I don't even know what a 3 x 5 is in AWG. Neither #3 nor #5 is a standard building cable size. It may be a special 3 conductor #5 AWG cable or assembly. Or maybe not. Can you give us any more information? Where do you see this number? What industry is this for?
Bill
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"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter
Note that the #1/0 equivalent is approximate. #1/0 is 53.49 mm².
Also note that copperweld is mostly steel and doesn't have near the conductivity of copper.
It is also a little absurd that our client standards specified this size for grounding grid, structural, power transformer, cable tray grounding conductor. Normally we use around 4/0 AWG.
The power system is low resistance on the primary and secondary distribution and HRG on the LV...is this the reason hwy they may have specified this smaller size? Comments everyone?
To make it more interesting, the associated earth-return path or equipment bonding conductors are bigger size.
If the copperweld is adequate for the maximum fault current, then it is OK. Usually, #4/0 copper is not needed for current, but is used for durability. Copperweld is pretty durable and has the advantage of not being worth stealing. I've seen it used for ground grids, but it would be a pain in the a** to use for general ground connections because it is so stiff.
