On the measurement of overhead transmission lines conductor self-damping

This work is about a new methodology for determining the overhead transmission line (OHTL) conductor self damping by means of tests on a laboratory span. The method proposed relies on the inverse standing wave ratio (ISWR) method, but introduces a measurement procedure in condition to limit some of the problems connected to the straight-forward application of the method. It has been studied and tested especially in view of its application to the measurement of the self-damping of particular conductors, such as the optical ground wires (OPGW) and the relatively new all dielectric self supporting (ADSS) optical cables, whose self-damping is very low. A comparison with the results obtained by means of other methods for determining the conductor self damping is presented too.