ACSR (Aluminium Conductor Steel Reinforced) cables are used to transport electricity. They are made of steel strands in the core and aluminium strands around the edge to guarantee good mechanical properties and electrical conductivity respectively. The strands are subject to fatigue due to their own weight and the action of the wind. In addition, this assembly allows slight relative movement between the wires, resulting in fretting within the conductor. The coupling of these mechanical loadings, known as fretting-fatigue, induces cracking and wear and is particularly critical compared with fatigue alone. Finally, as the cable is not insulated from the environment, rain and condensation induce the presence of water in the conductor, inducing corrosion. The aim of this study is to characterise the effect of fretting-fatigue-corrosion on the conductor strands and to observe the influence of the aqueous environment on the corrosion products in a contact or on crack propagation.

A so-called ‘global’ simulation of a clamp/conductor system has been carried out to obtain the contact conditions in the industrial system and will be briefly presented. The results of this modelling are used to guide the test conditions on the fretting-fatigue-corrosion test rig which is developed as part of this thesis. Fretting-fatigue tests on steel-steel contacts in ambient atmosphere and fretting-fatigue-corrosion tests in salt solution are carried out to understand the effect of mechanical and atmospheric parameters on the lifetime of a contact. These data are used in ‘local’ modelling of a single contact. This modelling is based on a finite element model combined with post-processing using a non-local approach and multiaxial fatigue criteria. The purpose of this model is to estimate the lifetime of a contact in a conductor.