NOTICE:¬This¬standard¬has¬either¬been¬superseded¬and¬replaced¬by¬a¬new¬version¬or

discontinued.¬Contact¬ASTM¬International¬(www.astm.org)¬for¬the¬latest¬information.¬
Designation: B 606 – 98
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS
100 Barr Harbor Dr., West Conshohocken, PA 19428
Reprinted from the Annual Book of ASTM Standards. Copyright ASTM

Standard Specification for

High-Strength Zinc-Coated (Galvanized) Steel Core Wire for
Aluminum and Aluminum-Alloy Conductors, Steel
Reinforced1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation B 606; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

1. Scope 4. Ordering Information

1.1 This specification covers round, high-strength, zinc- 4.1 Orders for material under this specification shall include
coated (galvanized), steel core wire with Class A zinc coating the following information:
used for mechanical reinforcement in the manufacture of 4.1.1 Quantity of each size,
special aluminum and aluminum-alloy conductors, steel rein- 4.1.2 Wire diameter in inches (Section 13),
forced. 4.1.3 Certification, if required (Section 18),
1.2 This specification covers wire of diameter from 0.0500 4.1.4 Test report, if required (Section 18), and
to 0.1900 in. inclusive. 4.1.5 Package size (Section 19).
1.3 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded
as the standard, with the exception of resistivity. The values 5. Materials and Manufacture
given in parentheses are for information only. 5.1 The base metal shall be steel produced by the open-
hearth, electric-furnace, or basic-oxygen process.
2. Referenced Documents 5.2 The wire shall be cold drawn and coated with zinc to
2.1 The following documents of the issue in effect on date produce the desired properties.
of material purchase form a part of this specification to the 5.3 The slab zinc used for coating shall be high grade or
extent referenced herein. better, conforming to Specification B 6.
2.2 ASTM Standards:
A 90/A90M Test Method for Weight [Mass] of Coating on 6. Chemical Composition
Iron and Steel Articles with Zinc or Zinc-Alloy Coatings2 6.1 The steel shall conform to the requirements prescribed
A 370 Test Methods and Definitions for Mechanical Testing in Table 1.
of Steel Products3
A 751 Test Methods, Practices, and Terminology for TABLE 1 Chemical Requirements
Chemical Analysis of Steel Products3 Element Composition,%
B 6 Specification for Zinc4 Carbon 0.50 to 0.88
B 193 Test Method for Resistivity of Electrical Conductor Manganese 0.50 to 1.30
Phosphorus, max 0.035
Materials5 Sulfur, max 0.045
Silicon 0.10 to 0.35
3. Terminology
3.1 Definitions: 6.2 Chemical analysis shall be conducted in accordance
3.1.1 lot—unless otherwise specified in the contract or with Test Methods A 751.
order, a lot shall consist of all coils of wire of the same 7. Tensile Test
diameter and unit lengths submitted for inspection at the same
time. 7.1 The zinc-coated steel core wire shall conform to the
tensile and elongation requirements prescribed in Table 2.
7.2 Tensile tests shall be conducted in accordance with Test
1
This specification is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee B-1 on Methods A 370, using the initial settings for determining stress
Electrical Conductors and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee B01.05 on at 1 % extension given in Table 3 of this specification.
Conductors of Ferrous Metals. 7.3 Test Specimens— The test specimens shall be free of
Current edition approved Sept. 10, 1998. Published November 1998. Originally
published as B 606 – 75. Last previous edition B 606 – 93.
bends or kinks other than the curvature resulting from the usual
2
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 01.06. coiling operations. Any hand straightening necessary to permit
3
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 01.03. insertion of the specimen in the jaws of the testing machine
4
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 02.04. shall be performed by drawing between wood blocks or by
5
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 02.03.

1
 NOTICE:¬This¬standard¬has¬either¬been¬superseded¬and¬replaced¬by¬a¬new¬version¬or
discontinued.¬Contact¬ASTM¬International¬(www.astm.org)¬for¬the¬latest¬information.¬
B 606
TABLE 2 Tensile Requirements
Specified Diameter Stress at 1 % Extension, min Ultimate Tensile Strength, min Elongation in 10 in. or
250 mm, min%
in. mm ksi MPa ksi MPa
0.0500 to 0.0899, incl 1.270 to 2.283, incl 210 1450 235 1620 3.0
0.0900 to 0.1199, incl 2.286 to 3.045, incl 205 1410 230 1590 3.0
0.1200 to 0.1399, incl 3.048 to 3.553, incl 200 1380 225 1550 3.5
0.1400 to 0.1900, incl 3.556 to 4.823, incl 195 1340 220 1520 3.5

TABLE 3 Initial Settings for Determining Stress at 1 % Extension

Specified Diameter Initial Stress Initial Setting of Extensometer
in. mm ksi MPa in./in. or mm/mm
0.0500 to 0.0899, incl 1.270 to 2.283, incl 14 97 0.0005 (0.05 % extension)
0.0900 to 0.1199, incl 2.286 to 3.045, incl 28 193 0.0010 (0.10 % extension)
0.1200 to 0.1900, incl 3.048 to 4.832, incl 42 290 0.0015 (0.15 % extension)

some other equally satisfactory means. NOTE 1—Loosening or detachment during the adhesion test of super-
ficial, small particles of zinc formed by mechanical polishing of the
8. Wrap Test surface of the zinc-coated wire shall not be considered cause for rejection.
8.1 The material, as represented by the test specimens, shall 11. Joints
not fracture when the galvanized wire is wrapped at a rate not
11.1 No joints shall be made in the finished wire.
exceeding 15 turns/min in a close helix of at least eight turns
11.2 Joints may be made at any stage of processing prior to
around a cylindrical mandrel with a diameter equal to three
final cold drawing, by the electric butt-weld or flash-welding
times the specified diameter of the wire under test, 6 5 %.
process.
9. Coating Test 11.3 Welding equipment and procedure shall be such that it
can be demonstrated that the ultimate tensile strength of a
9.1 The zinc-coated wire shall conform to the coating finished wire specimen containing the welded section shall be
requirements prescribed in Table 4. not less than 96 % of the specified minimum stress at 1 %
extension.
TABLE 4 Zinc Coating
11.4 A welded section shall not be required to meet the
Area Density of Zinc stress at 1 % extension, and wrap tests.
Specified Diameter of Coated Wire Coating, min of Uncoated
Wire Surface
12. Density and Resistivity
in. mm oz/ft2 g/m2
12.1 For the purpose of calculating mass per unit length,
0.0500 to 0.0599 incl 1.270 to 1.521 incl 0.60 183
0.0600 to 0.0749 incl 1.524 to 1.902 incl 0.65 198
cross sections, and so forth, the density of galvanized steel wire
0.0750 to 0.0899 incl 1.905 to 2.283 incl 0.70 214 at 20°C shall be taken as 0.281 lb/in.3 (7.78 g/cm3).
0.0900 to 0.1039 incl 2.286 to 2.639 incl 0.75 229 12.2 A maximum resistivity of galvanized steel wire is not
0.1040 to 0.1199 incl 2.642 to 3.045 incl 0.80 244
0.1200 to 0.1399 incl 3.048 to 3.553 incl 0.85 259
guaranteed but a typical value of 0.19157 V·mm2/m may be
0.1400 to 0.1799 incl 3.556 to 4.569 incl 0.90 274 used for calculating purposes. For conversion to other units of
0.1800 to 0.1900 incl 4.572 to 4.823 incl 1.00 305 conductivity or resistivity, refer to Test Method B 193.
9.2 The coating test shall be conducted in accordance with 13. Dimensions and Permissible Variations
Test Method A 90/A 90M.
13.1 The specified diameter of the zinc-coated wire shall be
10. Adherence of Coating Test expressed in decimal fractions of an inch to four decimal
places, or in millimetres to three decimal places.
10.1 The zinc-coated wire shall be capable of being 13.2 For diameter measurements and diameter tolerance,
wrapped in a close helix at a rate not exceeding 15 turns/min specified diameters shall be rounded to the closest 0.0005 in.
around a cylindrical mandrel having a diameter as prescribed in (0.013 mm).
Table 5, without cracking or flaking the zinc coating to such an 13.3 The average of the largest and smallest diameter
extent that any zinc can be removed by rubbing with the bare readings, each to the nearest 0.001 in. (0.025 mm) taken at the
fingers. same cross section, shall not differ from the specified diameter
by more than the tolerances shown in Table 6.
TABLE 5 Mandrel Size for Adherence Test

Specified Wire Diameter Ratio of 14. Workmanship, Finish, and Appearance

Mandrel
Diameter to
14.1 The zinc coating shall be reasonably smooth, continu-
Wire Diameter ous, of reasonably uniform thickness, and free of imperfections
in. mm not consistent with good commercial practice.
0.0500 to 0.0899, incl 1.270 to 2.283, incl 3
0.0900 to 0.1399, incl 2.286 to 3.553, incl 4 15. Number of Tests and Retests
0.1400 to 0.1900, incl 3.556 to 4.823, incl 5
15.1 One test specimen shall be taken from each 5000 lb
2
 NOTICE:¬This¬standard¬has¬either¬been¬superseded¬and¬replaced¬by¬a¬new¬version¬or
discontinued.¬Contact¬ASTM¬International¬(www.astm.org)¬for¬the¬latest¬information.¬
B 606
TABLE 6 Permissible Variations in Diameter of Zinc-Coated Steel Wire

NOTE 1—It is recognized that the surface of zinc coatings, particularly those produced by the hot-dip method of coating, are not perfectly smooth and
devoid of irregularities. If the tolerances shown in the table are rigidly applied to such irregularities that are inherent to the product, unjustified rejections
of wire that would actually be satisfactory for use could occur. It is intended that these tolerances be used in gaging the wires where there is a minimum
of such diameter irregularities due to galvanizing.
Specified Diameter Permissible Variation
in. mm
in. mm Plus Minus Plus Minus
0.0500 to 0.0749, incl 1.270 to 1.902, incl 0.0015 0.001 0.038 0.025
0.0750 to 0.1199, incl 1.905 to 3.045, incl 0.002 0.002 0.051 0.051
0.1200 to 0.1399, incl 3.048 to 3.553, incl 0.003 0.002 0.076 0.051
0.1400 to 0.1900, incl 3.556 to 4.823, incl 0.004 0.003 0.102 0.076

(2300 kg) or fraction thereof in the inspection lot. ported to the producer or supplier promptly and in writing. In
15.2 Each specimen shall be tested for compliance with case of dissatisfaction with the results of the test, the producer
Sections 7, 8, 10, and 13. At least half of the specimens shall or supplier may make claim for a rehearing.
be tested for compliance with Section 9.
15.3 Should one or more of the test specimens fail any of 18. Certification
the tests specified, the nonconforming coil or coils may be 18.1 When specified in the purchase order or contract, a
removed and the balance of the lot subjected to retests. For producer’s or supplier’s certification shall be furnished to the
retest purposes, two additional coils for each 5000 lbs in the lot purchaser showing that the material was manufactured,
shall be sampled and tested for the property in which the sampled, tested and inspected in accordance with this specifi-
original sample failed to comply. cation and has been found to meet the requirements. When
15.4 Should any of the retest specimens fail to meet the specified in the purchase order or contract, a report of the test
properties specified, the lot represented by the test specimens results shall be furnished.
shall be rejected.
15.5 Instead of rejecting the entire lot as provided in 15.4,
19. Packaging and Package Marking
the producer may test specimens from every coil in the lot for
the property in which failure occurred and reject only the 19.1 The unit lengths shall be as specified in the contract or
nonconforming coils. order. Length tolerances shall be 62 % unless otherwise
specified by the purchaser.
16. Inspection 19.2 Package dimensions, kind of package (coils, reels, or
16.1 Unless otherwise specified in the contract or purchase reelless coils), and quantity of wire in each package shall be
order, the manufacturer shall be responsible for the perfor- agreed upon between the manufacturer and the purchaser.
mance of all inspection and test requirements specified. 19.3 A durable tag shall be securely attached to each
16.2 All inspections and tests shall be made at the place of package showing the nominal wire diameter, length, approxi-
manufacture unless otherwise especially agreed upon between mate weight, purchaser’s order number, and manufacturer’s
the manufacturer and the purchaser at the time of the purchase. name.
16.3 The manufacturer shall afford the inspector represent- 19.4 The starting end shall be identified.
ing the purchaser all reasonable manufacturer’s facilities to 19.5 In case there is more than one piece in a package, the
satisfy him that the material is being furnished in accordance length and position of each piece shall be shown on the tag.
with this specification.
17. Rejection and Rehearing 20. Keywords
17.1 Material that fails to conform to the requirements of 20.1 coated steel wire; high strength steel wire; steel core
this specification shall be rejected. Rejection should be re- wire; steel wire; zinc-coated steel wire

The American Society for Testing and Materials takes no position respecting the validity of any patent rights asserted in connection
with any item mentioned in this standard. Users of this standard are expressly advised that determination of the validity of any such
patent rights, and the risk of infringement of such rights, are entirely their own responsibility.

This standard is subject to revision at any time by the responsible technical committee and must be reviewed every five years and
if not revised, either reapproved or withdrawn. Your comments are invited either for revision of this standard or for additional standards
and should be addressed to ASTM Headquarters. Your comments will receive careful consideration at a meeting of the responsible
technical committee, which you may attend. If you feel that your comments have not received a fair hearing you should make your
views known to the ASTM Committee on Standards, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428.