Research Progress on Materials for Electric Power Fittings

As ultra-high voltage (UHV) grids expand to extreme environments like high-cold and heavy-icing regions, power fittings face challenges including low-temperature brittleness, increased ice loads, and corrosion failure. The ferroalloy, aluminum alloy, and titanium alloy fittings, focusing on titanium's breakthrough potential for heavy-icing conditions, were analyzed. Ferrous fittings suffer from hysteresis loss and low-temperature brittleness. Aluminum fittings offer lightweight and non-magnetic benefits but lack sufficient tensile strength for heavy loads. Titanium alloys excel with ultra-high specific strength, corrosion resistance, and unique low-temperature toughness (e.g., twinning-dominated plasticity), making them ideal for heavy-icing environments. While successful in specialized tools like live-line clamps, titanium's wider adoption is limited by high material and processing costs. Future research should prioritize low-cost alloy design, long-term icing environment validation, and novel processing, which can enhance grid safety in extreme conditions.