Influence of contamination on the axial temperature profile of ACSR conductors

The thermal limit is hazardous to the current carrying capacity of conductors. Based on the experimental study of aluminum conductor steel reinforced (ACSR) wire, this article showed that nonuniform axial temperature profiles along the length of the aged conductor were related to contaminants deposited on the surface by pollution. And it showed composition analysis of the contaminants taken from areas of severe contamination and mild contamination. We had some discoveries. First, the temperature profile along the length of the aged conductor were much higher and steeper than those of the new conductor for various currents. Second, the temperature profile was strongly influenced by the surface conditions of the conductors. The more severe the contaminant level was, the greater the temperature change. And the difference in temperature between areas of mild and severe contamination was in the range from 2 to approximately 29.3 °C. Furthermore, contaminants taken from areas of severe contamination contained CO 3 2− , oxides and organic compounds, and those from areas of mild contamination contained Na + , CO 3 2− , oxides and organic compounds. It means that an abnormal increase in the surface temperature of the conductor is resulted from the nonuniform contamination distribution rather than different pollution components. The dynamic thermal rating of the new conductor was 55.73% greater than that of the aged conductor. After cleaning up the aged conductors, the dynamic thermal rating of the aged conductor was an improvement of 48.45%. It shows that cleaning up conductors or new conductors are able to withstand a higher alternating current along the conductor.