Ground Wires and Conductors 9.1 Mechanical Model

The document discusses mechanical models for cables used in transmission lines, including ground wires and conductors. It describes initial, final after creep, and final after load conditions. The models can be applied for both elastic and nonlinear cables, accounting for creep over time under tension. Two weather cases must be defined for sag-tension calculations: one for creep conditions and one for severe loading.

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Ground Wires and Conductors 9.1 Mechanical Model

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sulav shrestha

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9.

GROUND WIRES AND CONDUCTORS

9.1 Mechanical Model

The mechanical model adopted in PLS-CADD for cables (ground wires and conductors) can be
used to calculate sags and tensions according to most world practices. In many European
countries, it has been traditional to assume that cables are elastic, with creep accounted for by
an equivalent temperature increase. In North America, non-linear models are the norm, as
pioneered by the Aluminum Company of America (Batterman, 1967) and the Bonneville Power
Administration (Reding, 1976). Another option is to have creep accounted for by a temperature
shift and define a tension at which the shift is applied. The model used in PLS-CADD can be
applied to all three situations. It is based on original algorithms (McDonald, 1990; SAG-
TENSION, 1990) which use polynomial stress-strain relationships similar to those used by the
aluminum industry in the USA and Canada (Batterman, 1967; Aluminum Association, 1971;
EPRI, 1988, Thrash, 1994).

The condition of a cable within a few hours of its being installed in a transmission line is called
its "Initial" condition. Because it is always under tension, the cable often creeps with time. If one
assumes that the cable remains under constant tension at the creep temperature TEMPC over a
ten-year period, the condition of the cable after the 10-year period is called final after Creep. If
the cable is permanently stretched under some severe weather load, its condition after being
subjected to the severe load is called final after Load. PLS-CADD performs separate sag and
tension calculations for ground wires and conductors in their Initial, final after Creep, and final
after Load conditions. Therefore, two weather cases have to be assumed in the design criteria
before any sag-tension calculation is performed (see Section 7.3.4). These are: 1) the weather
case under which creep is assumed to occur, i.e. generally a combination of no ice, no wind and
average temperature, and 2) a severe weather case which is assumed to create the permanent
stretch of the final after "Load" behavior. The selected severe weather case is often referred to
as the "common point load". The concepts of final behavior after creep or load are described in
more details below.

9.1.1 Initial Behavior - Elastic vs. Nonlinear

Consider a homogeneous cable (ground wire or conductor made up of only one material) in its
initial condition. Its unstressed length at an arbitrary reference temperature TEMPREF will be
referred to herein as LREF. If the cable is perfectly elastic, its stress-elongation (elongation
measured as fraction of unstressed length, i.e. strain) diagram at temperature TEMPREF is a
straight line with constant slope E as shown as line O-A in Fig. 9.1-1. E is the modulus of
elasticity of the cable.