Testing of the 3M Company Composite Conductor

Technical Report · Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1060828· OSTI ID:1060828

Stovall, John P ^[1]; Rizy, D Tom ^[1]; Kisner, Roger A ^[1]

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1. ORNL

The 3M Company has developed a high-temperature low-sag conductor referred to as Aluminum-Conductor Composite-Reinforced or ACCR. The conductor uses an aluminum metal matrix material to replace the steel in conventional conductors. The objective of this work is to accelerate the commercial acceptance by electric utilities of this new conductor design by testing four representative conductor classes in controlled conditions. A unique facility called the Powerline Conductor Accelerated Testing (PCAT) Facility was built at ORNL for testing overhead conductors. The PCAT has been uniquely designed for testing overhead bare transmission line conductors at high currents and temperatures after they have been installed and tensioned to the manufacturer's specifications. The ability to operate a transmission line conductor in this manner does not exist elsewhere in the United States. Four classes of ACCR cable designed by the 3M Company have been successfully test at ORNL small, medium, large and small/compact. Based on these and other manufacturer tests, the 3M Company has successfully introduced the ACCR into the commercial market and has completed over twenty installations for utility companies.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Building Technologies Research and Integration Center (BTRIC)
• Sponsoring Organization: OE USDOE - Office of Electric Transmission and Distribution
• DOE Contract Number: DE-AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1060828
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-2010/218; TD5008010; CETD004
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English