Icing and snow accretion on electric wires

Abstract : Experimental data on icing and snow accretion on electric wires and antennas is presented. The accumulation of supercooled droplets on a single wire stretched in an air flow has been calculated as icing in the form of soft rime, hard rime, and glaze, per unit time and unit length of wire. The difference between calculated values and observed values in Japan is discussed in terms of ice deposit, wire tension, and wind velocity and pressure. Iced wire will be cut more often by dynamic wind pressure than by the deposited ice load. The differences between icing and accretion of snow are discussed, the wire failures being attributed to the heavy weight of snow accretion. This phenomenon will be less frequent in polar regions than in temperate regions because the main cause of snow accretion-existence of liquid-water film on the surface of snow flakes--is less prevalent. A simple experiment for anti-icing an electric wire by means of electrical heating is briefly described. (Author)