Development of controlled heating for fatigue test in overhead conductors at high temperature

The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of elevated temperature on the fatigue resistance of an all aluminum conductor. A dispositive was developed to reach temperatures like those undergone by high-voltage electrical conductors during their useful life. This dispositive is based on the classical temperature control of proportional integral derivative. In this work, the dispositive used for heating the conductor/suspension clamp assembly and the methodology used to execute fatigue tests at 75 °C of one “All Aluminum Conductor” (Orchid) were presented in detail. There is a remarkable and sensible difference between S and N curves for tests carried out at room temperature and those accomplished at 75 °C, which may indicate degradation of all aluminum conductors when tested under fatigue conditions at higher temperatures.