Batangas State University

EE 517 Power System Analysis and Design

Laboratory Exercise No. 1

Transmission Line Parameters
Balsamo, Jilliane Mae C.1, Maalihan, Karla Clarisse 2
1Batangas State University, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department,
Barangay 22, P. Gomez Street, Batangas City, Philippines, 09561823438
jillianemaeb@gmail.com
2 Batangas State University, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department,
Address of 2nd author, Philippines, 09
author2@email.com

Abstract: This paper will focus on development of better understanding on transmission line parameters. This includes the familiarization
on computation of Geometric Mean Distance and Geometric Mean Radius for different arrangements of conductors of a three-phase single
circuit transmission lines and the RLC parameters of overhead transmission line from its conductor characteristics using the Microsoft Excel.
The results from the MS Excel and manual computation will be compared to identify the differences between them.

Keywords: capacitance, conductance, MS Excel, transmission line

1. Introduction 1.1 Classification of Transmission Lines

Numerical simulation is essential for power system analysis, The classification of the transmission lines depends on its
operation and control decision making. Accuracy of advanced voltage and the length of the conductor. The transmission line
applications, such as state estimation, dynamic simulation, and is the medium of transferring the power from the generating
emergency control, is highly dependent on the accuracy of station to the load centre. It is mainly classified into two types.
equipment models and parameters. Reports of some blackouts They are the:
show that the detailed dynamics can hardly be reproduced by
numerical simulation due to the inaccuracy of equipment 1.1.1 AC Transmission Lines
parameters. It is crucial to improve the quality of equipment The transmission line has resistance, inductance, capacitance
parameters to ensure stable and secure operation of modern and the shunt or leakage conductance G. These parameters along
power systems. with the load and the transmission line determine the
performance of the line. The term performance means the
The function of distribution and transmission lines in power sending end voltage, sending end currents, sending end power
systems is to convey electric energy from its sources of factor, power loss in the line, efficiency of the transmission line,
generation to end users. Electric lines have three parameters that regulate and limit of power flow during efficiency and
affect their ability to effectively move large amounts of energy. transmission, regulation and limits of power during steady state
These parameters are resistance, inductance, and capacitance. and transient condition.
Although distribution and transmission lines are constructed
from low resistance conductors, power transmission distances 1.1.1.1 Short Transmission Line
produce significant inductive and capacitive effects even at 60 If the line is not more than 80 KV or if the voltage is not over
Hz. Conductor resistance also adds to power losses in the system than 66 KV then the line is known as the short transmission line.
which decreases system efficiency. All the electrical parameters The capacitance of the line is governed by their length. The
affect the line's ability to transmit power in the same way; they effect of capacitance on the short transmission line is negligible,
increase the voltage drop across the system, and limit the active but for cable where the distance between the conductor is small,
power that the line can transmit before system stability is the effect of capacitance cannot be ignored. While studying the
sacrificed. performance of the short transmission line only resistance and
the inductance of the line is calculated.
A transmission line is used for the transmission of electrical
power from generating substation to the various distribution 1.1.1.2 Medium Transmission Line
units. It transmits the wave of voltage and current from one end The line which is ranging from 80 to 240 km is termed as a
to another. The transmission line is made up of a conductor medium transmission line. The capacitance of the medium
having a uniform cross-section along the line. Air act as an transmission line cannot be ignored. The capacitance of the
insulating or dielectric medium between the conductors. medium transmission line is considered to be lumped at one or
more point of the lines. The effect of the line is more at high
The performance of transmission line depends on the parameters frequency, and their leakages inductance and capacitance is
of the line. The transmission line has mainly four parameters, considered to be neglected.
resistance, inductance, capacitance and shunt conductance.
These parameters are uniformly distributed along the line. 1.1.1.3 Long Transmission Line
Hence, it is also called the distributed parameter of the The line having a length more than 240 km is considered a long
transmission line. transmission line. All the four parameters (resistance,
inductance, capacitance, and leakage conductance) are found to
be equally distributed along the entire length of the line.

1.1.2 DC Transmission Line

The DC transmission is mainly used for the bulk power
transmission. For long distance transmission, the DC is less
expensive and have low electrical losses. The cost of the DC
transmission systems is higher for short distance transmission
Figure 1.1 Transmission Line Model line because it requires more convertible equipment as
compared to an AC system.

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 Batangas State University
EE 517 Power System Analysis and Design

In shunt conductance, air act as a dielectric medium between the

conductors. When the alternating voltage applies in a conductor,
some current flow in the dielectric medium because of dielectric
imperfections. Such current is called leakage current. Leakage
current depends on the atmospheric condition and pollution like
moisture and surface deposits.
Figure 1.2 HVDC Transmission Line
Shunt conductance is defined as the flow of leakage current
The converter station converts the AC to DC at the sending end between the conductors. It is distributed uniformly along the
and DC to AC at the load end of the line. One of the major whole length of the line. The symbol Y represented it, and it is
advantage of the DC system is that it allows the power measured in Siemens. [1]
transmission between two unsynchronized AC system.
However, we can often see the transmission lines where instead
The inductance and resistance form series impedance whereas of a single conductor per phase multiple conductors per phase
the capacitance and conductance form the shunt admittance. are being used. A metallic structure called spacers groups the
Some critical parameters of transmission line are explained conductors of a phase. The spacers help maintaining a constant
below in detail: distance between the conductors throughout the length, avoid
clashing of conductors among themselves and also connect them
The line inductance means current flow in the transmission line in parallel. Each phase has two or three or four conductors.
induces the magnetic flux. When the current in the transmission
line changes, the magnetic flux also varies due to which emf Each conductor joined by the spacer belongs to the same phase,
induces in the circuit. The magnitude of inducing emf depends and we will have three such group of conductors in a single
on the rate of change of flux. Emf produces in the transmission circuit transmission or six such groups in double circuit
line resist the flow of current in the conductor, and this transmission. We generally use such a configuration when a
parameter is known as the inductance of the line. bulk power is being transmitted to long distances at very high
voltage level.
The capacitance of a transmission or distribution line is due to
the potential difference between conductors. The conductors of The advantages of bundled conductor include bundling of
a line are charged just like the plates of a capacitor, a result of conductors leads to reduction in line inductance. The most
the different potentials of the phases in the line. Another important advantage of bundled conductors is its ability to
capacitance is due to the potential difference between the reduce corona discharge. When power is being transferred at
conductor and the ground. The capacitance is a constant for a very high voltages using a single conductor, the voltage gradient
given conductor type and spacing. around it is high, and there is a high chance that the corona effect
will occur – especially in bad weather conditions. However,
Ac voltage applied to a transmission line causes a time using several conductors nearby instead of one conductor,
varying electric field. The varying field produces a current to forming a bundled conductor which leads to a reduction of
flow in the line even when the load is disconnected. This current voltage gradient and hence the possibility of corona formation.
is called charging current. A single-phase capacitive reactance The increase in critical corona voltage depends upon the
between the ground reference and the conductor models the following: number of conductors in the group, clearance
charging current on a per phase basis. between them, and the distance between the groups forming
separate phases.
While line capacitance in the transmission lines, air acts as a
dielectric medium. This dielectric medium constitutes the It has been found out that the optimum spacing between the
capacitor between the conductors, which store the electrical conductors in a group is of the order of 8-10 times the diameter
energy, or increase the capacitance of the line. The capacitance of each conductor, irrespective of the number of conductors in
of the conductor is defined as the present of charge per unit of the bundle.
potential difference.
Additionally, bundled conductor causes reduction in the
Capacitance is negligible in short transmission lines whereas in formation of corona discharge leads to less power loss and hence
long transmission; it is the most important parameter. It affects improved transmission efficiency of the line. Reduction in
the efficiency, voltage regulation, power factor and stability of communication line interference due to reduction in corona. The
the system. ampacity i.e. the current carrying capacity of bundled
conductors is much increased in comparison to single large
Skin effect increases the ac resistance of conductors. The skin conductor owing to reduced skin effect. As the bundled
effect refers to a non - uniform current distribution in a conductors have more effective surface area exposed to air, it
conductor cross section, causing more current to flow on the has better and efficient cooling and hence better performance
outer area, or skin, of the conductor. This effect usually occurs compared to a single conductor. [2]
at high frequencies. The skin effect in power systems results
from the frequency of operation caused by internal magnetic Moreover, Geometrical Mean Distance (GMD) is the equivalent
effects and large conductor areas. The magnetic flux in the distance between conductors. GMD comes into picture when
conductor causes a non-uniform current distribution in the there are two or more conductors per phase used as in bundled
conductor cross-section. The skin effect at 60 Hz becomes conductors. While Geometric Mean Radius (GMR) is calculated
significant when the conductor size is larger than 566 million for each phase separately. Each of the phases may have different
circular mils (MCM). GMR values depending upon the conductor size and
arrangement. [4]
Conductance between conductors or between conductors and
the ground accounts for the leakage current at the insulators of 1.1 Resistance
overhead lines and through the insulation of cables. The leakage Resistance is the property of a material by virtue of which it
at insulators of overhead lines is negligible, the conductance of opposes the flow of electrons through the material. It restricts
an overhead line is assumed to be zero. the flow of electron through the material. It is denoted by (R)
and is measured in ohms (Ω). When the voltage is applied across
the resistor the free electrons starts accelerating. These moving

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 Batangas State University
EE 517 Power System Analysis and Design

electrons collide with each other and hence opposes the flow of Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program included in
electrons. The opposition of electrons is known as the resistance. the Microsoft Office suite of applications. Spreadsheets present
The heat is generated when the atom or molecules are colliding tables of values arranged in rows and columns that can be
with each other. manipulated mathematically using both basic and complex
arithmetic operations and functions. The “Engineering
Resistance of a material depends on shape of the material and Functions” that was used in the laboratory exercise include:
material type (what material it is made up of).
IMSUM(_,_), which calculates the complex sum of two
1.2 Inductance complex numbers
In the medium and long transmission lines inductance
(reactance) is more effective than resistance. The current flow in IMSUB(_,_), which calculates the complex difference of two
the transmission line interacts with the other parameter, i.e the complex numbers
Inductance. We know that when current flow within a
conductor, magnetic flux is set up. With the variation of current IMPRODUCT(_,_), which calculates the complex product of
in the conductor, the number of lines of flux also changes, and two complex numbers
an emf is induced in it (Faraday’s Law). This induced emf is
represented by the parameter known as inductance. IMDIV(_,_), which calculates the complex quotient of two
complex numbers Also useful are
The flux linking with the conductor consist of two parts, namely,
the internal flux and the external flux. The internal flux is DEGREES(_), which converts a radian angle to degrees
induced due to the current flow in the conductor. The external
flux produced around the conductor is due to its own current and RADIANS(_), which converts a degree angle to radians
the current of the other conductors place around it. The total
inductance of the conductor is determined by the calculation of LN( ), natural logarithm, is a built in function in Excel that is
the internal and external flux. categorized as a Math/Trigonometry function

In symmetrical three-phase line, all the conductors are placed at The complex numbers in Excel carry a large number of decimal
the corners of the equilateral triangle. Such an arrangement of places, so require a wide column to avoid truncating the number.
conductors is also referred to as equilateral spacing. There are additional functions that can calculate powers and trig
functions of complex numbers. [3]
A three-phase line is said to be unsymmetrical when its
conductors are situated at different distances. Such arrangement 4. Equations
of conductors is most common in practice because of their The following equation was used to obtain answer in the MS
cheapness and convenience in design and construction. excel and in manual computation:

1.3 Capacitance 4.1 Temperature Effect

Transmission line conductors constitute a capacitor between The temperature dependence of resistance is quantified by the
them. The conductors of the transmission line act as a parallel relation:
plate of the capacitor and the air is just like a dielectric medium
between them. The capacitance of a line gives rise to the leading 𝑹𝟐 = 𝑹𝟏 [ 𝟏 + 𝜶(𝒕𝟐 − 𝒕𝟏 )]
current between the conductors. It depends on the length of the Where R1 and R2 are the resistances at temperatures t1 and t2,
conductor. respectively, and 𝛼 is called the temperature coefficient of
resistance.
The capacitance of the line is proportional to the length of the
transmission line. Their effect is negligible on the performance 4.2 Geometric Mean Distance
of short (having a length less than 80 km) and low voltage
transmission line. In the case of high voltage and long lines, it is 𝑮𝑴𝑫 = 𝟑√𝑫𝟏𝟐 𝑫𝟐𝟑 𝑫𝟏𝟑
considered as one of the most important parameters.
4.3 Inductance of Transmission Line
The capacitance of the transmission line along with the The inductance per phase per kilometer length is
conductance forms the shunt admittance. The conductance in the
transmission line is because of the leakage over the surface of 𝑮𝑴𝑫
the conductor. [1] 𝑳 = 𝟎. 𝟐𝒍𝒏 ( )
𝑮𝑴𝑹

2. Objectives of the Study where GMR is the geometric mean radius. The GMD is the
This laboratory exercise aims to become familiar with Geometric Mean distance
computing the Geometric Mean Distance (GMD) and
Geometric Mean Radius (GMR) of a three – phase single circuit 4.4 Capacitance of Transmission Lines
transmission lines for different arrangement.
𝟎. 𝟎𝟓𝟓𝟔
Additionally, to consider the effective use of Microsoft Excel in 𝑪=
𝑮𝑴𝑫
computing the given problem on transmission line parameters. 𝒍𝒏 ( )
𝒓

Lastly, to compare the results of simulation with the manual 4.5 GMR of Bundled Conductors
computation. For the four-sub-conductor bundle:

𝟒
3. Materials and Methods 𝑫𝒃𝒔 = 𝟏. 𝟎𝟗 √𝑫𝒔 𝒅𝟑
The materials used in the laboratory exercise is an installed MS
Excel to perform the computation of RLC parameters of Where Ds is the GMR of each sub-conductor and d is the bundle
overhead transmission line from its conductor characteristics spacing.
and tower geometry.

Laboratory Exercise No. 1, February 2019 3

 Batangas State University
EE 517 Power System Analysis and Design

The effect of bundling is to introduce an equivalent radius r b. Given:

The equivalent rb is similar to the GMR (Geometric Mean
Radius) calculated for the inductance with the exception that
radius r of each sub-conductor is used instead of Ds. If d is the
bundle spacing.

We obtain for the four-sub-conductor bundle:

𝟒
𝒓𝒃 = 𝟏. 𝟎𝟗 √𝒓𝒅𝟑

5. Problem and Solution Solution

Problem 1
A sample of copper wire has a resistance of 50Ω at 10 ˚C. Take
the temperature coefficient at 10°C to be α=0.00409/°C. What
must be the maximum operating temperature of the wire if its
resistance is to increase by at most 10 percent? Take the
temperature coefficient at 10°c to be α=0.00409°C-1.

Given:

Solution:

Answer:

L= 1.380183 mH/km

Problem 3
A 735 kV three-phase transposed line is composed of four
ACSR, 954,000 c-mil, 45/7 Rail conductors per phase with
horizontal conductor configuration as shown in figure 4.21.
Bundle spacing is 46 cm. The conductor diameter is 2.959 cm
and GMR is 1.173 cm. Find the inductance and capacitance per
phase per kilometer of the line.

Answer:
t2 = 34.44988 °C

Given:
Problem 2
A 500 kV, three phase transposed line is composed of one ACSR
1,272, 000-cmil, 45/7 Bittern conductor per phase with
horizontal conductor configuration as shown in figure 4.19. The
conductors have a diameter of 1.345 in. and a GMR of 0.5328
in. Find the inductance and capacitance per phase per kilometer
of the line

Laboratory Exercise No. 1, February 2019 4

 Batangas State University
EE 517 Power System Analysis and Design

Solution: II, Alangilan, Batangas City. She is residing at Barangay 22, P. Gomez,
Street, Batangas City.

Answers:
L= 0.889212 mH/km

C= 0.012671 µF/km

6. Results and Discussion

7. Conclusion and Recommendation

References
[1] https://circuitglobe.com/transmission-lines.html

[2]https://www.electrical4u.com/advantages-of-bundled-
conductors/

[3]https://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/microsoft_excel.htm
l

[4]https://www.quora.com/What-
is%E2%80%9CGMD%E2%80%9D-
and%E2%80%9CGMR%E2%80%9D-in-transmission-lines

Author Profile

Balsamo, Jilliane Mae C. graduated at Batangas National High

School. She is 20 years old, born on May 7, 1998. She is currently a 5th
year Electrical Engineering student at Batangas State University Main

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 Batangas State University
EE 517 Power System Analysis and Design

Laboratory Exercise No. 1, February 2019 6