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ENI E&P REPUBLIC OF CONGO 013041.01.BESG.21152
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220 kV OHTL Page 1 of 7 Rev.: 00

220 kV
Overhead Transmission Line

OHTL General Specifications

Bare Conductors,
Shieldwires, Earthwires

VALCOM E&M S/ E&M S/ ENI E&P/

00 05/12/07 Issued for enquiry
L. Rosciano F. Boccitto N.A. Intrivici
Prepared Verified Approved Client
Rev. Date Issue Description
by by by Approval
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220 kV OHTL Page 2 of 7 Rev.: 00

INDEX

1 GENERAL.............................................................................................................................................. 3
2 CONDUCTORS...................................................................................................................................... 4
3 SHIELDWIRES AND EARTHWIRES..................................................................................................... 4
4 FORMING, FINISHING AND CLEANING.............................................................................................. 4
5 TESTS.................................................................................................................................................... 5
6 CREEP CHARACTERISTICS OF CONDUCTOR..................................................................................5
7 SAG TENSION CALCULATION OF CONDUCTOR AND SHIELDWIRE..............................................6
8 DRUMS.................................................................................................................................................. 6
9 MARKING............................................................................................................................................... 7
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GENERAL

The conductors, shieldwires (SW) and earthwires (EW) shall have the characteristics entered in
the relevant Data Sheets and shall comply with the specified Standard for wires and strands.
These Specifications cover the detailed requirements for fabrication and test of the following
bare strand to be supplied and installed in the following 220 kV OHTL (for details see Data
Sheets).

a) C.E.C. - Mongokamba 2 - 19, 2 km – New double circuit line

Conductor twin bundle conductor
ACSR Aluminium Conductor Steel Reinforced - Type Condor 455 mm 2
 27,7 mm
Shieldwire OPGW  15, 6 mm
Earthwire Earthing system with steel angles and plates

b) Mongokamba - Loudima - 170 km – Single circuit existing line

Loudima - Mindouli - 150 km – Single circuit existing line

Conductor AAAC 570 mm2 - All Aluminium Alloy Conductor – Type Aster
Shieldwire AACSR Ø 12,6 mm - Aluminium Alloy Steel Reinforced Conductor
Earthwire ARMCO bar - Alternative galvanized steel wire Ø 11,5 mm accepted

c) Mindouli - Tsielampo - 105 km – Single circuit existing line

Conductor AAAC 570 mm2 - All Aluminium Alloy Conductor – Type Aster
it shall be replaced by ACSR Curlew Ø 31,5, having the
same current rating. Revised tower spotting shall be
issued, on existing ROW.
Shieldwire AACSR Ø 12,6 - Aluminium Alloy Steel Reinforced Conductor
Earthwire ARMCO bar - Shall be replaced by Copperclad steel wire Ø 11,5

d) N’goyo - Djeno 220 kV – Single circuit existing line

Conductor ACSR 366 mm2
Shieldwire ACSR 116,2 mm2
Earthwire Earthing system with steel angles and plates

Note: Two other operating lines are present in the 220 kV OHTL system, where no activities
and no conductor supply is foreseen, using different conductors as follows:

Mongokamba - N’goyo : 12, 7 km

Tsielampo - Mbuono : 13, 7 km

Conductor AAAC 366 mm2 - (ASTER) All Aluminium Alloy Conductor

Shieldwire ACSR Ø 116, 2 mm2

The conductors, SW and EW shall be designed and manufactured to ensure long service and
low maintenance costs. They shall be suitable in every respect for continuous operation at
nominal parameters as well as in transient operating conditions.
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Special attention shall be paid to the conductor and earthwire stranding process, to ensure the
necessary tightness between different layers in order to avoid slippage or relative movement of
strands or bird-cage formation during stringing.
Joints of individual aluminium wires of the conductors and earthwires are not permitted in the
respective outermost layers.
In the inner aluminium wire layer of phase conductor, joints are permitted before stranding. Such
joints (welds) shall be made by cold-pressure or electrical butt-welding. Joints made in individual
aluminium wires by resistance bull-welding shall not be permitted.
When it becomes necessary to weld the aluminium, the welding shall be done in the aluminium
wire rod before it is drawn so that the welds shall be indistinguishable in the finished wire.
Welds shall not be made in the aluminium wires, except when the wire breaks during stranding
and, in these cases, the drum number and notice of existence of the weld shall be
communicated. In addition, the drum outside shall be marked with a letter “W”.
Joints in steel wires shall be made before stranding, by brazing or other approved means, and
shall be protected against corrosion.
The steel wires of the conductors, SW and EW shall be galvanized before stranding. The zinc
coating shall be smooth, clean, of uniform thickness and free from defects.

CONDUCTORS

The aluminium of the ACSR shall be of the highest purity commercially obtainable which shall
not be less than 99.5 per cent. The Supplier shall submit certificates of analysis giving the
percentage and nature of aluminium impurities. The copper content shall not exceed 0.04 per
cent.
The outermost aluminium layer shall be stranded with a right hand lay. The steel core and the
inner layer of aluminium wires shall be covered with grease of approved type and
characteristics.
The grease shall be suitable for use with the conductor temperature varying between 20°C and
120°C and for continuous operation at 80°C without deterioration. The trade name, type and
specification of the proposed grease is stated in Data Sheet.

SHIELDWIRES AND EARTHWIRES

The conventional shield wire (SW) shall be galvanized steel wire, aluminium clad steel wire, or
aluminium conductor steel reinforced.
The shield wire shall withstand the fault current shown in OHTL data sheet without suffering any
damage.
The earth wire (EW) required for structure earthing may be of galvanized steel, copper wire or
copper-clad steel wire as defined in Data Sheets.
The outermost layer shall be stranded with a right hand lay.

FORMING, FINISHING AND CLEANING

- Forming
The make-up and lay of the wire shall be such as to produce a conductor essentially free
from a tendency to untwist or spring apart when cut. Steel wires for ACSR conductor shall
be so formed that, when the conductor is cut and the aluminium wires are stripped away
from the core as required for splicing, the steel wires can be readily regrouped and easily
held in place with one hand to allow a splicing sleeve to be slipped over steel core wires at
the cut end of the conductor. Similarly, the aluminium wires shall be so formed that the
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aluminium wires can be readily regrouped and easily held in place with one hand to allow
the splicing sleeve to be slipped over the aluminium wires at the cut end of the conductor.
Post-forming of the steel core is permitted so long as such post-forming does not deform the
individual steel wire and does not in any way scratch, scrape, remove or otherwise damage
the zinc coating of the steel core wires, individually or collectively.
- Finishing
The finished conductor shall embody the highest quality of material, workmanship and
design consistent with modern practice in the manufacture of transmission line conductors.
The external form and surface shall be uniformly cylindrical upon completion or manufacture
and shall remain so when erected in place on the line.
The permissible reduction from the unstressed circumference to the circumference, when the
conductor is subjected to a tension equal to 30 per cent of its specified rated ultimate
strength, shall not be greater than two (2) per cent.
The conductor surface shall be free from points, sharp edges, abrasion or other departures
from smoothness or uniformity of contour.
The conductor shall be capable of withstanding the normal handling necessary for
manufacture and erection, such as reeling, unreeling and pulling through stringing sheaves
under sufficient tension to keep the conductor off the ground, etc., without being deformed
from a cylindrical form.
- Cleaning
The conductor shall be free from excessive amounts of die grease, metal particles and dirt.
The Supplier shall describe in complete detail the method which he proposes to use in
normal production to clean the conductor. The effectiveness of the cleaning process shall be
subject to verification.

TESTS

- Type test
The ultimate tensile strength, the conductivity and the dimensional requirements of the
complete conductor and shield wire shall be checked.
The condition of the conductor exterior surface, so as its general form and smoothness, shall
be determined by stressing up to 50 per cent of its rated strength (no depart from cylindrical
form and no relative movement).
In addition to the requirements as for the general tests, particular tests referring to the
thermal stability of the shieldwire by fault currents may be required by Project Technical
Specifications.
Thermal stability tests shall be carried out as design tests in the manufacturer’s plant or in
other specialized laboratories, with specified values of fault current and duration.
- Routine test
During fabrication, routine factory tests shall be made on samples of wire taken at random
before stranding, including galvanizing test.

CREEP CHARACTERISTICS OF CONDUCTOR

The Supplier furnishes data of time creep curves for the conductor at specified everyday
temperature for tension ranging in 10 per cent increment from 10 per cent to 30 per cent of
its ultimate strength and stress-strain creep curves showing at least one hour, six months,
one year, ten years and twenty years creep for the conductor furnished under this
Specifications.
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The Supplier shall perform creep test on single length conductor of about 21 m long with
12.7 m gauge length. The test shall be performed in still air at room temperature conditions.
The test load applied on conductor shall be equal to final tension at specified everyday
temperature and shall be kept constant throughout the test. Creep strain shall be measured
by dial gauges contacting two discs clamped onto the conductor, one at each end of the
gauge length, with two dial gauges on each disc at diametrically opposite points. Reading of
creep strain shall be taken every minute at the start of the test when the creep rate is high
and intervals between readings shall be lengthened to 24 hours as tests progresses until, at
least, 1,000 hours have elapsed.

SAG TENSION CALCULATION OF CONDUCTOR AND SHIELDWIRE

The Employer will give the sag tension calculation, per each type and line, according to the line
Technical Specifications and Design Data Sheets.
The Contractor shall perform its own calculation, for control purpose, check survey and for
sagging activities.
The Contractor or Supplier shall fill the Data Sheet relevant column.

DRUMS

- Drum length
The recommended nominal length of each piece of conductor on each drum shall be as
indicated in the DATA SHEETS. No random length shall be wound on the same drum with a
standard length and drum on which random length are furnished shall be of same overall
dimension.
Each drum must be marked in group of 24 drums.
For example:
Drum N° 1/1 ÷ 1/24
2/1 ÷ 2/24
- Drum type
The drum type used for conductor shipment is:
- Returnable metal drums
- Non-returnable wooden drums
For drum details, the Data Sheets have to be complied. In case of missing clauses the
following prescriptions apply:

All drums shall be fitted with steel hubs having a minimum inside diameter of 80 mm. The
ratio of the diameter of the inside barrel and the diameter of the flange must not be less than
0.48.
The timber to be used shall be new, dry, properly seasoned and suitably treated to stand
changes in temperature and humidity without deterioration or shrinking.
The timber shall be sufficiently hard and compact to hold the nails and must be treated with
fungicidal and germicidal termite and white and proof preservative prior to painting.
All drums shall be painted inside and outside with aluminium paint.
Nails shall be fitted with proper care to avoid any contact with the conductor. Nailing shall be
executed from the inside toward the outside. The nail heads shall be embedded into the
flange for approximately 70 mm.
Before punching nails into the timber, they should be wetted with ammonia to facilitate the
gripping.
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The threaded spindle should be bolted in such a way that the washers are embedded into
the flanges a few millimetres.
Moreover the spindle nuts shall be properly locked to avoid their loosening as a
consequence of expansion and subsequent timber shrinkage due to thermal effects and/or
humidity. The threaded end of spindle shall not protrude above the nut by more than one
thread.
The nuts shall always be locked by riveting the threaded end.
The flanges shall be fitted with reinforcing steel nuts bushing.
Drum inner wrapping shall be made by a double layer of waterproof paper.
The conductor shall be tied at the beginning of the last outer turn back to one flange with a
suitable string and the outer end stapled to the other flange to avoid the conductor moving
from the correct position.
Any impregnated part of protective covering of the drum next to the phase conductor shall
show no chemical aggressivity against the conductor.
A piece of conductor 45 cm long shall be left sticking out of the flange hole.
The extreme end of the conductor shall be tied, then 25 cm left free and then the remaining
15 to 20 cm shall be tied and taped and covered with cloth (no jute allowed).
The untied section shall be bent as much as possible towards the centre of the drum and
nailed. Four stables enough to withstand transport stresses shall be used; the two outside
must clamp the whole conductor, whilst the two inside are fixed through the conductor in
order to prevent its sliding.

MARKING

The following information shall be marked with paint on the drums and clearly indicated on at
least one metal tag firmly attached to the drum:
- Supplier and/or Manufacturer’s name or trade mark
- Manufacturer’s plant location
- Manufacturer’s name
- Reel number
- Date of manufacturing
- Destination
- Size
- Actual length
- Gross weight and tare weight
- Contract number

An arrow, showing the direction in which the drum should be rolled, shall be marked on each
side of drum at the position of the outer end of conductor placed.