EE369

POWER SYSTEM ANALYSIS

Lecture 6
Development of Transmission Line
Models
Tom Overbye and Ross Baldick

Homework
HW 5 is Problems 4.9, 4.11, 4.13,
4.18, 4.21, 4.22, 4.24, 4.25 (assume
Cardinal conductor and look up GMR
in Table A.4); due Thursday 10/2.
HW 6 is problems 4.26, 4.32, 4.33,
4.36, 4.38, 4.49, 5.1, 5.7, 5.8, 5.10,
5.16, 5.18; case study questions
chapter 5 a, b, c, d, is due Thursday,
October 9.
2

Review of Electric Fields

To develop a model for transmission line capacitance
we first need to review some electric field concepts.
Gauss's law relating electric flux to enclosed charge):

A Dgda

= qe

(integrate over closed surface)

where
D =
da =
A =
qe =

electric flux density, coulombs/m 2

differential area da, with normal to surface
total closed surface,
total charge in coulombs enclosed
3

Gausss Law Example

Similar to Amperes Circuital law, Gausss

Law is most useful for cases with symmetry.
Example: Calculate D about an infinitely
long wire that has a charge density of q
coulombs/meter.
Since D comes
radially out,
integrate over th
cylinder boundin
the wire.
D is perpendicul
A Dgda D 2 Rh qe qh
to ends of cylind
q
D
ar where ar radially directed unit vector
2 R
4

Electric Fields
The electric field, E, is related to the electric
flux density, D, by
D = E
where
E = electric field (volts/m)
= permittivity in farads/m (F/m)
= o r
o = permittivity of free space (8.85410-12
F/m)
r = relative permittivity or the dielectric
constant
(1 for dry air, 2 to 6 for most dielectrics)
5

Voltage Difference
The voltage difference between any two
points P and P is defined as an integral
V

Egdl,

where the integral is along any path

from point P to point P .

Voltage Difference
In previous example, E

ar , with ar radial.
2 o R

Consider points P and P , located radial distance R and R

from the wire and collinear with the wire.
Define R to be the radial distance from the wire
q
on the path from points P to P , so Egdl
gdR
2 o R
Voltage difference between P and P (assuming = o ) :
V

R
q
q
gdR
ln
2 o R
2 o R
7

Voltage Difference, contd

Repeating:

R
q
q
gdR
ln
2 o R
2 o R

So, if q is positive then those points closer to the

charge have a higher voltage.
The voltage between two points (in volts)
is equal to the amount of energy (in joules)
required to move a 1 coulomb charge
against the electric field between the two points.
Voltage is infinite if we pick one of the points to be
8
infinitely far away.

Multi-Conductor Case
Now assume we have n parallel conductors,
each with a charge density of qi coulombs/m.
The voltage difference between our two points,
P and P , is now determined by superposition
V

R i
1 n

qi ln

2 i 1
R i

where R i is the radial distance from point P

to conductor i, and R i the distance from P to i.
9

Multi-Conductor Case,
contd
n

If we assume that

qi 0 then rewriting

i =1

1 n
1
1 n

qi ln

qi ln R i

2 i 1
R i 2 i 1

We then subtract

qi ln R 1 0
i 1

R i
1 n
1
1 n

qi ln

qi ln

2 i 1
R i 2 i 1
R 1

R i
As we move P to infinity, ln
0
R 1

10

Absolute Voltage Defined

Since the second term goes to zero as P goes to
infinity, we can now define the voltage of a
point w.r.t. a reference voltage at infinity:
V

1 n
1

qi ln

2 i 1
R i

This equation holds for any point as long as

it is not inside one of the wires!
Since charge will mostly be on the surface
of a conductor, the voltage inside will equal
the voltage at the surface of the wire.

11

Three Conductor Case

Assume we have three

infinitely long conductors,
A, B, & C, each with radius r
B
and distance D from the
other two conductors.
Assume charge densities su
that qa + qb + qc =0
1
1
1
1
Va
q
ln

q
ln

q
ln
a
b
c
2
r
D
D
qa
D
Va
ln
2 r
A

12

Line Capacitance
For a single capacitor, capacitance is defined as
qi CiVi
But for a multiple conductor case we need to
use matrix relationships since the charge on
conductor i may be a function of V j
q1
C11 L
M

M L

qn
Cn1 L
q CV

C1n
M

Cnn

V1
M

Vn
13

Line Capacitance, contd

We will not be considering the
cases with mutual capacitance. To eliminate
mutual capacitance we'll again assume we have
a uniformly transposed line, using similar arguments
to the case of inductance. For the previous
three conductor example:
Since qa = C Va

qa
2
C

Va
ln D
r
14

Bundled Conductor
Capacitance

Similar to the case for determining line

inductance when there are n bundled conductors,
we use the original capacitance equation just
substituting an equivalent radius
Rbc

(rd12 L d 1n )

Note for the capacitance equation we use r rather

than r ' which was used for Rb in the inductance
equation
15

Line Capacitance, contd

For the case of uniformly transposed lines we
use the same GMR, Dm , as before.
C

ln

2
Dm
Rbc

where
Dm
Rbc

d ab d ac d bc

( rd12 L d 1n )

(note r NOT r ')

in air o 8.854 10-12 F/m

16

Line Capacitance Example

Calculate the per phase capacitance and
susceptance
of a balanced 3, 60 Hz, transmission line with
horizontal phase spacing of 10m using three
conductor bundling with a spacing between
conductors in the bundle of 0.3m. Assume the
line is uniformly transposed and the conductors
have a a 1cm radius.

17

Line Capacitance Example,

contd
1
Rbc

Dm
C

Xc

(0.01 0.3 0.3)

(10 10 20)

0.0963 m

12.6 m

2 8.854 1012
11

1.141 10 F/m
12.6
ln
0.0963
1
1

C
2 60 1.141 1011 F/m
2.33 108 -m (not / m)
18

Line Conductors
Typical transmission lines use multistrand conductors
ACSR (aluminum conductor steel
reinforced)
conductors are most common. A
typical Al. to St. ratio is about 4 to 1.

19

Line Conductors, contd

Total conductor area is given in circular mils.
One circular mil is the area of a circle with a
diameter of 0.001, and so has area 0.00052
square inches
Example: what is the area of a solid, 1
diameter circular wire?
Answer: 1000 kcmil (kilo circular mils)
Because conductors are stranded, the
inductance and resistance are not exactly given
by using the actual diameter of the conductor.
For calculations of inductance, the effective
radius must is provided by the manufacturer. In
tables this value is known as the GMR and is
usually expressed in feet.
20

Line Resistance
Line resistance per unit length is given by

R =
where is the resistivity
A
Resistivity of Copper = 1.68 10-8 -m
-8

Resistivity of Aluminum = 2.65 10 -m

Example: What is the resistance in / mile of a
1" diameter solid aluminum wire (at dc)?
-8

2.65 10 -m
m

R
1609
0.084
2 2
mile
mile
(0.0127) m
21

Line Resistance, contd

Because ac current tends to flow towards
the surface of a conductor, the resistance of
a line at 60 Hz is slightly higher than at dc.
Resistivity and hence line resistance
increase as conductor temperature
increases (changes is about 8% between
25C and 50C)
Because ACSR conductors are stranded,
actual resistance, inductance, and
capacitance needs to be determined from
tables.
22

ACSR Table Data (Similar to

Table A.4)

GMR is equivalent to Inductance and Capacit

assume a geometric me
effective radius r
distance Dm of 1 ft. 23

ACSR Data, contd

Dm
X L 2 f L 4 f 10 ln
1609 /mile
GMR
1

3
2.02 10 f ln
ln Dm
GMR

1
3
2.02 10 f ln
2.02 103 f ln Dm
GMR
7

Term from table,

Term independent
depending on conductor type,
of conductor, but
but assuming a one foot spacing
with spacing Dm in
fee
24

ACSR Data, Cont.

To use the phase to neutral capacitance from table

2 0
1
XC
-m where C
Dm
2 f C
ln
r
Dm
1
6

1.779 10 ln
-mile (table is in M-mile)
f
r
1
1 1

1.779 ln 1.779 ln Dm M-mile

f
r f
Term from table,
Term independent
depending on conductor type,
of conductor, but
but assuming a one foot spacing
with spacing Dm in
fee
25

Dove Example
GMR 0.0313 feet
Outside Diameter = 0.07725 feet (radius = 0.03863)
Assuming a one foot spacing at 60 Hz
1
7
X a 2 60 2 10 1609 ln
/mile
0.0313
X a 0.420 /mile, which matches the table
For the capacitance
1
1
6
X C 1.779 10 ln 9.65 104 -mile
f
r
26

Additional Transmission
Topics
Multi-circuit lines: Multiple lines often share a
common transmission right-of-way. This DOES
cause mutual inductance and capacitance, but
is often ignored in system analysis.
Cables: There are about 3000 miles of
underground ac cables in U.S. Cables are
primarily used in urban areas. In a cable the
conductors are tightly spaced, (< 1ft) with oil
impregnated paper commonly used to provide
insulation
inductance is lower
capacitance is higher, limiting cable length
27

Additional Transmission
topics
Ground wires: Transmission lines are
usually protected from lightning strikes
with a ground wire. This topmost wire (or
wires) helps to attenuate the transient
voltages/currents that arise during a
lighting strike. The ground wire is
typically grounded at each pole.
Corona discharge: Due to high electric
fields around lines, the air molecules
become ionized. This causes a crackling
sound and may cause the line to glow!
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Additional Transmission
topics
Shunt conductance: Usually ignored. A
small current may flow through
contaminants on insulators.
DC Transmission: Because of the large
fixed cost necessary to convert ac to dc and
then back to ac, dc transmission is only
practical for several specialized applications
long distance overhead power transfer (> 400
miles)
long cable power transfer such as underwater
providing an asynchronous means of joining
different power systems (such as the Eastern
and ERCOT grids).
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