Why ACCC® Conductor is Used Extensively in Cold Climates

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Why ACCC Conductor is Used Extensively in Cold
Climates

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May 2021
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Introduction

• The ACCC InfoCore System reduces real-world
  conductor installation risk experienced by
  utilities, contractors and lineman across the
  globe.
• The ACCC InfoCore System can confirm the
  integrity of the conductor in minutes.
• While not mandatory, this capability serves to
  improve reliability and confidence. The system is
  capable of confirming very long continuous spans
  and is currently being utilized globally.

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ACCC Conductor History 

• Developed initially to improve the performance
  and longevity of military structures, composite
  materials have been widely deployed in other
  demanding applications subject to extreme
  environmental conditions  ranging from
  cryogenic storage vessels to pipelines, offshore
  oil platforms, rocket nozzles and modern
  aircraft. 
• The ACCC Conductor (Aluminum Conductor
  Composite Core) leveraged the attributes of
  hybrid carbon and glass fiber composites to
  improve the performance of bare overhead
  conductors and is definitely a conductor for
  extreme weather conditions.

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Classification

• The ACCC Conductor is generally classified as a
  High-Temperature, Low-Sag (HTLS) or
  High-Capacity, Low-Sag (HCLS) conductor.
• While other conductors such as Invar, GAP, ACCR
  and ACSS fall within this category due to their
  abilities to also operate at high temperatures
  under high load conditions, the ACCC Conductor
  offers the lowest thermal sag and greatest
  operating efficiency with proven reliability.
  ACCC Conductor core is produced to ASTM Standard
  B987/B987M 14.

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Cold Weather Performance

• As temperatures drop, line tension increases.
  This is due to the relatively high coefficient of
  thermal expansion (CTE) of a bare overheads
  constituent materials. While the CTE of aluminum
  is 23 x 10-6 per degree C, and steel is 11.5 x
  10-6 per degree C, the CTE of the ACCC
  conductors composite core is only 1.6 x 10-6 per
  degree C. Thus the ACCC Conductors core tension
  fluctuates very little between extreme
  temperature swings that can range from -60 to
  over 200C.
• A substantial discussion about this can be found
  in Section 2.8.6 Engineering Transmission Lines
  with High-Capacity, Low-Sag ACCC Conductor

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Heavy Ice Loads

• When substantial amounts of ice accumulates on
  bare overhead conductors tension increases due to
  the added weight. Sag also increases as the added
  weight causes the conductors aluminum strands
  and core to stretch. While metals will
  plastically deform and yield under extreme load
  conditions, the ACCC Conductors composite core
  is fully elastic and will return to its initial
  length without permanent deformation. While the
  outer aluminum strands will yield and plastically
  deform, the net impact is simply that the thermal
  knee-point is reduced which further improves
  thermal sag.
• Many of CTCs partners produce conductor with
  high strength aluminum alloys that can be
  incorporated into ACCC conductor designs to
  accommodate any given requirements. CTCs
  application engineering team stands ready to
  assist.

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Cold Climate Installations

• To date, more than 1000 projects of ACCC
  Conductor have been installed in 60 countries.
  The very first energized ACCC installation took
  place in Niagara Falls, New York. While this was
  considered a trial line, the line remains
  energized today and has experienced a number of
  record setting ice storms since it was first
  installed without issue. A number of other cold
  climate installations have been completed in
  North America, China, Russia, and throughout
  Europe. 

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Contact Us 

• Website www.ctcglobal.com
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Email info_at_ctcglobal.com
• Thank You