60050-461:2008, 461-04-03 and Figure 1 have been added.]
3.11
stranding factor
relative increased ratio in unit mass and electrical resistance due to stranding, dependent on
the lay ratio
3.12
fill factor
ratio of the unit mass of the catenary wire to the unit mass of a rod made of the same length,
diameter and material
4 Designation system
4.1 Material designation
The catenary wires, as described in this document, shall consist of a copper or copper alloy.
The user shall specify explicitly the alloying material(s) to be used in the construction. Chemical
composition, mechanical characteristics, conductivity class and % IACS shall be agreed
between purchaser and supplier. Mechanical characteristics are designated C0 to C7, where
C0 represents pure copper and C1 to C7 are designations given to represent characteristics of
materials, which can be achieved with commonly used copper alloys worldwide. They have
been grouped in Table 2 with increasing tensile strength so that shared mechanical
characteristics are common within each category. Examples for some possible chemical
compositions and some common conductor constructions of the copper and copper alloy
catenary wire are presented in Annex B.
4.2 Catenary wire designation system
The catenary wire designation shall consist of:
– "Catenary wire" (as shown in the examples in Table 1, but not in Annex B or Annex E);
– reference of this document;
– nominal cross-sectional area;
– number of individual wires;
– individual wire diameter;
– conductivity class and % IACS conductivity (as per Table 3 and Table 4);
– mechanical characteristics (C0 to C7 as per Table 2);
– alloying elements.
The formatting of this combined designation system is shown in Table 1.

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IEC 63190:2023 © IEC 2023 – 9 –
Table 1 – Example wire designations
Catenary Wire IEC 63190-60-19x2,00-S96-C1 CuAg
IEC 63190 - 60 - 19 x 2,00 - S96 - C1 CuAg
Catenary Wire IEC 63190-180-37x2,50-H59-С6 CuMg
IEC 63190 - 180 - 37 x 2,50 - H59 - C6 CuMg

Further alloy compositions and example catenary wires are listed in Annex B.
5 Characteristics of catenary wires
5.1 Appearance and condition
The catenary wires shall not present any imperfections (roughness, sliver, seam, inclusion or
cracks) liable to affect the mechanical and electrical properties specified in this document or to
cause difficulties during installation and operation.
The surface shall be clean and free of oxide inclusions or sulphide generated during the
manufacturing process or foreign substances such as pickling residue. Slight changes in the
colour of the bright metallic surface due to atmospheric influence immediately after
manufacturing are acceptable.
The catenary wire shall not have any crossings, protrusions, breaks, burrs, scratches,
indentations, dents or cracks in accordance with good technical practice.
The catenary wire shall be coiled carefully in orderly layers on the drum. The two ends of the
wire shall be fastened to the flanges of the drum. There shall be no twist or cross-over of turns
within a layer or between layers in the winding.
5.2 Configuration, type, cross-sectional area and catenary wire sizes
5.2.1 General
The catenary wires are composed of a number of individual wires laid up together. Mechanical
characteristics of typical individual wires are shown in Table 2, and electrical characteristics
are shown in Table 3 and Table 4.
Table 5 details reference round wire concentric lay catenary wires. There are four different
constructions with 7, 19, 37 and 61 individual wires. Each conductor is composed of a central
individual wire surrounded by one or more adjacent layers of wires that are laid helically in
opposite directions.
The measured wire diameter of the catenary wire shall not vary by more than:
• ±1 % for diameters larger than or equal to 10 mm;
• ±0,1 mm for diameters smaller than 10 mm.
Document
reference

Nominal
cross-sectional
area

Number of
individual wires

Individual wire
diameter

Conductivity
class and
% IACS

Mechanical
characteristics

Alloying
elements

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– 10 – IEC 63190:2023 © IEC 2023
Other designs can be allowed by agreement between purchaser and supplier, in accordance
with 5.5.

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IEC 63190:2023 © IEC 2023 – 11 –

Table 2 – Individual wire mechanical characteristics
Minimum tensile strength (MPa) before stranding and after stranding, and reduction coefficient
Diameter Material
mm C0 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7
Before After Before After Before After Before After Before After Before After Before After Before After

up to 1 430 409 430 409 490 466 520 494 620 589 736 714

>1,00 to 1,25 430 409 430 409 490 466 520 494 620 589 736 714

>1,25 to 1,50 430 409 430 409 490 466 520 494 620 589 718 696

>1,50 to 1,75 430 409 430 409 490 466 520 494 620 589 697 679 718 696
>1,75 to 2,00 430 409 430 409 490 466 520 494 620 589 660 640 697 676 776 760
>2,00 to 2,25 430 409 430 409 490 466 520 494 620 589 639 620 686 665 776 760
>2,25 to 2,50 430 409 430 409 490 466 520 494 620 589 622 603 652 641 750 735
>2,50 to 2,75 430 409 430 409 490 466 520 494 620 589 622 603 638 617 750 735

>2,75 to 3,00 430 409 430 409 490 466 520 494 620 589

>3,00 to 3,25 424 402 424 402 485 460 520 494 620 589

>3,25 to 3,50 424 402 424 402 485 460 500 475 600 570

>3,50 to 3,75 418 397 418 397 479 455 500 475 600 570

>3,75 to 4,00 418 397 418 397 479 455 500 475 600 570

>4,00 to 4,25 413 392 413 392 474 450 500 475 600 570
Reduction
95 % 95 % 95 % 95 % 95 % 97 % 97 % 98 %
coefficient
Heat
No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
a
resistance
a
 The heat resistance indicates whether the alloy resists changes in its physical properties when subjected to changes in temperature and if requested by purchaser shall comply
with the test procedure in 6.13.

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