Project 35.002 – Conductor, Shield Wire and Hardware Corrosion Management

Develop New Metric to Quantify All Aluminum Conductor (AAC), Aluminum Conductor Alloy Reinforced (ACAR) Conductor, and All Aluminum Alloy Conductor (AAAC) Corrosion: Aluminum strand degradation may occur due to stress cracking corrosion, crevice corrosion, or galvanic corrosion. Preliminary research has shown that a comparison of tensile strength and torsional strength may provide a reliable metric for determining remaining service life of an all-aluminum conductor. The goal of this task is to understand and categorize the severity of aluminum strands degradation in terms of this new metric, correlate that metric with service life, and use that information to select where all-aluminum conductor performance will be maximized. The first set of test findings will be published at the end of 2026, and additional findings will be published in 2027.

Perform Assessment of Degraded or Failed Conductors, Shield Wire, and Hardware from the Field: EPRI intends to continue performing evaluations of aged and failed conductors, shield wire, and hardware and add the results to the annually published Conductor Corrosion Condition Assessment report. Inspection of degraded and failed components from the field increases the industry’s knowledge on degradation mechanisms of components as well as contributing to improving inspection and assessment methodologies and techniques. This report goal is to create a platform for knowledge transfer to increase the understanding of how conductors degrade and the environments that caused the degradation. EPRI intends on publishing an updated Conductor Corrosion Condition Assessment report in 2027.

ACSR & ACSS Steel Core Corrosion Calculator: EPRI intends to continue development of and update the end-of-life calculator for ACSR and ACSS conductors that incorporates the effects of conductor attributes and the surrounding environment corrosivity to determine the conductor’s estimated life span. This information may be utilized by a utility to prioritize conductor inspection, select the right conductor for a specific location, and rank conductor regarding their probability to fail due to corrosion. EPRI intends on updating the web-based calculator in 2027.

Update the Corrosion Management Reference Book (The Rust Book): This reference book contains asset management information for inspection, assessment, mitigation, and remediation of corrosion on transmission lines. The guidebook contains the fundamentals of corrosion, guidance for inspection and assessment, and an understanding of mitigation methods that align with the environment. Future sections are intended to be developed specifically to support underground transmission, substations, and distribution systems. EPRI intends to publish an update in 2027.

Quantify Shield Wire Corrosion: Several types of shield wire (including optical ground wire (OPGW)) are available to utilities that utilize different designs and materials. EPRI intends to catalog shield wires available and evaluate their corrosion properties and resistance to different contaminants. The goal of this task is to estimate the life span of specific shield wires in specific environments. EPRI intends on publishing a technical update report in 2027 on the findings.

Identify and Evaluating New and Emerging Conductor Corrosion Inspection Technologies: EPRI intends to monitor new and emerging conductor corrosion inspection technologies coming out in the market that can be of potential interest for our members. EPRI intends to continue scouting for new and emerging conductor, shield wire, and hardware corrosion technologies in 2027.

Host a Design for Extreme Environments Workshop: EPRI hosted an information sharing session in 2026 in collaboration with P35.008 (Line Resiliency) and P35.003 (Structure and Sub-Grade Corrosion), to facilitate mutual understanding of potentially useful countermeasures for extreme environments. Based on the feedback and gaps uncovered during the session, EPRI intends to start a task evaluating hardware specifically designed for high corrosion areas in 2027 to guide utility in the selection of the most appropriate hardware for extreme environment.

Provide Tools and Resources on The Transmission Resource Center: The following calculators, tools, result summaries, and references are planned to be available on the Conductor, Shield Wire, and Hardware Corrosion Transmission Resource Center: