Ultrasonic Direct Detection Method for Ice Thickness Monitoring of Distribution Lines

Line icing seriously affects the safe operation of distribution network. On-line monitoring of distribution line operation is of great significance to the safe operation of distribution network. Therefore, this paper presents a direct ultrasonic detection method suitable for monitoring the ice thickness of distribution lines. The method uses the principle of ultrasonic distance measurement to detect the ice thickness of the line. The ice thickness of the line is half of the distance of the ultrasonic wave in the ice sheet. In this paper, an ultrasonic test platform was set up to directly detect the ice thickness of the simulated wire with a steel rod, and the effects of the ultrasonic probe installation mode, ice thickness and the size and shape of the simulated wire on the measurement method were tested. The results showed that the ultrasonic probe was directly attached to the surface of the simulated wire with ultrasonic coupler, and a clear and recognizable waveform could be obtained. Under the circular steel bar, the ultrasonic ice thickness error decreases first and then increases with the increase of the ice thickness, and the maximum error is less than 6%. With the increase of the analog wire size, the ultrasonic ice thickness error decreases gradually, and the minimum error is less than 2%. Under the square steel bar, with the increase of ice thickness, the ultrasonic ice thickness error shows a decreasing trend, and the maximum error is less than 10%.