# Advanced Composite Materials: A Panacea for Improved Electricity Transmission
###### Abstract
Moreover, the fretting wear prevalent on the conventional conductors, aluminum conductor steel reinforced (ACSR) was considered to be another serious challenge militating against the power availability in the African and Asian regions of the world. Lending a voice, [PERSON] et al. [14] opened that poor maintenance, neglect, and lack of research and innovation in the development of power transmission conductors negatively impacts the availability and affordability of electricity in third-world countries. The authors recommended development of more noble and durable transmission cables. They predicted that with smart and robust hybrid nanomaterials, electricity transmission and distribution would improve. This is so because such nanomaterials possess increased electrical conductivity, lower weight, higher thermal conductivity, lower coefficient of thermal expansion, higher wear resistance, and higher corrosion resistance than the existing conductors on the market. Electrical treeing experienced in transmission grids affects the transmission of electricity. According to [PERSON] and [PERSON] [15], electrical treeing breeds inadequate power supply. Electrical treeing manifests as partial discharges on the cables when voltage crosses over an entrapment. This is caused by contaminants trapped inside the conductor. It can also be caused by a mechanical flaw in the transmission line after installation. This manifests as sparks that form tree-like patterns, which may cause serious damage to the transmission network. The source of these entrapments, according to research, is the production techniques of transmission conductors. The techniques that include extrusion, pultrusion, and hot rolling have been adjudged to be prone to producing impure products [16; 17; 18]. The authors opened that the panacea to this defect is the use of advanced production technique which produces impurity-free products, or the best when conventional method attains its technological limits and the application of advanced hybrid/nanomaterials with high resistance to abrasion and corrosion [18; 19; 20; 21]. Some authors believed that 3D printing is one of the best ways of consolidating composites for better performance [22]. In their opinion, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [19] remarked that the quality of pultruded products can be improved by guiding the polymerization and rheological kinetics of the resin. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [17] advocated for a uniformity and slowness of the pulling speed of pultrusion machine so as to hinder cracks promoted by swift and non-uniform pulling,  
Figure 2: Global losses and power outage durations (The World Bank’s Enterprise Surveys (WBES) database 2005–2016) [9]. which breeds fiber breakages or warped products at extreme cases. [PERSON] et al. [20] were of the opinion that the defects associated with extrusion technique can be corrected if adequate precautionary measures were taken. For instance, applying correct additives and maintaining uniform speed of the extruder control the surface roughness of extruded product. Moreover, precision in calculation and addition of resin controls indentation and bubble defects of extruded parts. [PERSON] et al. [23] opined that infiltrated resin enhances most mechanical properties more than non-infiltrated resin. The efficiency of the overhead conventional conductor, ACSR, is also challenged by the high density of its steel core, high affinity to corrosion of the steel core, and high coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of steel material. These factors limit its current-carrying capacity (ampacity) as well as its cost effectiveness [24; 25; 26]. So, research has indicated that replacement of the steel dense core with light weight hybrid nanomaterials would boost its efficiency. This is because the nanomaterials will possess higher corrosion resistance, higher wear resistance, and lower coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE).