Development of a Portable De-Icing Device for Overhead Ground Wires

This paper presents a de-icing device, called DAC (De- icer Actuated by Cartridge), which aims at de-icing overhead ground wires, span by span. This is a mechanical method which consists of using a portable cylinder-piston system that creates shock waves to de-ice the cable. Since linemen cannot climb ice- covered towers, the de-icing operation is carried out entirely from the ground. First, a commercially available line-thrower is used to throw a projectile which tows a line that passes over the cable to be de-iced. Next, the DAC is pulled up to the cable and held in place by a taut rope. The DAC is equipped with a revolver barrel that stocks 6 blank cartridges that can be remotely fired from the ground. Numerous tests have been carried out to assess the efficiency of the method and to optimize the physical parameters of the device.