EuroWire July 2019

Focus on China

Safe maintenance Villages in south-west China’s Chongqing municipality are deploying drones equipped with a flamethrower to remove debris on overhead power lines. Debris was previously cleared by workers who climbed the 70m towers and wire-walked the 500kV cables while the power was switched off. “We used to clean waste on the wires by initiating a temporary power outage and using a crane or climbing the pole to get the debris, which was a long and complicated process,” said He Tao, a technician from the power company that developed the drone. “However, the drone is able to solve the problem safely without the need for an outage.”

The drone is equipped with a fuel tank, oil pump, automatic ignition device and the flamethrower.

“For ordinary plastic bags or kites, it only takes around ten seconds to eliminate the waste. But for canvas, banners or tree branches it could take up to 30 seconds. Burning off a honeycomb will take the longest – around ten minutes,” he said, adding that, due to precise operation of the drone, the wires are undamaged. Chongqing Municipality – China Website : www.cq.gov.cn

Galvanised steel wire for cable armouring

Anbao specialises in galvanised steel wire for cable armouring.

The process can be applied for land cables according to EN10257- 1 (zinc or zinc alloy coated non-alloy steel wire for armouring for power cables and telecommunication cables-Part1 Land cables). Zinc coating complies with EN10244-2 Class A coating and also Class C coating. By the advanced galvanising wiping system, the wire surface will not have zinc lumps or carbon foam problems. The adherence of the zinc can pass the wrapping test and the conformity can achieve a good record in the dipping test. The wires will be one length without welding after galvanisation in a 500-800kg coil, and even coils with welding before galvanisation. Anbao also provides galvanised steel wire for submarine cables to EN10257-2 (zinc or zinc alloy coated non-alloy steel wire for

▲ A typical application for galvanised steel wires from Anbao

armouring for power cables and telecommunication cables- Part2 Submarine cables). Grade 34, 65 and 85~165 are all available. Anbao Corp – China Website : www.anbao.com

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July 2019

Bigstockphoto.com – Mao Tse Tung Tiananmen Gate Gugong Forbidden City Palace, Beijing, China. Photographer – Bill Perry