Effects of Ice Thickness on the Aerodynamic Characteristics of Crescent Shape Iced Conductors

Aerodynamic characteristics of iced conductors were investigated by the wind tunnel test. Under the homogeneous turbulence of 5% intensity, aerodynamic force coefficients of single and bundled conductors were obtained at wind angles of 0°~180°. The variation patterns of aerodynamic forces on the iced conductors with respect to wind angels of attack were systematically studied for the ice thickness of 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 times of the conductor diameter. The difference of aerodynamic force characteristics for single and bundled conductors were identified and discussed. Based on the Den Hartog and Nigol’s mechanisms of galloping, the wind angle ranges sensitive to galloping were analyzed. The results show that lift and torsion force coefficients reach peak values at wind angles of 15°~20°. For bundled conductors, lift force curve is approximately agreed with the curve of single conductor. Drag force coefficients were smaller than these of single conductor at some wind angles. There are noticeably differences of torsion coefficients existed between bundled conductors and single conductor. According to two classical galloping mechanisms, wind angles of 15°~30°are critical for the galloping of iced conductors with crescent shapes.