STATE-OF-THE-ART ON POWER-LINE DEICING

This paper presents a detailed review of the different de-icing techni ques, already developed and in development, which could be applied to the conductors and wires of electric power lines. After a bibliographi cal search in various data banks, on de-icing processes, more than 30 techniques at different stages of development, capable of removing ice and assuring anti-icing protection, have been identified in different fields such as air and rail transport, electrical networks, telecommu nications, etc. Although many techniques have not yet made it beyond t he concept stage, some are used in several of the sectors previously m entioned. The following is a comparative evaluation of all these techn iques, thermal, mechanical and passive, based on energy efficiency and practicability. It is recommended to favor the mechanical techniques over thermal methods that have been developed, but require more energy . Specific development projects and feasibility studies on the most at tractive techniques have finally been identified as steps for progress in power line de-icing. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.