Study of Wind Flow Angle and Velocity on Ice Accretion of Transmission Line Composite Insulators

Abstract

Ice accretion on insulators in cold regions is a serious and inevitable problem for power transmission lines, which may cause over-load and icing flashover accidents and can lead to wide power outage. In this research work, multiphase numerical simulations are carried out to investigate the effect of wind flow angle & velocity on the ice accretion of transmission line composite insulators. To verify the simulation results, lab-based icing tests are carried out in artificial climate chamber of Chongqing University. Results show that the change of wind flow angle has an obvious effect on both accreted ice shape and ice mass of insulators. When wind flow angle changes from 0° to 90° or −90°, the ice mass increases before dropping sharply. Meanwhile, ice mass accretion on insulators with wind flow angle is more sensitive to the change of wind velocity. For V-shape insulator strings, the ice mass increased 47.22% in average compared to ordinary suspension insulators. The findings of this research can provide significant engineering reference for the design of transmission line in icing prone areas.