Electrical · Power Transmission & Distribution
Transmission Line Sag & Clearance Analysis
Beginner 3 weeks 20-40 hours
Build a physical scaled transmission span with a weighted conductor. Measure sag vs tension and vs temperature (heat the wire). Compare measurements to catenary calculations.
Major
Electrical
Focus area
Power Transmission & Distribution
Total hours
20-40 hours
What you'll need
- copper wire spool 18 AWG
- load cell 5kg with HX711 amplifier weight sensor kit
- Arduino Uno R3 ATmega328P microcontroller board
- DS18B20 waterproof digital temperature sensor probe
- digital caliper 6 inch stainless steel measuring tool
- pulley and calibration weight set
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Steps
- Build a scaled span with the copper wire hung between two supports.
- Attach the load cell to measure tension and use the calipers to measure sag at midspan.
- Measure sag at several tensions by adding calibration weights.
- Gently heat the wire, log temperature, and measure how sag increases.
- Calculate expected sag with the catenary equation and compare it to your measurements.
- Chart measured vs. calculated sag and document the project for your portfolio.
What to photograph for your portfolio
- Scaled span build
- sag vs tension plots
- thermal expansion test
- measured vs catenary calc
Resume bullet starters
Copy one, then swap in your own numbers.
Engineered a transmission line sag & clearance analysis using Transmission engineering, mechanical measurement, data analysis
Applied sensors to implement, test, and validate the analysis end-to-end
Skills you'll show off
Transmission engineeringmechanical measurementdata analysissensors