Performance Evaluation of Optical Fiber Ground Wire Cable During Short Circuit Condition

Optical ground wires (OPGW) are increasingly being used on overhead transmission lines throughout the world. OPGW conductors protect the power line against lightning or short-circuit and provide communication through optical fibers embedded inside the conductor. In case of conventional ground wire, the permissible instantaneous temperature is limited by the highest allowable loss of tensile strength of metallic materials caused by annealing and bird-caging. Since OPGW conductors are expected to give protection to the embedded optical fiber, they shall meet a further requirement; i.e. the temperature of the conductor shall not rise in such extent that it may cause degradation in the parameters of the optical fiber. The highest temperature that the conductor may reach during and after short-circuit depends on the conductor design. This paper describes the testing requirements and the performance evaluation of typical OPGW conductor during short circuit condition as per IEEE Standard 1138.