On-line Transmission Line Icing Monitoring Technology Based on Three Groups of Force Sensors and Angle Sensors

In order to reduce the error of calculating transmission lines' equivalent icing thickness caused by insufficiency of sensors, we developed a novel on-line conductor-icing monitoring device, which was composed of three groups of force sensors and angle sensors. The device integrates multiple functions of monitoring micro-climate, conductor temperature, insulator force of the three towers nearby, and images etc. Furthermore, we established a mechanical model for computing equivalent icing thickness, and combining the model with icing image processing technology, we presented a method for calculating conductor icing density. The proposed monitoring device was installed on the 220 kV Sahong No.1 transmission line in march 2013, according to which there was icing of the line with equivalent thickness less than 2 mm during March 15th and 18th 2013. However, if the insulator angels of insulators on nearby towers, as well as the conductor temperature, were neglected, the equivalent icing thickness would be 0 using the presented calculation method. The results show that the proposed method is considerably comprehensive, accurate, and sensitive for monitoring icing status of conductors.