A unified model for predicting the electrical, mechanical and thermal characteristics of stranded overhead-line conductors

Four separate models have been developed during the past thirty years to account for the electrical, mechanical and thermal aspects of the behavior of stranded overhead conductors. Each model contains a number of variables, and some of these variables are common to two or more of the models. Hence, the design of overhead line conductors is usually undertaken in a rather piecemeal fashion. This paper describes the unified model, which incorporates electromagnetic, mechanical, and radial and steady-state thermal models. An example is given of the design of an ACSR conductor