Speaker: Professor Masoud Farzaneh, University of Quebec in Chicoutimi
         Chicoutimi, Quebec, CANADA
Date:   January 12, 2011.
Time:   10:40 a.m. Registration and Networking; 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Seminar.
Place: National Research Council, 1200 Montreal Road, Ottawa, Building M-50, Room 115.
Parking: No fee at the visitor’s parking. Please respect restricted areas.
Admission: Free. Registration required for security reasons,
To ensure a seat, please register by e-mail contacting: Mahmoud.Abou-Dakka@nrc.ca

Abstract: In many parts of the world, overhead power lines and outdoor substations are affected

by atmospheric icing, sometimes causing serious failures and damage with major socioeconomic

consequences. The disruptive effects of atmospheric icing are mainly the result of the excessive

accumulation of ice or snow, and the subsequent jumping of cables and conductors following sudden

ice shedding. Other potential sources of failure are dynamic phenomena such as

galloping and bundle rolling or electrical faults like flashovers across insulators

or between phase conductors and the ground or ground wires.

Major icing events in the last decades sparked sustained and substantial research as well

as development projects in several countries, many in collaboration with academia and industry.

Above all, this resulted in considerable advancement of knowledge in many areas of atmospheric icing,

bringing innovation and improvement to overhead power network design, construction and operation.

However, in spite of the progress made, the knowledge base on this complex and unpredictable phenomenon

is still lacking. Furthermore, continuous increase in energy consumption and the need for upgrading

existing networks, and constructing more reliable transmission lines, call for innovative solutions to

icing issues. This presentation is an overview of the state of our knowledge on atmospheric

icing of power networks, including the main phenomena involved, methods for securing these networks,

and future challenges.