Abstract
Due to the increase in power demand and limited investment in new infrastructure, existing overhead power transmission lines often need to operate at temperatures higher than those used for the original design criteria. This has led to the accelerated aging and degradation of splice connectors, which have been manifested by the formation of hot-spots that have been revealed by infrared imaging during inspection. The implications of connector aging is two-fold: (1) significant increase in resistivity of the splice connector (i.e., less efficient transmission of electricity) and (2) significant reduction in the connector clamping strength, which could ultimately result in separation of the power transmission line at the joint. Therefore, the splice connector appears to be the weakest link in the electric power transmission lines. This paper presents a protocol for integrating analytical and experimental approaches to evaluate the integrity of a full tension single-stage splice connector assembly.
