The Proven Alternative for Challenging Thermal Upgrades
3M™ ACCR solves your most difficult upgrade challenges.
Use the Get Started link to let us know your requirements. Our team of design specialists and engineers can show you how 3M ACCR can make your job easier. Click here to see examples of actual customer installations.
Rivers, canyons, wetlands, heavily underbuilt areas, densely populated areas and a variety of other situations often require special solutions. The outstanding strength-to-weight ratio and low thermal expansion of 3M ACCR enable long spans across these special areas, often with installation on existing or fewer structures, avoiding the need to change towers for taller ones, obtain additional rights-of-way or face difficult construction problems in these challenging areas. 3M's design specialists can help.
Although all areas of the transmission grid have an impact on the environment, some areas are more delicate than others. The prospect of upgrading a transmission line by building a new line in an environmentally sensitive area is never an appealing idea. However, the use of 3M ACCR could make the process much easier. Use of existing towers with no additional land requirements and minimal disruption - all achievable because of the unique properties of 3M ACCR - can reduce the environmental impact to the surrounding areas. Installation is quick and the outstanding strength-to-weight ratio and low thermal expansion enable long spans and fewer structures across rivers, canyons and other sensitive areas with no change to the look of the existing line.
High strength to weight ratios and a high modulus combine to make 3M ACCR an ideal candidate for regions that experience heavy mechanical loads. 3M ACCR can increase reliability during the worst loading conditions, such as icing.
Because both the wire and the core are made from aluminum-based materials, 3M ACCR is resistant to corrosive environments, even in coastal or high-pollution areas. No protective coatings are required to prevent galvanic coupling or corrosion, unlike steel or carbon polymer core conductors.
Lack of access to the land under the lines or the towers, strict clearance constraints, and densely populated areas in terms of people, traffic, and structures can increase risk and complicate upgrades to the transmission system. Because 3M ACCR can be installed quickly on existing structures, is installed much the same way conventional conductor is installed and comes with expert design and installation support, it can ensure a quick and successful project with minimal disruptions or additional land requirements.
Clearance requirements over shipping lanes, highway crossings or other sites often change, but the need to deliver the same amount of power persists. Typically, structures would need to be raised or new towers built. However, replacing the existing conductor with 3M ACCR may meet the requirements with no change in diameter or tower loads and, often, with reduced tension.
