Durability and stability of spacer dampers made of synthetic rubbers under environmental aging conditions

魁北克省的735 kV输电线路配备了四个导线束，需要一个四重间隔阻尼器。一个特殊的四间隔阻尼器是由魁北克水电公司和加拿大哈得逊公司通过一种新的铰接概念开发的。关节由圆柱体组成，圆柱体随着臂的角度变化而弯曲。这种弯曲使关节具有弹性和阻尼特性。弹性体圆柱体围绕中心枢轴容纳在框架的臂内的空腔中。由于弹性体主要承受横向的压缩应力，因此间隔阻尼器铰接件具有优异的抗疲劳性。这些间隔阻尼器被公认为有效、坚固并提供保护导线附件，自1980年以来已安装在所有新建的魁北克水电线路上。它们也被用来取代电网上的旧型号。在魁北克水电公司和世界其他地方，总共安装了80多万个这种间隔阻尼器。尽管设计巧妙，但间隔阻尼器仍然受到各种退化因素的影响，如风振（低振幅和大振幅）;温差（-40 °C至+95 °C）;电晕效应;臭氧和污染物的存在以及霜/冰的积累。在这种情况下，一个由几所大学的研究人员组成的多学科小组提出了一项关于弹性体制成的间隔阻尼器的稳定性和老化行为的研究。该项目的主要目标是获得在框架内进行的弹性体的实验和理论知识。这将有助于更好地了解环境引起的老化机制，然后将老化过程中的物理，机械和化学性能的演变以及这些材料使用过程中存在的老化现象联系起来。这项研究将有可能建立耐老化的要求，弹性体材料中使用的间隔阻尼器。在该项目中获得的知识可能作为确定间隔阻尼器中使用的弹性体材料耐久性标准的源文件，并作为对类似产品进行更深入研究的基础设施。

The 735 kV transmission lines in Québec are equipped with four conductors bundle that requires a quad spacer-damper. A specific quad spacer-damper is developed by Hydro-Québec and Helix Canada by a novel articulation concept. The articulation consists of cylinders that bend as the arms shift in angle. This bending gives the articulation its elastic and damping properties. The elastomer cylinders housed around a central pivot in a cavity within the arm of the frame. Since the elastomers are subjected mainly to compression stresses in the transverse direction, the spacer damper articulation possesses an excellent fatigue resistance. Recognized as effective, robust and providing protective conductor attachment, these spacer-dampers have been installed on all new Hydro-Québec lines built since 1980. They have also been used to replace older models on the grid. In total, more than 800,000 of these spacer-dampers have been installed on Hydro-Québec lines and elsewhere in the world.Despite the smart design, the spacer-dampers are still subjected to various degradation factors such as wind vibration (low and large amplitude); temperature differences (-40 °C to +95 °C); corona effect; presence of ozone and pollutants and accumulation of frost/ice.In this context, a multidisciplinary team composed of researchers from several universities propose a research on the stability and aging behavior of spacer dampers made of elastomers. The main goal of this project is to acquire experimental and theoretical knowledge on the elastomer carried out within the framework. This should allow a better understanding of the mechanisms governing aging caused by the environment and then to correlate the evolution of the physical, mechanical and chemical properties during aging as well as the aging phenomena existing during the use of these materials. This study will make it possible to establish the aging resistance requirements of the elastomer materials used in the spacer-dampers. The knowledge acquired during this project could potentially serve as a source document for determining the standards on the durability of the elastomer materials used in the spacer-dampers, and as an infrastructure for more in-depth studies on similar products.