2001 Volume 42 Issue 1 Pages 16-20
We manufactured a prototype long-life PHC messenger wire with high-strength and high-conductivity Cr-Zr Precipitation-Hardened Copper alloys to reduce the maintenance costs of overhead catenary system. We are now testing it for corrosion-resistance and durability in a tunnel subjected to water leakage and a section suffering from salt damage between Tsukumi and Azamui on the Nippo line, JR Kyushu. In a spot observation after it was used for seven years, we found that it had no significant corrosion.