| In this thesis, an Integrated Model, a physical experimental model, and an artificial neural network model have been developed and investigated to study and predict the operational behaviors of single layer aluminum conductor steel reinforced (ACSR) conductors, used extensively in rural electrification.; The Integrated Model, comprising a mechanical model, an electromagnetic model, a heat transfer thermal model, and a radial conduction model, is an original work to enable the simultaneous prediction of all aspects of the behavior of single layer overhead ACSR conductors at various conditions. Using this Integrated Model, we investigate the effects of lay length, ambient temperature, supply frequency, and other environmental parameters such as time of exposure, air gap thickness, and span length, on the operational behaviors of single layer ACSR conductors.; The comprehensive physical experiment has been designed and performed on three different types of single layer ACSR conductors to measure their thermal and electromagnetic properties under various mechanical conditions. The results compare favorably with the model results over the life of the conductors.; This thesis has developed the artificial neural network model which is trained by the Levenberg-Marquardt optimization algorithm and validated by system identification and statistical criteria. Many modeling techniques are involved: pre-processing and post-processing of datasets; division of training, testing, and forecasting sub-dataset; improvement of the convergence rate and weight updating; neural network topology selection; adaptive parameters optimization; etc. Hourly load demands in Ontario, Canada, have been successfully predicted through an implementation of this artificial neural network model.; Mechanical properties of single layer ACSR conductors are discussed and predicted with the Integrated Model and the neural network model. The analyses of the mechanical properties include their interactive relationship, variation with long time duration, and variation with Ontario daily demands after conductor long service of time.; The design, selection, and improvement of ACSR conductors require intensive understanding of their characteristics. The Integrated Model and the neural network model are powerful tools to design new single layer conductors and to improve existing conductors for their appropriate operating conditions. |
