Overview of Electricity Transmission Conductors: Challenges and Remedies

Abstract

Electricity transmission is an essential intermediary linking power generation and distribution. Voltage drops or total blackouts have always characterized the transmission and distribution of electricity in the sub-Saharan Africa and some Asian dwellers. This has been attributed partly to faulty, defective or dilapidated transmission conductors/networks. The aim of this study is to identify the causes of those defects in the transmission conductors and proffer possible remedies to them. Studies have shown that the current production techniques of transmission conductors (TCs) generate defective products, and that the materials used have their own challenges too. This work, therefore, reviewed all the production techniques and materials used in the development of TCs. It was observed that pultrusion, extrusion, hot-rolling, and stir-casting were the techniques used in the production of transmission conductors. Defects such as shrinkage, pores, impurities, and warps were identified in those techniques and some recommendations to ameliorate the defects of those techniques were presented. Spark plasma sintering is recommended as the most promising solid- state production techniques that should be adopted in fabricating transmission conductors, though it is yet to be developed for producing long-span products. In addition, advanced TCs materials such as Al-CNTs, Al-Nb, Al-Ti, and Al-B2 were presented as better alternatives to the existing TCs materials. By producing TCs with the recommended techniques and materials, the electricity availability will be enhanced; and this will lead to sustainable industrial growth and economic stability in the third world countries and the entire world.