Enhanced analytical model of power transmission line icing

Abstract

Accidents in power transmission lines under icing conditions, in particular, those of cables, cause a great economic damage in Russia. Because of the lack of the possibility to forecast and evaluate reliably the consequences of weather conditions contributing to icing of transmisison line cables, power grid services often have to go to the place of a potential accident relying on guesswork. This leads to considerable losses of time and material resources, while the average recovery time of a damaged high voltage power transmission line is 5–10 days.

For the effective prediction and timely prevention of negative consequences of icing of on power line cables, an analytical model that describes the growth of ice on the surface of the electrical cable has been developed. The model is based on a widely applicable analytical model of [1], supplemented with dependence of the growth of ice sleeve on the angle between the wind direction and the cable, and on the electric field strength of the cable.

The results obtained using the new analytical model and the [1], model have been compared and show that as the angle between the wind direction and the cable decreases, the intensity of the ice growth decreases significantly. At the same time, the strength of the electric field of the cable affects negligibly the trajectory of water droplets.

A conclusion is drawn about insignificance of electrical field strength of the electric cable as a factor of growth of ice deposits. It is stated that the ice thickness value obtained using the developed model can be increased under specific weather conditions and design parameters of transmission lines. The obtained model can be improved by using other physical effects that affect icing of electric cables. Further, the model can be introduced in operation of energy companies to monitor the condition of power transmission lines and to carry out anti-icing activities.