Gap-type conductors: influence of high temperature in the compression clamp systems

The unstoppable rise in electricity demand is causing the saturation of the power transmission network to such an extent that supply problems are arising in some areas due to overheated conductors sagging above security distance limits. An approach to solve this problem is the replacement of actual conductors by new conductors with high temperature and low sag characteristics. This type of conductors is able to transmit more power than traditional ACSR conductors, as they can work at higher temperatures while keeping their sag under actual security margins. However, the higher temperature in the conductors can affect the correct performance of the traditional clamps. To develop an analysis on this subject software tools have been used, consisting on CAD programs for the design and modeling of the clamps and FEM programs for the simulation of the models. This work shows the results of the study describing the characteristics of the simulation.