Study on the influence of water droplet particle size distribution on transmission line icing.
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| Title: | Study on the influence of water droplet particle size distribution on transmission line icing. |
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| Authors: | Han, Xingbo1 (AUTHOR) hanxingbocqu@163.com, Qiao, Guanjie1 (AUTHOR), Jiang, Xingliang2 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Electric Power Systems Research. Oct2025, Vol. 247, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p. |
| Subjects: | Particle size distribution, Icing (Meteorology), Stagnation point, Electric lines, Ice |
| Abstract: | • Significant Error in Icing Prediction Using MVD Alone Using Median Volume Diameter (MVD) instead of droplet size distribution (DSD) can lead to 14 %-300 % relative error in droplet collision coefficients, impacting icing growth rate simulation accuracy of transmission lines. • Droplet Size Dispersion Strongly Affects Icing Morphology Under natural conditions, icing forms an airfoil-like structure on conductors (thin front, thick rear). As icing thickness increases, smaller droplets are captured more easily, while larger droplets bypass the conductor, resulting in a decrease in the collision coefficient. • Expanded Icing Growth Mechanism with DSD Consideration The study derives mass and energy balance equations for icing, distinguishing dry vs. wet growth zones. With DSD, collision range widens: wet growth occurs near stagnation points, while dry growth dominates windward/leeward sides. • Experimental Validation Shows Improved Accuracy with DSD Natural icing observations confirm that DSD-based models better match real ice shapes (e.g., gradual narrowing of airfoil ice). Accounting for DSD reduces relative error in icing mass calculations compared to MVD-only approaches. Among the environmental parameters influencing conductor icing prediction, the rapid and complex variations in droplet size parameters are the most challenging to obtain. To evaluate the impact of droplet size parameters on the accuracy of icing calculations, this study, based on the droplet collision theory of conductors, numerically analyzed the differences in droplet collision coefficients obtained using the MVD and droplet size distribution under various environmental conditions. Furthermore, the study quantified the relationship between droplet collision trajectories and collision coefficients for different conductor icing thicknesses based on natural observations of conductor icing morphologies. The model in this paper is an improvement based on the Makkonen model. Also considering the processes of collision, capture, and freezing of water droplets during conductor icing, this model takes into account the influence of droplet size distribution on the ice accretion characteristics of conductors (including droplet collision, freezing, ice morphology, and type, etc.). Corresponding natural icing observation experiments were also conducted. The results indicate that, under different environmental conditions, using MVD instead of the droplet size distribution can result in relative errors in the droplet collision coefficient ranging from 14 % to 300 %. Under certain conditions, significant differences in icing type and morphology were also observed. The findings of this study provide technical references for the rational selection of droplet size parameters in conductor icing predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Engineering Source |
| Abstract: | • Significant Error in Icing Prediction Using MVD Alone Using Median Volume Diameter (MVD) instead of droplet size distribution (DSD) can lead to 14 %-300 % relative error in droplet collision coefficients, impacting icing growth rate simulation accuracy of transmission lines. • Droplet Size Dispersion Strongly Affects Icing Morphology Under natural conditions, icing forms an airfoil-like structure on conductors (thin front, thick rear). As icing thickness increases, smaller droplets are captured more easily, while larger droplets bypass the conductor, resulting in a decrease in the collision coefficient. • Expanded Icing Growth Mechanism with DSD Consideration The study derives mass and energy balance equations for icing, distinguishing dry vs. wet growth zones. With DSD, collision range widens: wet growth occurs near stagnation points, while dry growth dominates windward/leeward sides. • Experimental Validation Shows Improved Accuracy with DSD Natural icing observations confirm that DSD-based models better match real ice shapes (e.g., gradual narrowing of airfoil ice). Accounting for DSD reduces relative error in icing mass calculations compared to MVD-only approaches. Among the environmental parameters influencing conductor icing prediction, the rapid and complex variations in droplet size parameters are the most challenging to obtain. To evaluate the impact of droplet size parameters on the accuracy of icing calculations, this study, based on the droplet collision theory of conductors, numerically analyzed the differences in droplet collision coefficients obtained using the MVD and droplet size distribution under various environmental conditions. Furthermore, the study quantified the relationship between droplet collision trajectories and collision coefficients for different conductor icing thicknesses based on natural observations of conductor icing morphologies. The model in this paper is an improvement based on the Makkonen model. Also considering the processes of collision, capture, and freezing of water droplets during conductor icing, this model takes into account the influence of droplet size distribution on the ice accretion characteristics of conductors (including droplet collision, freezing, ice morphology, and type, etc.). Corresponding natural icing observation experiments were also conducted. The results indicate that, under different environmental conditions, using MVD instead of the droplet size distribution can result in relative errors in the droplet collision coefficient ranging from 14 % to 300 %. Under certain conditions, significant differences in icing type and morphology were also observed. The findings of this study provide technical references for the rational selection of droplet size parameters in conductor icing predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 03787796 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.epsr.2025.111840 |
