Temperature Prediction of the Clamp-Conductor Coupling Zone in Transmission Lines

The temperature prediction of the Clamp-conductor coupling zone plays a crucial role in ensuring the safe and stable operation of overhead transmission lines and optimizing the thermal stability margin of transmission lines. While existing research in this field has thoroughly explored temperature rise prediction, the focus has been relatively narrow, either targeting conductors exclusively or focusing solely on clamps, with little attention given to the temperature rise in the conductor-clamp coupling zone or the influence of clamp temperature on conductor temperature rise. Based on this, considering axial heat transfer between the clamp and the conductor, this study develops a thermal model to calculate temperature in the clamp-conductor interface zone. A Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA)-based parameter identification method is employed to overcome challenges in determining model parameters. To validate model performance, a current-carrying temperature-rise experimental platform was designed to supply data for both model verification and parameter identification. By comparing the calculation results with the experimental data, the results show that the maximum average error does not exceed 1.4%, and the maximum error is only 2.79%, verifying the validity of the parameter identification method and thermal model. This work lays a theoretical foundation for predicting temperature distributions at clamp-conductor interfaces under realistic meteorological conditions and supports short-term dynamic capacity increases for overhead conductors, demonstrating significant practical relevance.