How to Improve the Efficiency, Capacity, Reliability and Resilience
of the Electric Power Grid with ACCC® Conductor
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The Importance of the ASTM B-987 Standard for Carbon Fiber Core Conductors
While patents offer some protection for Companies that painstakingly develop, test and commercialize new products and technologies, its not uncommon for ‘good products’ to be replicated by competitors. To protect Consumers, standards and test protocols are frequently developed to help ensure that products and product replications perform as intended and are produced consistently.
ASTM International (formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials), is an international standards organization that develops and publishes technical standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems, and services for virtually every industry. Currently 12,575 ASTM Standards exist to protect Consumers and ensure product quality and consistancy.
One of the most important components of ASTM B-987 is the requirement for a non-conductive galvanic barrier with a minimum thickness specification to prevent galvanic corrosion over the conductor’s anticipated 40+ year service life - as corrosion is one of the leading causes of premature conductor failure - that can lead to broken conductors, power outages, wildfires and other tragic outcomes.
While corrosion of aluminum and steel used in legacy ACSR conductors will occur in wet conditions, which can be exacerbated by salt air, industrial or agricultural pollutants, galvanic corrosion can also occur. Galvanic corrosion is an electrochemical process in which one metal corrodes preferentially (and at an accelerated rate) when in contact with a different type of metal in the presence of an electrolyte, such as water. While steel core wires are often coated with zinc to reduce the rate of galvanic corrosion between the conductor’s core and aluminum strands, the risk of galvanic corrosion with carbon fiber cores is far greater due to their substantial difference in electrode potential as shown in the chart below.
While newcomers to the world of carbon fiber composites may not fully understand this phenomenon, lessons have been learned the hard way in the aerospace and other industries. If you are considering carbon fiber core conductors, please be advised that adherence to the established ASTM B-987 Standard - and especially its requirement for a robust non-conductive galvanic barrier - can mean the difference between a conductor that lasts many decades in use or one that fails and falls prematurely. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@ctcglobal.com
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The Reduced Sag and Increased Clearance of ACCC® Conductor Can Help Reduce the Risk of Wildfires
Over the last several years, hundreds of wildfires have been attributed to dry conditions, strong winds and sagging powerlines in the Western United States and other places throughout the world. While efforts are underway to improve vegetation management and install improved monitoring devices, the use of high-capacity, low-sag conductors such as ACCC® are not only increasing clearances to vegetation and other objects, their substantially higher capacity can also allow grid operators to reroute power around high-risk or active fire zones to minimize the need for preemptive outages.
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The image above shows the greatly improved clearance between vegetation of the ACCC® Conductor (left) and legacy ACSR Conductor (right). Photo courtesy of SSE.
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ACCC® Project of the Month Winner:
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Bhutan Power Corporation Completes ACCC® Reconductoring Projects in the Mountainous Terrain of Bhutan
With EPC and Installation support from Gupta Power Infrastructure Ltd. & KEC International, Bhutan Power Corporation (BPC) completed their first two ACCC® Conductor installations in Bhutan. The 66 kV Semtokha to Hongtsho transmission line and the 66 kV Semtokha to Dechencholing line used 242 kcmil (122.7 mm2) Silvassa size ACCC® Conductor to replace ACSR Dog size conductor initially installed in 1985. Existing steel lattice structures were used without modification. Spans included highway crossings up to 712 meters.
Bhutan Power Corporation’s projects enabled a substantial capacity increase to support the new 33/66 kV substation at Hongtsho. Hitesh Mundhada, Vice President CTC Global - South Asia stated: "The mountainous terrain made it extremely difficult to bring in men, materials and equipment, and elevation differences between adjacent towers made it very challenging for conductor pulling, but the projects were completed successfully without issue."
ACCC Master Installers Mr. Phani Veerla and Mr. Bapi Ghosh (remotely) provided field support. ACCC® Conductor for the projects were supplied by Gupta Power and ACCC® Hardware was supplied by TAG. The ACCC Conductor’s composite core was produced by CTC at its Global headquarters in Irvine, California.
Bhutan, the birthplace of the Gross National Happiness Index, located on the eastern edge of the Himalayas is known for its monasteries, fortresses (‘Dzongs’) and dramatic landscapes that range from subtropical plains to steep mountains and valleys. Bhutan is bordered by China to the north and India to the south. Nepal and Bangladesh are located in proximity to Bhutan but do not share a land border. It is noteworthy that Bhutan absorbs roughly seven million tons of carbon dioxide annually and only produces around two million tons, due to its dense forests.
Bhutan is the 60th country in the world to successfully deploy ACCC® Conductor to improve the efficiency, capacity, reliability and resilience of the world’s electric power grid. For more information, please contact: info@ctcglobal.com
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ACCC® Conductor is currently reducing CO2 emissions by over 3.5 million metric tons every year - the equivalent of removing over 750,000 cars from the road
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ACCC® ULS Conductor Offers Added Strength and Reduced Sag
First deployed on a 1.4 kilometer lake crossing in Africa in 2013, The ACCC® ULS Conductor offers greater strength, a lower coefficient of thermal expansion and higher modulus of elasticity than the standard ACCC Conductor core. The added strength and lighter weight can enable longer spans and the higher modulus and increased stiffness reduces sag and blow out during high wind conditions. Improved stiffness can also reduce sag under heavy ice load conditions.
Dozens of engineers have specified ACCC ULS Conductor for projects, worldwide, and the ULS version of the ACCC Conductor has served our clients well. The ACCC ULS Conductor is available in many sizes and offers transmission engineers added design flexibility.
The ACCC ULS Conductor can be ordered with Type 1350-O fully annealed aluminum or as an AZR version with Aluminum-Zirconium thermal resistant alloy for even higher overall conductor strength.
The photograph below shows a 1.6 km (~1 mile) river crossing in Moszambique completed by Bouygues. Watch Installation Video
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ACCC AZR Conductor – Expanding the Capabilities of the ACCC® Conductor Using Aluminum Zirconium Alloy to Combat Extreme Ice Loads
ACCC® AZR Conductor uses either the standard 310 ksi core or the higher strength 375 ksi core that is then wrapped with one or more layers of a high strength, thermal resistant aluminum-zirconium alloy. While conventional ACCC Conductors typically use fully annealed aluminum to maximize conductivity, the ACCC AZR Conductor offers nearly the same efficiency, but far greater overall strength. The added strength and increased tensile modulus mitigates conductor sag under heavy wind or ice loads, or very long spans. To learn more visit www.ctcglobal.com
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CTC Global's Free Conductor Comparison Program CCP™ Software is Available Online
CTC Global is pleased to announce that our highly regarded Conductor Comparison Program (CCP™) software is now available online. The new web-based version has all the features found in the Excel version, which has been replaced and will no longer be supported. The new version is designed to make it easier to use, and it also has some new features. Having CCP online will make it easier to keep it up-to-date with new wire files and other data, and to add improvements as they are made. Users will always know they have the current version every time they log in. CCP is also compatible with tablets.
Registration to use CCP requires only a valid email address and password. Users may also use CCP as a guest however, saving and export features are only available to registered users.
Thank you for using our CCP. We welcome your feedback. For technical support, please contact ccphelp@ctcglobal.com
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Looking for ACCC® Conductor Hardware?
Check out our Supplier Parts Database
CTC Global added a new Hardware Supplier Parts Database to our website. The database will help you find all of the hardware components you need to install ACCC® Conductor. The database shows which hardware manufacturers offer the parts you might need in your particular region while offering many options.
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Free Engineering Manual
To help Transmission and Distribution planners, engineers, policy makers, grid operators, technicians and others take full advantage of the ACCC® Conductor's attributes, CTC Global has published a 250 page Engineering Manual.
It offers a very comprehensive set of design guidelines, case studies, figures and facts about conductors and composite materials, and includes links to additional resources and FAQ's
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Check out CTC Global's Blog
In addition to our monthly newsletter and social media posts, CTC Global also posts articles on the Company's BLOG SITE. If you haven't checked it out, please do when you have free time. You will find an interesting array of project details, industry trends and efficiency discussions and much more. We also do our best to respond to posted comments.
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Follow CTC Global on LinkedIn
We hope you find our monthly newsletter informative, but realize you may not have time to read 1,000 e-mails every week. If you'd like to only receive periodic announcements about major CTC Global and ACCC® Conductor activities please consider following us on LinkedIn. To access our LinkedIn page please click: CTC Global LinkedIn
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Follow CTC Global on Twitter
For up to the minute news about CTC Global, the ACCC® Conductor, ACCC Installation Projects and other industry trends, news, and announcements please consider following CTC Global on Twitter. To do so, please click: CTC Global Twitter or look for us @CTC_ACCC
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CTC Global is Hiring
We're dedicated to providing our customers with the highest quality products by employing, developing, empowering and retaining the most energetic and talented employees. At CTC Global we value our employees highly and understand that the company's success is the sum of the success of every individual in the organization.
CTC Global is an equal opportunity employer, provides a drug-free workplace, free of discrimination and harassment, and offers a comprehensive benefits package to its full-time employees. Additionally, CTC has proudly taken the Veteran hiring pledge to affirm our commitment to actively hire veterans of the U.S Armed Forces. For information on a challenging and rewarding position at CTC Global, please contact our HR department directly at: careers@ctcglobal.com or https://www.ctcglobal.com/careers/
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CTC Global proudly works with top-tier manufacturing partners worldwide |
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ACCC® Conductor is an internationally patented and trademark registered product of CTC Global Corporation. The ACCC Conductor is manufactured in association with 35 qualified and licensed international stranding partners. If you are interested in the ACCC Conductor, please contact CTC Global to make sure your supplier is authorized to produce and deliver ACCC Conductor in your area. Thank You.
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CTC Global, Inc. 2026 McGaw Avenue Irvine,
CA 92614 Phone: +1 949.428.8500
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