RESPONSE OF SMOOTH BODY, TRAPEZOIDAL WIRE COMPACT CONDUCTORS TO WIND LOADING

Ontario Hydro plans to use trapezoidal wire (compact) conductors on new overhead transmission lines and for replacing aged conductors. Wind tunnel and field studies to evaluate the performance of these conductors under wind (and ice) loading and compare them with those of standard (circular wire) conductors have been initiated. The wind tunnel study indicates that, at high wind speeds, the trapezoidal wire conductors have lower drag coefficients than comparable standard circular wire conductors. For the range of wind speeds achieved in the field, the load data show good correspondence with the wind tunnel results. The maximum field Reynolds numbers are fairly small and do not reach the range at which compact conductors exhibit marked improved drag behaviour.