Power Line Monitoring

Overhead power lines are periodically inspected using both on-ground and helicopter-aided visual inspection. Factors including sun glare, cloud cover, close proximity to power lines, and rapidly changing visual circumstances make airborne inspection of power lines a particularly hazardous task. In this study, the feasibility of continuous, on-line monitoring of power lines using ultrasonic waves is considered. A sending/receiving transducer located on the power line generates an ultrasonic wave in the cable. A defect in the cable will cause a portion of the incident ultrasonic wave to be reflected back to the transducer. Data acquired by the transducer can be relayed to a central communication node via a wireless transmitter. The methodology developed in this study can also be applied to other cable monitoring applications, such as bridge cable monitoring, which would otherwise put human inspectors at risk.