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What is American Wire Gauge (AWG)?

American Wire Gauge (AWG) is the standard way to denote wire size in North America. In AWG, the larger the number, the smaller the wire diameter and thickness. The largest standard size is 0000 AWG, and 40 AWG is the smallest standard size. It may also be called Brown & Sharpe wire gauge or simply the gauge of the wire.

AWG is for single-strand, solid, round, electrically conductive wire. It was first introduced in 1857 as a standard to replace the various measurements used by different manufacturers. Use of larger numbers denoting smaller wires is similar to Standard Wire Gauge, which is used in Britain. Most other countries use an international metric standard of wire cross-section in square millimeters (mm2) defined in International Electrotechnical Commission 60228.

AWG size does not include the size of the insulation protecting a wire.

0000 AWG is defined as 0.46 inches in diameter, and 36 AWG is defined as 0.005 inches in diameter. All other sizes are derived as logarithmic steps between these two defined sizes. There are 39 gauge steps between these sizes, and the ratio is 1-to-92 in diameter. Therefore, each AWG step is the 39th root of 92, or approximately 1.12293 times the change in diameter.

A smaller gauge (larger size) wire can safely conduct more electricity than a larger gauge (smaller size) wire. Decreasing the AWG size of a wire by three will double the cross-sectional area of a wire and double the amount of current it can carry. Changing the AWG size by 10 will change the cross-section by tenfold.

Since aluminum is not as good of a conductor as copper, for calculating how much current an aluminum wire can carry compared to a copper one, consider it as being 2-gauge AWG larger.

 
AWG
Diameter
Area
(mm2)
电阻值
(Ohm/km)
AWG
Diameter
Area
(mm2)
电阻值
(Ohm/km)
公制mm
英制inch
公制mm
英制inch
4/0
11.68
0.46
107.22
0.17
22
0.643
0.0253
0.3247
54.3
3/0
10.40
0.4096
85.01
0.21
23
0.574
0.0226
0.2588
66.8
2/0
9.27
0.3648
67.43
0.26
24
0.511
0.0201
0.2047
89.4
1/0
8.25
0.3249
53.49
0.33
25
0.44
0.0179
0.1624
106
1
7.35
0.2893
42.41
0.42
26
0.404
0.0159
0.1281
143
2
6.54
0.2576
33.62
0.53
27
0.361
0.0142
0.1021
168
3
5.83
0.2294
26.67
0.66
28
0.32
0.0126
0.0804
227
4
5.19
0.2043
21.15
0.84
29
0.287
0.0113
0.0647
289
5
4.62
0.1819
16.77
1.06
30
0.254
0.0100
0.0507
361
6
4.11
0.1620
13.30
1.33
31
0.226
0.0089
0.0401
430
7
3.67
0.1443
10.55
1.68
32
0.203
0.0080
0.0316
583
8
3.26
0.1285
8.37
2.11
33
0.18
0.0071
0.0255
944
9
2.91
0.1144
6.63
2.67
34
0.16
0.0063
0.0201
956
10
2.59
0.1019
5.26
3.36
35
0.142
0.0056
0.0169
1,200
11
2.30
0.0907
4.17
4.24
36
0.127
0.0050
0.0127
1,530
12
2.05
0.0808
3.332
5.31
37
0.114
0.0045
0.0098
1,788
13
1.82
0.0720
2.627
6.69
38
0.102
0.0040
0.0081
2,400
14
1.63
0.0641
2.075
8.45
39
0.089
0.0035
0.0062
2,740
15
1.45
0.0571
1.646
10.6
40
0.079
0.0031
0.0049
4,080
16
1.29
0.0508
1.318
13.5
41
0.071
0.0028
0.0040
4,264
17
1.15
0.0453
1.026
16.3
42
0.064
0.0025
0.0032
6,300
18
1.02
0.0403
0.8107
21.4
43
0.056
0.0022
0.0025
6,936
19
0.912
0.0359
0.5667
26.9
44
0.051
0.0020
0.0020
9,180
20
0.813
0.0320
0.5189
33.9
45
0.046
0.0018
0.0016
10,200
21
0.724
0.0285
0.4116
42.7
46
0.041
0.0016
0.0013
16,300

 

 
AWG 外径
截面积
(mm2)
电阻值
(Ohm/km)
AWG Diameter
截面积
(mm2)
电阻值
(Ohm/km)
公制mm 英制inch 公制mm 英制inch
4/0 11.68 0.46 107.22 0.17 22 0.643 0.0253 0.3247 54.3
3/0 10.40 0.4096 85.01 0.21 23 0.574 0.0226 0.2588 66.8
2/0 9.27 0.3648 67.43 0.26 24 0.511 0.0201 0.2047 89.4
1/0 8.25 0.3249 53.49 0.33 25 0.44 0.0179 0.1624 106
1 7.35 0.2893 42.41 0.42 26 0.404 0.0159 0.1281 143
2 6.54 0.2576 33.62 0.53 27 0.361 0.0142 0.1021 168
3 5.83 0.2294 26.67 0.66 28 0.32 0.0126 0.0804 227
4 5.19 0.2043 21.15 0.84 29 0.287 0.0113 0.0647 289
5 4.62 0.1819 16.77 1.06 30 0.254 0.0100 0.0507 361
6 4.11 0.1620 13.30 1.33 31 0.226 0.0089 0.0401 430
7 3.67 0.1443 10.55 1.68 32 0.203 0.0080 0.0316 583
8 3.26 0.1285 8.37 2.11 33 0.18 0.0071 0.0255 944
9 2.91 0.1144 6.63 2.67 34 0.16 0.0063 0.0201 956
10 2.59 0.1019 5.26 3.36 35 0.142 0.0056 0.0169 1,200
11 2.30 0.0907 4.17 4.24 36 0.127 0.0050 0.0127 1,530
12 2.05 0.0808 3.332 5.31 37 0.114 0.0045 0.0098 1,788
13 1.82 0.0720 2.627 6.69 38 0.102 0.0040 0.0081 2,400
14 1.63 0.0641 2.075 8.45 39 0.089 0.0035 0.0062 2,740
15 1.45 0.0571 1.646 10.6 40 0.079 0.0031 0.0049 4,080
16 1.29 0.0508 1.318 13.5 41 0.071 0.0028 0.0040 4,264
17 1.15 0.0453 1.026 16.3 42 0.064 0.0025 0.0032 6,300
18 1.02 0.0403 0.8107 21.4 43 0.056 0.0022 0.0025 6,936
19 0.912 0.0359 0.5667 26.9 44 0.051 0.0020 0.0020 9,180
20 0.813 0.0320 0.5189 33.9 45 0.046 0.0018 0.0016 10,200
21 0.724 0.0285 0.4116 42.7 46 0.041 0.0016 0.0013 16,300

 


Post time: Aug-01-2022