Question

High voltage power is often carried in wire bundles made up of individual strands. In your initial post to the discussion, discuss the forces on the strands of wire due to the current flowing through them. What would happen if the force acted opposite of the known behavior

Answer 1

Answer:

More current will be loss through the metal wire strands if the force on them was repulsive, and more stress will be induced on the wire strands due to internal and external flexing.

Explanation:

A wire bundle is made up of wire strands bunched together to increase flexibility that is not always possible in a single solid metal wire conductor. In the strands of wire carrying a high voltage power, each strand carries a certain amount of current, and the current through the strands all travel in the same direction. It is know that for two conductors or wire, separated by a certain distance, that carries current flowing through them in the same direction, an attractive force is produced on these wires, one on the other. This effect is due to the magnetic induction of a current carrying conductor. The forces between these strands of the high voltage wire bundle, pulls the wire strands closer, creating more bond between these wire strands and reducing internal flex induced stresses.

If the case was the opposite, and the wires opposed themselves, the effect would be that a lot of cost will be expended in holding these wire strands together. Also, stress within the strands due to the repulsion, will couple with external stress from the flexing of the wire, resulting in the weakening of the material.

The biggest problem will be that more current will be lost in the wire due to increased surface area caused by the repulsive forces opening spaces between the strand. This loss is a s a result of the 'skin effect' in wire transmission, in which current tends to flow close to the surface of the metal wire. The skin effect generates power loss as heat through the exposed surface area.