METHODOLOGY FOR ANALYSIS OF CRITICAL CONTACTS WITHIN AN OVERHEAD CONDUCTOR USING A WIRE MODEL

Summary

Over their operating lifespan, overhead conductors are submitted to a large number of loading cycles due to interaction with the wind. The induced vibrations cause fretting between the conductor wires that can lead to crack initiation at the contact location. Accurate prediction of probable crack initiation is a multi-scale problem that is not easily treated with a simple model. The proposed approach is based on a numerical model, referred to as the wire model, which detects the critical zone by simulating the different interactions between the wires. This work focuses on calibrating and validating the model by making comparisons with experimental results available in the literature for various conductors.

Key words: Overhead conductors, fretting-fatigue, contact-friction.

Author(s): A. Belkhabbaz, M. Gueguin, F. Hafid, C. Yang, J-M. Ghidaglia, O. Allix