Estimates of Atmospheric Aerosols Adhered to the High Voltage Electric wire in the Yangtze River Delta Region of China

Abstract

Atmospheric aerosol particles can collect on and adhere to high voltage electrical wires, causing power loss as well as other detrimental effects on electrical insulation. The mass of fine particles (PM 2.5 ) adhering to wires has been estimated using a modified size-resolved particle dry deposition model and a range of annual average PM 2.5 concentrations found in literature for the Yangtze River Delta region of China. Annual mass collected by the surface of a unit length (1 m) of wire with a radius of 0.5 cm is estimated to be in the range 1.56 × 10 4 -1.46 × 10 5 µg. The actual mass adhering to the wire may be reduced by 85% of these estimated values considering the washing-off effects of rain. For a wire of 1.0 cm in radius, the annual mass on the wire is estimated to be in the range of 4.68 × 10 3 -4.35 × 10 4 µg after considering the effects of rain. This study provides a first estimation of particle mass collected by electrical wires, although with large uncertainties, which can be used for subsequent impact studies of aerosol pollution on electricity transfer.