Superhydrophobic coatings of the electrical wires of the transmission line

Superhydrophobic coatings of the electrical wires of the transmission line.

 

 

Superhydrophobic coating – a material showing the so-called “Lotus effect”. This effect manifests itself in that upon contact with such material, the water drop takes a shape close to spherical, and with a slight inclination of the material relative to the horizon, a drop rolls down the surface, capturing the motion of all surface contamination.

 

Description:

Superhydrophobic coating – a material showing the so-called “Lotus effect”. This effect manifests itself in that upon contact with such material, the water drop takes a shape close to spherical, and with a slight inclination of the material relative to the horizon, a drop rolls down the surface, capturing the motion all impurities the surface.

One of the distinguishing features of superhydrophobic materials, self-cleaning surfaces from dust and other solid particles during its contact with drops of fluid. The fact that even at very small tilting superhydrophobic surface water drops do not slip on it and slide down. Due to the hydrophobic properties of the surface, it virtually does not accumulate water, which can crystallize. In addition, the already formed ice, rime or wet snow on such surfaces adhere poorly and showered with wire under the action of its own weight or wind.

In more formal terms, is called superhydrophobic materials, simultaneously characterized by three properties:

– a drop of water forms on them wetting angle of over 150°,

– roll angle, i.e. the angle of the surface to the horizon at which the drop c with a diameter of 2-3 mm starts to slide, does not exceed ten degrees,and

finally, the effect of self-cleaning surfaces in contact with drops of water.

The Lotus effect or superhydrophobicity of the surface in the nature of the phenomenon is not unique and is common to many plants or insects. The Lotus leaf is just the most studied and widely referred to by the object.

The build up of snow and ice on the wires and electric poles – a big problem. Especially dangerous are ice storms when super cooled droplets of liquid fall on a metal surface having a temperature below zero.

With aluminum surfaces solid & stranded aluminum wires, which are deposited superhydrophobic coating, the ice easy to remove. So, when superhydrophobicity processing the bond strength of ice to aluminum decreases by 2.6 times, if the ice cover is necessary to twist the stranded cable, and 5-10 times, when pulling single core wire. A trace of ice on the liberated wire remains. From the frequent repetition of this procedure, the quality of the coating is practically not affected, it turned out to be resistant to mechanical loads. Therefore, the superhydrophobic coating can also be considered lizoformin. It is very tolerant of cyclic temperature changes from -18 °C to +25 °C, typical average strip of Russia.