614 IEEE Transactions on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-102, No.

3, March 1983
A NEW COMPUTER MODEL OF ACSR CONDUCTORS

J.S. Barrett, S. Dutta and 0. Nigol

Ontario Hydro
Research Division
800 Kipling Avenue
Toronto, Onta-rio
Canada, M8Z 5S4

Abstract - A new sag-tension computer program,
STESS has been developed for use in transmission line
design and operation. The program is based on a con-
ductor model which is more realistic and conceptually
simpler than the traditional graphic method.
INTRODUCTION
The development of a new sag-tension computer
program has been dictated by changing operating condi-
tions for overhead conductors, and by a growing aware-
ness amongst design engineers that more realistic
design criteria are required. Examples of changing
operating conditions are higher operating tempera-
tures, and increasing tensions with the use of more
effective vibration-control devices on overhead con-
ductors. Also, enough creep data have become avail-
able to justify a more realistic modelling of conduc-
tor creep in computer programs.
the dependent variables. In actual practice, however,
the steel and aluminum strains are dependent upon
their respective stresses, temperatures, prior strains
and time. Therefore, a realistic model of an ACSR
conductor should begin with steel and aluminum strains
expressed as functions of their respective stresses.
This appears to present a problem, however, because
there are now two independent stress variables instead
of the single strain variable of the graphic method.
Program STESS overcomes this difficulty by using the
equilibrium relationship for the conductor length in a
span to relate the two stress variables. The result
of this technique is that only one variable is
required for iteration. The iteration techniques of
the graphic method (as employed by computers) and the
strain-summation method are illustrated in the
appendix.

At present, limiting design conditions are defin-

ed in terms of maximum conductor tensions as some per-
centage of the rated tensile strength (RTS) of the
complete conductor. These values have been estab-
lished mainly through the past experience of designers
with different conductors. However, when conductors
are operated under different conditions and new con-
ductor materials come into use, it becomes more diffi-
cult to decide on appropriate limiting design crite-
ria. One realization is that the design tension
expressed as a percentage of RTS is often not a very
good criterion. For example, since the failure of
ACSR conductors is related to the stress or strain of
the aluminum wires, aluminum stress or strain would be
a better design criterion than tension of the complete
conductor.

THE STRAIN-SUMMATION METHOD ALUMINUM STRESS

Program STESS [1] represents the first real de-

parture from the graphic method of sag-tension calcu-
lation for ACSR conductors developed by T. Varney [2] Fig. 1 The various components of total aluminum
in 1927. Although Varney's method has served the strain as a function of stress.
industry extremely well, it has one serious limitation
which makes it very difficult to include the tempera-
ture and time dependence of creep in the conductor The strain-summation method is easy to under-
model. This limitation is the result of stress-strain stand. All of the stress-strain and creep information
curves having stress plotted or expressed as a is contained in one strain-summation equation for the
function of strain. In the Varney method, the strain steel and one for the aluminum. This simple concept
is treated as the independent variable for iteration is illustrated by Fig. 1 and defined by equation 1:
while the steel and aluminum stresses are treated as
TOTAL THERMAL ELASTIC SETTLING CREEP

ALUMINUM = +SLACK+ +S (1)

STRAIN
STRAIN AK"STRAIN +STRAIN +STRAIN

The new program STESS Sag-Tension Evaluation by -

Strain-Summation derives its name from this simple

-

82 SM 398-6 A paper reconmended and approved by the

IEEE Transmission and Distribution Committee of the concept.
IEEE Power Engineering Society for presentation at the The strain-summation method is the logical
IEEE PES 1982 Summer Meeting, San Francisco, California, development of the work of CIGRE working group 22.05
July 18-23, 1982. Manuscript submitted September 4, 1981; in which predictor equations for creep strain and
made available for printing April 28, 1982. geometric settling have been studied [3-9].
0018-9510/83/0002-0614$01.00 1983 IEEE

Authorized licensed use limited to: South China Normal University. Downloaded on May 19,2022 at 06:40:17 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.

Reference [10] which was published shortly after
program STESS [1] became available clearly outlines
the concept of a computer program based on the calcu-
lation of strains. The same paper also emphasizes the
importance of defining a chronological loading history
of the conductor, the approach arrived at indepen-
dently by program STESS. As far as is known, STESS is
the first sag-tension program to implement these
concepts. One reason why this approach has not been
used before may be the difficulty encountered in
iteration mentioned previously. This difficulty was
overcome by using an inverted form of the equilibrium
equation for conductor length described in the
appendix. A second reason for not implementing the
concepts earlier may be that predictor equations for
geometric settling are not yet reliable, largely
because of manufacturing variation. The solution of
this problem is described in the section on settling
strain.
TERMS OF THE STRAIN-SUMMATION EQUATION
1. Thermal Strain
The thermal strains of the steel and aluminum [1]
are each described by a linear and a quadratic term.
The effect of the change of the elastic moduli with
temperatures is also included although this is a minor
correction.
The steel and aluminum thermal strains Ds and
Da in strain units (m/m) for temperatures T5 and
Ta in °C are given by:
D = [11.3 (T -20) + 0.008 (T 2_400) ]
D
a
= [22.8 (Ta -20) + 0.009 (T a 2_400)] x 10 6
2. SLACK
The aluminum SLACK term describes the looseness
of the aluminum wires which may be observed at the
beginning of stress-strain tests on composite ACSR
conductors. This slack results in a tail in the
stress-strain curve at low tension, because most of
the tension is sustained by the steel core. This
tail, which is drawn as a dashed curve in Fig. 1, is
usually removed from the measured curve to produce the
design curve used by computer programs. If additional
slack is produced by the application of end-fittings
on a short test sample, it should not be included in
the design curve. However, the slack that is an
inherent result of the conductor manufacturing process
should be retained since this slack will be important
even in long spans. In most con4uctor tests performed
at Ontario Hydro, the SLACK term was found to be zero
when the end-fittings were- carefully applied to the
test samples [11, 1 2].
3. Elastic Strain
The elastic moduli of the steel and aluminum are
obtained from the "final" curves of stress-strain
curves for each conductor.
4. Creep Strain
Creep strain is considered to be the plastic
deformation of the wire materials under a given
stress. This term has been derived on the basis of
available creep measurements by fitting equation 4 to
the data [1]:
C=at SYa e 6 (T-20)
Authorized licensed use limited to: South China Normal University. Downloaded on May 19,2022 at 06:40:17 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
615
The four parameters a, 8, y and 6 define the
creep strain of the steel or aluminum in terms of
time, component stress and temperature. Values for
steel and aluminum are given in the appendix. There
are many references in the literature [3-10, 13-20]
that use a similar creep predictor equation.
The procedure used for calculating creep, which
takes strain-hardening into account, has been outlined
by P. Nicolini and P. Paoli [7-9]. The same procedure
had been used previously by G. Beers et al [19] and by
J. Harvey and R. Larson [20] to examine the tempera-
ture dependence of creep. The procedure is based on
the concept that the creep rate depends only on the
stress, temperature and prior creep strain but not on
how or when the creep strain occurred. This concept
is also stated in the discussions of references [16]
and [181.
The procedure entails the calculation of the
apparent or equivalent age teq of the material from
the prior creep strain. This is evaluated at the
approximately constant stress and temperature of the
creep which is about to occur for a duration At. The
creep strain at the end of the interval is given by
the creep equation for the time t = teq + At. This
model predicts the creep of a prestressed ACSR
conductor with amazing accuracy as has been demon-
strated in Reference [1] using creep data reported in
CIGRE reports on creep [3,4].
x1076 (2)
z
0 -
Uwcb
(A . z
Prestress 30% RTS-
(3) T 0% RTS After I Hour
Ooc C 100
U z
-a Z l_ -J
- o _ 20% RTS
0 10 II .....
I.,.
a I
2 4 6 8 10 20 40 6080100 200 400 1000
CREEP TIME, HOURS
Fig. 2 Calculated creep strain of 28.1 mm (26/7)
ACSR conductor "Dlrake" at room temperature
with and without prestress.
Figure 2 shows the creep strain calculated by
program STESS for a conductor with and without
prestress. The creep magnitude is slightly smaller
than reported in References [3] and [4] because the
proportion of aluminum in this conductor is smaller.
for the prestressed conductor does not
The curve
merge with the curve for the conductor which wag not
prestressed. Merging, would be expected if the
aluminum in the two cases were at the same stress.
The aluminum stress in the case of the prestressed
conductor is reduced, however, because the extra
aluminum settling strain (increased from 354 to 572
microstrain) results in a. greater proportion of the
conductor tension on the steel core. The experimental
data of References [3] and [4] show merging, but the
curves were probably normalized at the upper end
because of the difficulty of establishing the absolute
creep strain in a stress-strain test. In spite of
this mitior difference, the agreement between the
curves predicted by program STESS and the experimental
curves is excellent.
616
There is a large body of creep information avail- STRESS RELAXATION
able including the references already cited as well as
from manufacturers and utilities. The creep of Creep curves have been used f or all-aluminum and
aluminum may be placed into three classes: creep of ACSR conductors for many years. As illustrated in
single aluminum wires, creep with settling of all- Fig. 3 these curves are obtained by plotting the con-
aluminum (ASC) conductors and creep with settling of ductor strain at different but constant stress values
the aluminum component of ACSR conductors. for a given time duration.
In the latter case the effects of the steel
component must be carefully removed as described in
Reference [1]. When time zero is used as a reference INITIAL (1 h CREEP)
point, there is little agreement amongst the three t1 CREEP CURVE
classes of data. However, when time one hour is used - - -- t2 CREEP CURVE
,__
as the reference point and data before one hour are
discarded, the agreement amongst the three classes of
data is remarkably good. It is so good, in fact, that
a single predictor equation can be used to describe E m
0
the creep of EC grade (1350-H19) aluminum after one ° STRAI N
hour as a function of time, temperature and aluminum
stress. When this is done, the accuracy appears to be Fig. 3 Conductor creep curves for constant applied
within the error of the available data. In any case stress .
the conductor creep parameters are contained in
conductor data files and may be readily fitted should However, in practice conductor creep occurs in a
any user feel the need to do so.
different manner. In a fixed conductor span the ten-
sion in a conductor decreases because of increasing
5. Settling Strain sag due to conductor creep as illustrated in Fig. 4.
The resultant strain is still considered to be
The SETTLING STRAIN term is considered to result described by the creep curves even though the tension
from geometric settling of the metal wires as they has not been constant. This means that the amount of
move radially and tangentially during initial load- creep which occurs during- relaxation of stress is
ing. Settling strain is a function of the maximum assumed to be the same as the amount of creep that
component stress which has occurred. would have occurred had the stress been maintained
constant at its minimum value. This assumption tends
The "initial" stress-strain curves for the steel to underestimate the amount of creep. However, the
and aluminum components of ACSR conductors are entered difference is normally small because the tension
in data files for each conductor. The SLACK term is decreases most rapidly at the beginning of the
entered separately and the thermal strain is zero for interval and the conductor is near the lowest tension
stress-strain tests performed at room temperature. most of the time. In ACSR conductors the stress
These curves are described by Equation (1) when the relaxation in the aluminum is the result of two
creep time is one hour and the temperature is 20°C. factors. As the aluminum creeps, the steel core
The geometric settling strains of the steel and supports an increasing proportion of the total
aluminum at any given steel or aluminum stresses are tension. The lower proportion of the total tension on
obtained by subtracting both the elastic strains and the aluminum and the sag increase both contribute to
the one-hour room temperature creep strains from the the stress relaxation in the aluminum.
"initial" curves. The settling is assumed to be
independent of temperature and complete in one hour.
ti)
Eventually predictor equations for settling strains ul
may become reliable enough to be used in the sub-
routine employed by program STESS. However, at the H EQUILIBRIUMI INITIAL (I h CREEP)
present time the most reliable settling strains are
obtained from actual stress-strain test data.
ADVANTAGES OF THE STRAIN-SUMMATION METHOD
The graphic method involves the use of "initial"
ei
H

CL
I
ti CREEP CURVE
t2 CREEP CURVE

curves, "final" curves and creep curves for each creep u STRAI N
time. The temperature dependence of the creep in the
graphic method is not handled properly because there
are two temperature effects and only one of them is
taken into account. At elevated temperatures the Fig. 4 Conductor creep in a fixed span.

decrease in aluminum creep due to reduced stress on

the aluminum is taken into account by the thermal
expansion shift of the creep curves but the increased
creep due to higher ductility of the aluminum is not
evaluated. This effect can be important in conductors
with small steel-to-aluminum ratios.
In the strain summation method the complicated
shifting of the initial and final stress-strain and
creep curves is completely eliminated. Instead one
strain-summation equation for the steel and one for
the aluminum are used. Calculations involve simple
summation of strains and no shifting of curves is nec-
essary. Creep is evaluated separately for the steel
and aluminum as a function of time, stress, tempera-
ture and prior creep strain. A change of temperature
affects both the stress dependence of creep and the
ductility of the metals.
The creep equations used in program STESS are
also based on the assumption that the creep during an
interval can be calculated from the stress at the end
of the interval. However, to account for the stress-
relaxation, the new program divides the total creep
interval into small sub-intervals, each increasing in
duration by a factor of ten times the previous sub-
interval. This insures that the settling strain is
calculated properly and that the creep stress is more
nearly constant over each creep interval. The graphic
method as illustrated in Fig. 4 not only underesti-
mates the creep but also ignores the settling which
occurs at the stringing tension. This settling strain
can be significantly larger than the value calculated
at the tension after creep has occurred.

Authorized licensed use limited to: South China Normal University. Downloaded on May 19,2022 at 06:40:17 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.

USE OF PROGRAM STESS FOR
DESIGN OF TRANSMISSION LINES
One of the main purposes of a sag-tension program
used for design is to predetermine how a conductor
should be strung so that at some specified future
times and conditions certain design limits will be
met.
The customary method used in previous sag-tension
programs is to solve the problem backwards in time.
However, this may require considerable experience on
the part of the users. The required experience may
not always be available, particularly under new oper-
ating conditions or for conductors of new design. An
example of the type of decision demanded of the user
by present programs is: "Will thel conductor be on
initial or final stress-strain curves under a speci-
fied limiting design condition in the future?" This
decision may depend on how the conductor is strung at
the present time - which is what the program is sup-
posed to determine. If the limiting design loads are
not extreme, it becomes difficult to decide which com-
bination of the four possible stress-strain curves
(initial aluminum, final aluminum, initial steel and
final steel) should be used. It becomes practically
impossible to work the problem backwards in time if
the cumulative effects of several limiting design
loads are to be considered in sequence.
The new sag-tension program STESS is able to
determine stringing tension for any given future load-
ing conditions and limiting constraints on one or more
parameters. The effects of'different loadings may be
determined independently or in a cumulative manner.
The problem of determining the stringing tension is
solved by iteration, working forwards in time. The
new method provides the solution to sequences of loads
with limiting constraints. This would not be possible
using the customary sag-tension programs since they
attempt to work backwards in time, involving a compli-
cated shifting of initial and final stress-strain and
creep curves. Since all conditions in the new method
are d.efined in terms of conductor loading sequences,
no knowledge of the use of stress-strain curves is re-
quired by the user.
4 aluminum stresses has been provided in the program in
E 0
3 be the proper criterion for failure. Under these new
2 applying designers' expertise and experience.
1
1 1
50 100 150 200
AVERAGE STEEL TEMPERATURE,
Fig. 5 Measured and calculated sags of 27.8 mm (54/7)
ACSR conductor "Condor" pretensioned to 46.5
kN in a 122 m span.
Authorized licensed use limited to: South China Normal University. Downloaded on May 19,2022 at 06:40:17 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
617
E -
3.2 A <
3.0
2. 8-
2. 6
2. 4 0
2. 2
2.C II
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
AVERAGE STEEL TEMPERATURE, OC
Fig. 6 Measured and calculated sags of- 34.0 mm
COMPACT ACSR conductor pretensioned to 75 kN
in a 122 m span. The solid lines were cal-
culated by program STESS. The dashed line was
calculated by a graphic program in prevalent
use in North America.
Figures 5 and 6 demonstrate the phenomenon of
compressive loading of the aluminum [11, 121 which has
been incorporated into the new program for more
accurate evaluation of sags at high temperatures. The
limiting compressive stress is supplied in each con-
ductor data file. For most conductors, measured
values of compressive stresses are between -10 MPa and
-15 MPa. This feature may be overridden by the pro-
gram user if desired. The new program can also
examine the effect of thermal gradients in the con-
ductor by considering different temperatures for the
aluminum and steel components.
0 Program STESS is written in blocks and can be
0
easily modified or expanded to include new features.
The facility of placing constraints on steel and
anticipation of possible re-evaluation of failure
criteria for conductors. Under new operating condi-
tions or for new conductor designs, the conductor
ratings based on the rated tensile strength might not
conditions, it would be wise to consider the steel and
aluminum stresses in the conductor in addition to
CONCLUSIONS
Program STESS has been tested over a variety of
applications and it has been found to be accurate,
250 300 fast, economical and very versatile. To date, data
OC files have been compiled for approximately 30 of the
ACSR conductors most frequently used by electrical
utilities. The strain-summation method may be applied
to any conductor type with minimal program modifica-
tion and offers greater simplicity, power and
versatility than the traditional graphic method.
618

[191 Beers, G., Gilligan, S., Lis, H. and

REFERENCES Schamberger, J.: Transmission Conductor
Ratings. IEEE Trans on Power Apparatus and
[1] Nigol, 0. and Barrett, J.S.: "Development of an Systems, Vol 82, pp 767-772, Oct 1963.
Accurate Model of ACSR Conductors for
Calculating Sags at High Temperatures [20] Harvey, J.R. and Larson, R.E.: Creep Equations
Part II' (Documentation of Program STESS). CEA for Sag-Tension Calculations. IEEE Conference
Report 78-93, Nov 1980. Paper #C72190-2.
[2] Varney, T.: "ACSR Graphic Method for Sag- [21] Boal, G.R.: Precise Sag-Tension Calculations of
Tension Computations". Aluminum Company of Overhead Conductors. Wire Journal, pp 56-60,
America, Pittsburgh, Pa., 1927. August 1977.
[31 CIGRE: Report No. 2 on Answers to Questionnaire ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
on Conductor Creep 22-69 (WG05)01, April 1969.
The authors wish to express their thanks to the
[41 CIGRE WG05 SC22: A Practical Method of Canadian Electrical Association for their support of
Conductor Creep Determination. Electra, No 24, this project [1,11,121.
1972.
SYMBOLS USED IN APPENDIX
[5] Nakayama, K. et al.: Creep Characteristics of
AAC and AAAC, Furukawa Electric Co Ltd, CSG-72 ', es, ea Conductor, Steel and Aluminum Strains
(WG05)04. (m/m)
[6] Bradbury, J. et al.: long-Term Creep Assessment Steel Aluminum Stresses (MPa)
for Overload-Line Conductors. Proc IEEE, Ss Sa on

Vol 122 #10, October 1975. p Average Conductor Tension Over a Span (kN)
[7] Nicolini, P. and Paoli, P.: Conductor Creep of H Horizontal Component of Conductor
Overhead Electrical Lines, Test and Calculation Tension (kN)
Procedures. CIGRE 22-76 (WG05)02, 1976.
Q Conductor Arc Length (m)
[8] Nicolini, P.: Progress Report of Working Group
05 "Conductor Creep' for CIGRE. C-IGRE 22-76 B Half-span (m)
(WG05)03, August 1976.
E Arc Elongation (unitles s)
[91 CIGRE WG05: Permanent Elongation of Conductors,
Predictor Equations and Evaluation Methods. W Conductor Weight Per Unit Length (kN/m)
CIGRE, 22-77 (WG05)07, 1977.
y Defined as Y = WB/H (unitles s)
[10] CIGRE WG 22.05: Elongation of
Permanent
Conductors, Predictor Equations and Evaluation
Methods. Electra No 75, March 1981. APPENDIX

[11] Nigol, 0. and Barrett, J.S.: Development of an ITERATION

Accurate Model of ACSR Conductors for Calculat- GRAPHIC METHOD (AS USED BY COMPUTERS)
ing Sags at High Temperatures - Part I. CEA
Report 78-93, March 1980.
Ss t-S5s p g> H
[12] Nigol, 0. and Barrett, J.S.: Characteristics of
ACSR Conductors at High Temperatures and
Stresses. IEEE Trans on Power Apparatus and I ~~~~~~~E
=1l213-I

[13]
Systems Vol PAS-100, No 2, Feb 1981.

Wintergerst, S. and Aepfelbacher, M.: Creep in

Aluminum Wires and Cables. Aluminum, Vol 33,
SaX,
No 1, pp 16-23, 1957. ITERATION ITERATE ON UNTIL g' -
VAR IABLE
[14] Phillips, G.H.: How to Gauge Effect of Creep.
Electrical World, pp 56-58, March 1959. STRAIN-SUMMATION METHOD
[15] IEEE Committee Report, Limitations on Stringing
and Sagging Conductors, pp 1230-1235, Dec 1964. **SS. H --
H P aSa

[16] Harvey, J.R.: Creep of Transmission Line Con- Zs-'-w E= 212B-1 &a
ductors. IEEE Trans on Power Apparatus and Sys-
tems, Vol PAS-88, No 4, April 1969.
ITERATE ON SS UNTIL ga=gS
[17] Roest, C.A.: Creep Studies of Aluminum Con-
Fig. 7 illustration of the iteration procedures
ductor Alloys. IEEE Trans on Power Apparatus
and Systems, Vol PAS-88, No 11, Nov 1969. employed by the graphic and strain-summation
methods. Both procedures iterate on three
main relationships: the stress-strain-creep
[18] Harvey, J.R. and Larson, R.E.: Use of Elevated
Temperature Creep Data in Sag-Tension Calcula- relationships for aluminum and steel and the
tions. IEEE Trans on Power Apparatus and Sys- equilibrium relationship of tension- to
tems, Vol PAS-89, No 3, March 1970. composite conductor length for a given span at
a given loading.

Authorized licensed use limited to: South China Normal University. Downloaded on May 19,2022 at 06:40:17 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 619

Figure 7 illustrates the iteration procedures of When these parameters are used in Equation (4)
the graphic and strain-summation methods. In the with time t in years, Ss as a ratio of the steel
graphic method the equilibrium catenary relationship stress to its ultimate tensile stress and temperature
is given by: in Celsius degrees (°C), the steel creep Cs is given
sinhY in dimensionless strain units (m/m).
E = Iy -
- (5)

where the arc elongation E is defined as SUMMARY OF AVAILABLE COMMANDS

E = Q/2B -1 (6) The following commands may be issued at any time.
and Y = WB/H (7) They may be considered as preparatory commands because
the conductor state is not evaluated; they simply
In order to keep the iteration time of the change various parameters or store or recall a
strain-summation method short, it is necessary to find previous conductor state.
an inverted form of the equilibrium catenary relation-
ship. When expanded, equation (5) becomes: o ZERO - erases the effects of previous loading con-
ditions
4~2 6
, o SLACK - adds or removes aluminum slack
6 120 5040 (8) o SCOMP - changes the limiting compressive stress on
aluminum
Neglecting the last term, the solution for Y is o AMB - changes ambient temperature
given by: o R - changes the radial temperature gradient
o TEMP - changes the conductor temperature
Y ((100 + 120E)1/2 _
10) 1/2 (9) o ICE - changes ice loading
o WIND - changes wind loading
The accuracy of Y and the corresponding hori- o STORE - stores the conductor state and loading con-
zontal tension H of the conductor is better than 0.06% dition
even in the extreme case of Y = 1 which corresponds to o RECALL - restores the conductor state and loading
a sag approximately equal to one-quarter of the span. condition to the values stored.
Program STESS employs other highly accurate
expressions for horizontal conductor tension as a The following commands provide four means of
function of sag or average conductor tension P or stringing the conductor:
maximum conductor tension.
o LO - indicates the original unstressed length of
CREEP PARAMETERS the conductor at 200C
o TEN - tensions, pre-tensions or re-tensions the
For EC grade (1350-H19) aluminum the creep conductor employing the strain-summation
parameters entered into the conductor data files for method. The conductor response is printed.
use by program STESS are O SAG - sags, pre-sags or re-sags the conductor
employing the strain-summation method. The
aa = 7.8 x 10-6 conductor response is printed.

Oa = 0.3 o LIMITS
o LIMFIN - determine the stringing tension by itera-
Ya = 1.3 tion on all commands placed between these
two commands. Within the loading sequence
da = 0.03 which is bounded by these two commands, de-
sign constraints may be imposed anywhere by
When these parameters are used in Equation (4) use of the following commands:
with time t in years, aluminum stress Sa in
megapascals (MPa) and temperature T in Celsius degrees o TLIM - upper limit on maximum conductor
( C), the aluminum creep Ca is given in dimension- tension
less strain units (m/m). o SSLIM - upper limit on steel stress
o SALIM - upper limit on aluminum stress
Should the need arise, these parameters are o DLIM - upper limit on sag
easily changed in the conductor data files. Different
forms of predictor equations could also be used in The following commands may be issued once the
program STESS with only minor program modifications. conductor has been strung:

For the steel cores of ACSR conductors, o LOAD - changes temperature, ice and wind and cal-
equation 4 has been fitted to available creep data. culates and prints conductor response
The data of Reference [21] are very well described up employing the strain-summation method.
to 200°C by the following steel creep parameters:
o CREEP - calculates and prints the effect of creep
as = 0.003 for a given time under the present load
condition employing the strain-summation
s= 0.13 method.

Ys= 4.7 o TRUN - calculates and prints the non-cumulative

response to a series of temperatures
s= 0.02 employing the strain-summation method.

Authorized licensed use limited to: South China Normal University. Downloaded on May 19,2022 at 06:40:17 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
620

STEEL ALUMINUM
INPUT TEMP SAG MAXIMUM TENSION STRESS STRESS
DESCRIPTION LOADING SEQUENCE (OC) (m) (kN) (%RTS) (MPa) (MPa)

LIMITS
(OC) TEMP 15.0 15.0
PULL CONDUCTOR TEN 20.85 (kN,15%RTS) 15.0 8.66 20.85 15.00 142.5 28.3
TEMP CHANGE (°C) LOAD 25.0 25.0 8.99 20.09 14.45 152.8 24.8
3-DAY CREEP CREEP 0.008 (YEARS) 25.0 9.08 19.90 14.32 161.2 22.9
TEMP CHANGE (°C) LOAD 20.0 20.0 8.92 20.25 14.57 156.5 24.5
SAGGING-IN TEN 20.0 5.58 32.21 23.17 242.0 40.4

"INITIAL" CHART TRUN -40. 150. 10. -40.0 3.92 45.74 32.91 278.9 68.0
-30.0 4.16 43.13 31.03 269.7 63.0
-20.0 4.42 40.63 29.23 261.7 58.1
-10.0 4.69 38.32 27.57 255.0 53.5
0.0 4.98 36.08 25.96 249.5 48.8
10.0 5.27 34.06 24.50 245.3 44.5
20.0 5.58 32.21 23.17 242.3 40.4
30.0 5.96 30.16 21.70 244.4 34.9
40.0 6.34 28.37 20.41 247.9 29.9
50.0 6.72 26.79 19.27 252.6 25.2
60.0 7.09 25.39 18.26 258.3 20.8
70.0 7.46 24.14 17.37 264.7 16.6
80.0 7.82 23.04 16.57 271.7 12.7
90.0 8.18 22.05 15.86 279.2 9.0
100.0 8.53 21.15 15.22 287.2 5.5
110.0 8.88 20.34 14.63 295.7 2.1
120.0 9.22 19.60 14.10 304.8 -1.2
130.0 9.56 18.91 13.61 314.2 -4.5
140.0 9.89 18.29 13.16 323.8 -7.6
150.0 10.20 17.75 12.77 330.5 -10.0
TEMP CHANGE (°C) LOAD 25.0 25.0 5.77 31.16 22.41 243.2 37.6
10-YEAR CREEP CREEP 10.0 (YEARS) 25.0 6.66 27.04 19.45 301.6 17.8
200C BARE LOAD LOAD 20.0 20.0 6.47 27.80 20.00 299.2 20.1
TENSION CONSTRAINT J TLIM 27.80 (kN,20%RTS) (*) GOVERNING CONSTRAINT
"FINAL" CHART TRUN -40. 150. 10. -40.0 4.47 40.13 28.87 303.0 50.2
-30.0 4.74 37.90 27.27 296.8 45.7
-20.0 5.02 35.79 25.75 291.8 41.2
-10.0 5.37 33.46 24.07 291.0 35.5
0.0 5.73 31.34 22.55 292.5 30.0
10.0 6.10 29.47 21.20 295.2 24.9
20.0 6.47 27.80 20.00 299.2 20.1
30.0 6.84 26.32 18.94 304.2 15.6
40.0 7.20 25.00 17.99 310.2 11.4
50.0 7.56 23.82 17.14 317.0 7.3
60.0 7.92 22.77 16.38 324.4 3.5
70.0 8.27 21.81 15.69 332.5 -0.2
80.0 8.62 20.95 15.07 341.0 -3.8
90.0 8.96 20.16 14.51 349.8 -7.1
100.0 9.27 19.49 14.02 356.9 -10.0
110.0 9.45 19.12 13.76 351.3 -10.0
120.0 9.64 18.77 13.50 345.9 -10.0
130.0 9.82 18.42 13.25 340.6 -10.0
140.0 10.01 18.08 13.01 335.5 -10.0
150.0 10.20 17.75 12.77 330.5 -10.0
ICE & WIND C,mm,Pa \ LOAD -18. 19. 479. -18.0 8.54 68.50 49.28 536.2 82.0
TENSION CONSTRAINTJ TLIM 83.40 (kN,60%RTS)
LOAD 20.0 20.0 7.21 24.98 17.97 344.9 5.7
LIMFIN
L i

Fig. 8 A demonstration run of program STESS.

Authorized licensed use limited to: South China Normal University. Downloaded on May 19,2022 at 06:40:17 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.

DEMONSTRATION OF PROGRAM STESS
Consider the following problem:
A 28.1 mm (26/7) ACSR "Drake" conductor in a
300 m span was hung in travellers three days ago at
1500 and a tension of 15% RTS (Rated Tensile
Strength). The average temperature between then and
now has been 25°C. How should the conductor be
"sagged-in" now at 20°C in order to meet the folloVing
design constraints?:
After 10 years of creep at an average temperature
of 250C:
(1) Vibration: 200C, no ice or wind.
must not exceed 20% RTS.
(2) Design ice and wind: -18°C, 19 mm ice, 479 Pa
wind. The tension must not exceed 60% RTS.
Figure 8 shows the solution of this problem
according to program STESS. Output such as strains,
vertical and horizontal loads and horizontal component
of conductor tension have been omitted from the
original output and the output format has been altered
because of space limitations here.
The input load sequence simply follows the chron-
ological loading history as given in the problem. The
sagging-in tension was not known by the user and thus
no tension value was provided. The solution provided
by the program is that the conductor should be
"sagged-in" to 5.58 m sag at 2000 corresponding to a
conductor tension of 23.17% RTS.
As shown, sag-temperature charts may be requested
at any points in the loading history so that there may
be more than one "FINAL" chart. Note the limiting
compressive stress of -10 MPa which augments the sag
at high temperatures. This feature may be overriden
if desired. The sag-temperature charts are not con-
sidered as part of the loading history by the program
and no permanent conductor changes occur when command
TRUN is employed.
In this example the design loads with constraints
were considered cumulatively but they may be consider-
ed independently if desired. In this case it makes no
significant difference. However it does make a
difference if the order of the two design loads are
reversed when the cumulative effect is considered. A
higher stringing tension is calculated because the ice
and wind loading permanently stretches the conductor,
making it easier to satisfy subsequent tension
constraints.
Program STESS makes the study of cumulative load-
ings possible and allows the use of additional rele-
vant constraints such as design limits on the aluminum
stress.
Authorized licensed use limited to: South China Normal University. Downloaded on May 19,2022 at 06:40:17 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
621
Discussion
John B. Roche (Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp., Pleasanton, CA):
I would like to emphasize the fact pointed out by the authors that
design based on aluminum stress or strain would be a better design
criterion than one based on tension of the complete conductor. Kaiser
Aluminum has recommended limiting the stress in the aluminum for
over 20 years and have printed the stresses in conductor on all sag-
tension printouts for this length of time. For this reason there are many
Utilities in the United States who follow this procedure and base their
line design on a stress in the aluminum strands rather than on a tension
which may be a percent of the conductor strength.
My second point is to suggest that slack as a part of the total
aluminum strain defined by the authors may result from the way the test
sample is handled or terminated. The authors suggest that slack in the
The tension conductor results from conductor manufacturing process. The strand-
ing practice in our plants consists of separate wires placed in a machine
on bobbins which have controlled brakes. Wire pays off these bobbins
only under tension as the wires are formed into the complete conductor
as it exits the machine and is taken up on the finished reel. Our testing
procedure removes a sample from the reel under minimal limited ten-
sion which permits strands to readjust from the curved section on a reel
to the straight test section. We also use epoxy cast fitting rather than
compression fittings. Our test data does not show slack. No curve ad-
justments are required or made.
The last point deals with compressive load in the aluminum causing
tension in the steel core. We have examined the final modulus of a
number of tests as the tension is reduced from 70%o of the conductor
rated strength. At the high tensions, both the aluminum and steel are in
tension and shorten as the load decreases. At the low tension level, there
is a sharp change in the slope of the curve which can be verified to be
the slope of the steel core only by testing without aluminum. If the
aluminum in compression does elongate the steel, it would be expected
that this would change the slope of the reducing stress-strain curve such
that there would be three slopes: one where the steel and aluminum are
in tension, one where the aluminum is in compression and the steel is in
tension, and a third where the aluminum is bird-caged and the steel
alone is shortening by reduced tension. No curves have shown this rela-
tionship. Do the authors have data on this nature?
Manuscript received August 6, 1982.
J. S. Barrett, S. Dutta, and 0. Nigol: The authors would like to thank
Mr. Roche for his comments.
As stated in the paper, most conductors do not contain any slack. In
this, we agree with Mr. Roche even though we use compression fittings
rather than epoxy cast fittings. Details of the test procedure are contain-
ed in the references cited. Some conductors that we have tested did con-
tain inherent slack which could be seen as a looseness of the wires
throughout the whole reel. To predict the behaviour of such conduc-
tors, a slack term is necessary.
The return stress-strain curve should have only two slopes when com-
pressive loading is considered, not three slopes as one might intuitively
expect. The reason is that the slope does not change when the aluminum
stress changes from tensile to compressive. The steel and aluminum
components may be modelled by two springs in parallel. The composite
spring constant is the sum of the component spring constants and there
is no discontinuity even if one of the springs goes from tension to com-
pression. The slope changes in the ACSR conductor only when the com-
pressive load on the aluminum reaches its limiting value and the
aluminum strands birdcage. Then, only the steel component behaves
like a spring.
Manuscript received October 4, 1982.