Assessment of technical condition of high-voltage overhead power transmission lines at the stage of their ageing

Abstract

The organization of operation, maintenance and repair of the basic technological facilities of electric power systems (EPS), which are beyond their designed service life (hereinafter referred to as ageing facilities, or AFs) is one of the problems that determine the energy security of many countries, including economically developed nations. The principal cause of insufficient overall performance of AFs is the traditional focus of the EPS management on economic efficiency and the insufficient attention to reliability and safety of AFs. The tendency to nonlinear growth in the frequency of occurrence of unacceptable consequences in the EPS requires ensuring the operational reliability and safety of AFs. The averaged estimates of reliability and safety used at designing power facilities are not suitable for characterization of overall operational performance. Among the basic and the least investigated (in terms of operational reliability and safety) EPS facilities are overhead power transmission lines (OPL) with a voltage of 110 кV and above. This is for a reason. OPL are electric power facilities with elements distributed along a multi-kilometer line (supports, insulators, wires, accessories, etc.). That is what makes the organization of continuous monitoring of the technical condition of each of these elements, and, consequently, the assessment of operational reliability and safety, so problematic. A method is suggested for assessment of “weak links” among the operated OPL on operative intervals of time along with a method for assessment of the technical condition of OPL at examination of a representative sample.