Zinc and Zinc Alloys as Cable Sheathing

A method of manufacturing a power cable (1) comprising the steps of:

• providing a cable core (2) comprising an electrical conductor (3) and an electrically insulating layer (4) arranged radially outside of the electrical conductor (3), and
• arranging a water barrier sheath (5) comprising a metal layer radially around the cable core (2), wherein the metal layer comprises a metal alloy comprising zinc, or a zinc alloy, and
• wherein the step of arranging the water barrier sheath (5) includes extruding the metal layer or application of a longitudinally welded sheath, characterized in that
• the zinc alloy comprises, based on the total weight of the metal alloy, one of the following:
• 95 wt. % to 99.9 wt. % zinc and 5 wt. % to 0.1 wt. % magnesium;
• or
• 90 wt. % to 99.5 wt. % zinc and 10 wt. % to 0.5 wt. % copper;
• or
• 87 wt. % to 91.5 wt. % zinc, 8 wt. % to 12 wt. % aluminium, and 0.5 to 1.5 wt. % copper;
• or
• 78 wt. % to 92 wt. % zinc, 8 wt. % to 22 wt. % nickel, and
• the metal alloy comprising zinc comprises, based on the total weight of the metal alloy, one of the following:
• 90 wt. % to 94 wt. % aluminium, 2 wt. % to 7 wt. % zinc, and 0.1 wt. % to 4 wt. % magnesium;
• or
• 82 wt. % to 92 wt. % aluminium, 6 wt. % to 15 wt. % zinc, and 0.5 wt. % to 6 wt. % magnesium;
• or
• 90 wt. % to 94 wt. % aluminium, 2 wt. % to 7 wt. % zinc, 1 wt. % to 4 wt. % magnesium, and 1 wt. % to 2 wt. % copper.