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Choosing the Right Fastener - Part ll

By Carl Tamm In the first part of this article, a brief mention was made regarding “conductivity” of fasteners.  This second section will address that issue. Peculiarities of electrical connectors give rise to further thought of fasteners.  It is not…


Choosing the Right Fastener

By Waymon P. Goch With proper attention to the fastener assembly, the best choice is almost always fasteners of the same material as the components being joined. The primary reason is it eliminates differential thermal expansion and contraction, and just…


Fault Current and the Effects on ClampStar®

By Waymon Goch The terms fault and short circuit in electric power systems are frequently used interchangeably but there are slight differences. A fault can be defined as any abnormal flow of current whereas a short circuit is a current that completely…


Corona, RIV/TVI Testing Complete

By Carl R. Tamm If your concept of corona is that it is commonly consumed with a slice of lime, you might wish to read a bit more about issues in our industry that differ slightly from that concept! Fair weather radio and television interference (RIV and…


Important Facts You Need To Know About Surge Arrester Currents

Surge Arrester Currents By Waymon P. Goch Discharge current is the surge current that flows through a surge arrester during discharge of an overvoltage surge (and discharge voltage is the voltage that appears across the terminals of an arrester during…


Problem Connectors on Multiple Sub-Conductors

By Carl R. Tamm If you have a line with two or more sub-conductors per phase, and during an infrared inspection, a scenario is found where one of the sub-conductors has a fitting that is hotter than the one next to it, the natural tendency is to assume…


Surge Arrester Lead Length Revisited

By Waymon P. Goch Surge arrester manufacturers always recommend that line and ground leads be as short and straight as possible in all surge arrester applications. Why? The primary reason is inductive surge impedance. The selection of the best surge…


Avoiding Splice Failures

By Lisa Nelson, EDM International, Inc. One of the primary root causes for splicing failures is poor cleaning of aluminum strands prior to compression.   The Electric Power Research Institute has developed technology that enables line crews to properly…


Corrosion and Splices

By Waymon P. Goch Worldwide, the annual cost of corrosion is $2.2 trillion (US); and is currently estimated to be $429 billion (US) annually in the United States.(1) Corrosion that results in failure of aircraft, pipelines, bridges and other critical…


Inner Workings of an Automatic Splice and Using ClampStar as a Safety Tool

By, Carl R. Tamm ClampStar is used as a tool by several utilities as a “safety” when performing line work on a conductor that contains an automatic splice in the span. As a work method precaution, many utilities require the crew to install a “safety”…