A general life estimation method for overhead conductors based on fretting fatigue behavior of wires

•A novel methodology for predicting fatigue life of overhead conductors based on damage similitude between conductor’s wires and fretting fatigue tests on wires.•Good agreement between life predictions and observed number of cycles to failure has been noticed for the AAAC 900 MCM conductor.•Accurate predictions of critical damage regions in comparison with experimental observations.•The fretting fatigue data of AA6201-T81 wires can be reduced to a single stress-life curve described by the SWT model.•Experimental strain measurements on critical wires of the conductor shows an appropriate precision of the FE model on the computation of strain.