Experimental Studies of a Novel Anti-Icing Aluminum Conductor With Excellent Durability and Improved Electrical Performance

Icing on transmission lines greatly threatens the operation and security of power systems. In this study, a novel durable anti-icing aluminum (Al) conductor is first proposed for its robust anti-icing properties and improved electrical performance. The novel Al conductor with optimized nanopores structure fabricated by anodization presented excellent superhydrophobicity with a contact angle of 176.83° and a contact angle hysteresis of 0.55°. Meanwhile, the ultra-low ice adhesion (1.75 kPa) of novel Al conductors, which is less than 1% of that of bare Al conductors, showed potential for self-de-icing behavior in glaze ice. Novel conductors also exhibited thinner glaze ice accretion of 5.84 g, than that of bare conductors (62.70 g). Additionally, the durability of novel conductors was examined in 100 times frosting/defrosting cycles, 100 times icing/de-icing cycles and 900 times abrasion processes. The mechanisms of robust durability were attributed to the excellent wear resistance and the continuous replenishment of modification agents. Fortunately, the good electrical performance of novel conductors in operation including the corona performance and line loss was experimental measured and validated by previous numerical theoretical calculations. In this study, the novel anti-icing Al conductors show profound application potential in high-voltage transmission fields.