Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 99–111

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Electric Power Systems Research

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/epsr

Analysis of half-wavelength transmission line under critical balanced faults: T

Voltage response and overvoltage mitigation procedure
⁎
Javier Santiago , Maria Cristina Tavares
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UNICAMP — University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This paper presents a detailed study of half-wavelength (HWL) transmission line system under critical fault
Long distance transmission conditions. This non-conventional ultra high voltage alternating current (UHVAC) transmission line has ex-
Half-wave length cellent properties in steady-state operation condition and economic advantage when compared to conventional
Fault UHVAC system and even high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems for similar power capacity.
Overvoltage
This technology has been studied for many decades and its response under condition fault is an important topic.
Transient
First, the point of fault and the type of fault conditions are evaluated to confirm that balanced faults in specific
regions are critical. Then the main characteristics of voltage response of HWL transmission system under ba-
lanced fault are presented and critical regions that produce severe overvoltage are identified and main transient
characteristics are described. Finally, a preliminary mitigation procedure is shown and its performance is
evaluated.

1. Introduction HWL transmission line has a length equal to the half of wavelength
of a system excited with a cosine function of 60 Hz that is around
Nowadays, large countries like Brazil, Russia and China require bulk 2500 km, and for a 50 Hz system that is around 3000 km. It is possible
power transmission projects to connect potential energy sources with to use its properties for flexible distance transmission trunks, con-
load centers located at a long distance. Conventional ultra high voltage sidering tuning banks based on inductive and capacitive components
alternating current (UHVAC) transmission line projects could have [9,10].
lengths with more than 1000 km [1] and operate with more than Transmission lines with HWL properties allow to maintain the vol-
1000 kV [2] using intermediate substations. However, technical and tage at line ends near 1.0 pu independent of the loading level without
economical constraints, such as the necessity of high reactive power additional reactive power support [6,11]. They have good steady-state
support, stability issues and complex operational restrictions, limit this stability properties, as it behaves as a short line [11] under normal
alternative for longer lengths. Cases with higher distances use ultra high operation. As HWL transmission lines do not use power electronics
voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines because of the great converters, the issues related to these equipments are not a concern.
technological evolution in power electronics and many years of ex- The switching transient overvoltage level on HWL lines are lower than
perience. Nevertheless, classical HVDC technology with line-commuted those presented on conventional UHVAC lines using regular mitigation
converters presents limitations, such as coarse reactive power control, techniques [9]. Preliminary studies show that the cost can be much
necessity of dynamic reactive power support to work in weak power smaller than conventional UHVAC lines with similar power capacity
systems, necessity of very sophisticated control systems, among others and even lower than UHVDC transmission lines [12,13].
[3,4]. However, as HWL line is an outgoing technology, practical opera-
An alternative for power transmission over long distance is a tional issues need thorough study. According with literature, protection
transmission line with half-wavelength (HWL) properties that is a point system and critical faults along the line are the most important points to
to point AC link. HWL line has been studied for many years [5,6] and be approached.
now it raised attention for transmitting hydropower from the Amazon In the field of protection system, many elements of conventional
river basin to Southeast load centres of Brazil [7]; and transmitting lines protection system cannot be directly applied to HWL line due to
power from Xinjiang region to Eastern coastal region of China [8]. different behavior of line impedance and the necessity to consider the

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: javiersa@dsce.fee.unicamp.br (J. Santiago), ctavares@unicamp.br (M.C. Tavares).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsr.2018.10.002
Received 27 March 2018; Received in revised form 17 July 2018; Accepted 1 October 2018
Available online 13 October 2018
0378-7796/ © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
J. Santiago, M.C. Tavares Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 99–111

capacitance effect on such very long line [8,14]. Also, literature shows
that phasor estimation during fault can require especial attention [15].
About these issues, some protection aspects are already being studied
like: innovative impedance-base fault location algorithm [16,14] and
faulty phase selector [17]. Other protection related fields like single-
phase auto-reclosing scheme [18], single-phase overvoltage fluctua-
tions [19] and voltage and current behavior under different fault types
[20,21] are being studying.
About critical faults, previous studies show that some faults along
the line can cause abnormal overvoltage level, especially for three-
phase fault on critical HWL line regions, what indicates a positive re-
sonance condition at network frequency [11]. Line-to-line (LL) fault
will also promote severe overvoltages, as it will also generate positive
(and negative) sequence resonance, and LL fault is much more prone to
occur than three-phase faults, mainly considering that this bulk trans-
mission will take advantage of compact transmission lines. These severe
overvoltage jeopardize the line insulation level and also substation
equipment, including the proper operation of protection equipment’s as
circuit-breakers [22].
Although three-phase faults are the least common type of fault in Fig. 1. Test HWL+ transmission system and power system connected at both
power systems, especially in UHVAC systems, they need special atten- ends.
(a) Tower geometry. Conductors with average height.
tion because critical fault locations can produce abnormal overvoltage
(b) Test power system.
on HWL lines and they represent the positive sequence response. The
main properties can be directly extrapolated to LL faults.
In Ref. [23] surge arrester was considered to control those severe Table 1
overvoltages due to critical faults and it was verified that an excessive Position of the conductors in the bundle.
quantity of these equipment would be necessary due to high energy Phases Phase A Phase B Phase C
produced during the fault. That would compromise the reliability and
1 −8.09; 22.73 1.39; 22.87 8.09; 21.35
by far the most relevant property of HWL that is to be a point-to-point
2 −9.07; 23.7 0.58; 23.68 9.07; 20.37
alternative. 3 −10.45; −23.7 −0.58; 23.68 10.45; 20.37
This paper presents a detailed analysis of HWL line under faults. In 4 −11.42; 22.73 −1.39; 22.87 11.42; 21.35
Section 2, the test system is presented, and then a primary analysis of 5 −11.42; 21.35 −1.39; 21.72 11.42; 22.73
different fault types is shown in Section 3 to find the potential critical 6 −10.45; 20.37 −0.58; 20.9 10.45; 23.7
7 −9.07; 20.37 0.58; 20.9 9.07; 23.7
faults. After that, in Section 4 a detailed analysis of balanced faults and
8 −8.09; 21.35 1.39; 21.72 8.09; 22.73
their critical conditions is shown, identifying the main factors asso-
Ground wires −9; 31.73 9; 31.73
ciated to its severity, specifically fault type and location, the strength of
remote terminal system and loading level. Such an extensive analysis
has not been presented before. Finally, in Section 5 both sustained and
Table 2
transient study were performed and a preliminary mitigation procedure Transmission line parameters — calculated for 60 Hz.
is proposed and tested. The criteria to locate and adjust the mitigation
device are discussed. Electrical parameters

Zero sequence
R0 (Ω/km) X0 (Ω/km) B0 (μs/km)
2. Test system 0.3871 1.3502 4.066

Positive/negative sequence
2.1. HWL+ transmission line R1 (Ω/km) X1 (Ω/km) B1 (μs/km)
0.0068 0.1737 9.5367
Voltage level of 800 kV permit a good efficiency level for a HWL line Electromagnetic parameters
with 2600 km [24]. Therefore, the test system considered for the pre- γ (km−1) α + j β = 0.0000254 + j 0.0012873
sent analysis is an 800 kV with 2600 km at 60 Hz transmission line that ZC (Ω) 134.98 − j 2.66
PC (MVA) 4745
is a little more than half wavelength line. Such a long line needs a high λ (km) 4882
nominal voltage level and it also should have high power capacity. In
the present study the line bundle geometry was optimized to achieve
SIL of 4745 MW [25]. This non-conventional line has an asymmetrical 2.2. Equivalent power system
bundle configuration with different central phase geometry as shown in
Fig. 1a, which additionally reduces the right of way. The position of Different power systems are considered in order to identify their
each conductor in the bundle is shown in Table 1. The adopted soil influence on the fault response. Specifically the following systems were
resistivity is 2000 Ω m, what is a moderate value in Brazilian Amazon considered: generation station, strong power system and weak power
region [20,26]. Table 2 shows the electrical parameters for 60 Hz system.
(considering a balanced line). The generation station has 11 synchronous machines and step-up
Actual transposition cycles were considered in the transient study. transformers which resulted in three-phase short circuit current (Scc) at
The 2600 km line was split into 9 transposition cycles of 288 km each 800 kV busbar of 9.6 kA.
one. Each cycle is divided into 4 sections of 48 km, 96 km, 96 km and The strong and weak power systems were based on typical 500 kV
48 km. HWL+ line was implemented in PSCAD/EMTDC software with Brazilian data, specifically: 40 kA (strong system) and 10 kA (weak
frequency dependent phase model. system). To calculate the positive sequence and zero sequence

100
J. Santiago, M.C. Tavares Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 99–111

Table 3 Table 4
Power system parameters. Internal voltage-angle of equivalent sources.
Source equivalent impedances Load |Vs| < Vs |Vr| < Vr
pu kV (°) kV (°)
Source Zero sequence (Ω)
Generation — 15 kV 0.000754 + j 0.025904 Case: generation — weak system (GW)
Strong system — 500 kV 7.2169 + j 36.084 1.0 16.9 212.2 494.0 -12.8
Weak system — 500 kV 28.868 + j 144.34 Case: generation — strong system (GS)
0.1 13.6 187.3 499.5 -0.3
Source Positive sequence (Ω)
0.5 14.6 199.9 497.9 -1.6
Generation — 15 kV 0.000754 + j 0.025904
1.0 16.5 213.2 496.2 -3.2
Strong system — 500 kV 1.1864 + j 7.1187
Case: strong — strong system (SS)
Weak system — 500 kV 4.7458 + j 28.475
1.0 457.3 206.2 410.05 -13.3
Case: weak — weak system (WW)
Equivalent transformer 1.0 551.5 224.4 453.9 -35.1
Case: strong — weak system (SW)
Transformer Xr (%) kV Total MVA 1.0 457.3 206.5 453.9 -35.1

T1 11.84 800/15 5197.5

T2 10.00 800/500 4500.0
voltage and current per phase along the line is described by (3), where
ZC is the positive sequence characteristic impedance and x is the dis-
parameters of the equivalent systems it is used the following Brazilian tance from sending.
system data for 500 kV: X1/R1 = 6, X1/X0 = 0.2 and X0/R0 = 5.0.
X1/R1 value depends on short circuit, voltage levels and the specific 2π
λ=
characteristics of power system. It could varies from 5 to 40. Lower β (1)
values are usually found in points of system with longer length lines
and/or sources located far away. We use a lower value considering γ= ZY = (R+jωL)(G+jωB) = α + jβ (2)
those conditions. Step-down 800/500 kV transformers were used.
Table 3 introduces the parameters of the equivalent systems. Fig. 1b
⎡ V(x) ⎤ = ⎡ cosh(γ·x ) − ZC senh(γ ·x ) ⎤ ⎡ Vs ⎤
·
shows single-line diagram of the tested system. ⎢ I(x) ⎥ ⎢− 1/ ZC senh(γ ·x ) cosh(γ·x ) ⎥ ⎢I ⎥
⎣ ⎦ ⎣ ⎦ ⎣ s⎦ (3)
Although in some countries there is an established UHV transmis-
sion system, the test was implemented in the Brazilian system between The electrical angle of a transmission line is θ = β·L, and so for
Amazon region and north part of São Paulo city were the largest EHV L = λ/2 we have θ = 180°. When there is no load, θ is equal to the
level is the 500 kV. Moreover, 500 kV voltage level is being considered voltage angle between transmission line terminals. According to the
in further expansion. Therefore, there is a need for step-down trans- classical AC transmission line theory, this voltage angle (δ) gives in-
former at grid side. formation about steady-state stability of active power transfer. Under
Following possible configurations were considered: different loading conditions and network frequency variations, δ suffers
small variations that can affect the steady-state stability properties, and
a. Generation station − strong power system (GS). reactive and active power control of HWL transmission line [9]. For
b. Generation station − weak power system (GW). these reasons, in order to guarantee a good steady-state performance, it
c. Strong power system − strong power system (SS). is important to have a transmission line system with θ ≈ 190°, that
d. Weak power system − weak power system (WW). means L ≈ 2600 km that is a little more than half-wavelength (HWL+).
e. Strong power system − weak power system (SW). Considering that the voltage at receiving end is adjusted to 1.0 pu
and knowing that it is not practical to send reactive power over long
2.3. Power system operation condition for different configurations distances, the power factor at a receiving end is set to 1.0. Eq. (3) is
used to calculate voltage and current profile along the HWL+ line for
The basic control variables for transmission line operation condition the different loading levels shown in Fig. 2a and b. As existing literature
are the voltage magnitude and voltage angle difference between line shows, voltages at both line ends are around 1.0 pu and current at the
ends. Setting the voltage and the loading condition at receiving end and middle of the line is near 1.0 pu, independent of loading level. Also,
using the two-port network theory, the voltage and current at sending when load is 1.0 SIL the voltage and current profile is almost flat along
and receiving ends are determined. The basic premises to determine the the whole line. The voltage in the middle of the line is proportional to
voltages of sources are to get the desired load levels at receiving end the loading level, as can be observed by considering x = λ/4 at (3).
and to delivery zero reactive power to receiving end. Transmitting re-
active power through such a very long line is not suitable from tech- 3.2. Voltage levels under fault condition
nical and economical point of view. Table 4 shows the voltage of in-
ternal equivalent sources (behind the equivalent impedance) for every Fig. 3a shows HWL line under fault condition applied at ‘x’ km from
loading condition in pu and different scenarios studied. sending end. Using two-port network theory the equivalent two-port
element system representation is shown in Fig. 3b (4).
3. Theoretical analysis of half-wavelength power transmission To solve the system under fault condition, formerly the internal
line currents of both sources are calculated as shown in (5). Then we cal-
culate the voltage along the line using (6). Two-port element of long
3.1. Transmission properties transmission lines section are defined by (3) choosing the correct
length. For symmetrical faults it is possible to use the equivalent posi-
The wavelength of a transmission line (λ) is calculated by (1), where tive sequence circuit. A more generalized analysis should consider
β is the imaginary part of constant propagation γ showed in (2). Z and Y three-phase two-port element [16,27].
are the series impedance and the shunt admittance per unit length,
respectively, and ω is the angular power frequency. For a balanced [Qeq] = [QZeqS][Q TrS][QL (x ) ][Q Fault ] ⎡QL λ − x ⎤ [Q TrR ][QZeqR ]
three-phase transmission line, using two-port network theory, the ⎣ (2 )⎥
⎢ ⎦ (4)

101
J. Santiago, M.C. Tavares Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 99–111

Fig. 2. Main steady-state characteristics of HWL+ transmission line for different loading levels.
(a) Voltage profile of HWL+ transmission line.
(b) Current profile of HWL+ transmission line.

QL(X): line with ‘x’ km two-port element.

QFault: fault two-port element.
QL(λ/2−x): line with ‘λ/2-x’ km two-port element.
QTrR: receiving end TR impedance two-port element.
QZeqr: receiving end equivalent impedance two-port element.
x: point of fault at ‘x’ kilometers from sending.
Vs, Is: Internal voltage and current of sending end equivalent.
Vr, Ir: Internal voltage and current of receiving end equivalent.
VL(Y), IL(Y): V and I at point of measure located at ‘Y’ km from
sending.
Eqs. (4)–(6) with all system data were implemented on Matlab to
simulate steady-state voltage response under fault conditions for an
“open end” line condition. Therefore, the voltage in this part of analysis
Fig. 3. Power system representation. is a post-fault steady-state condition value.
(a) Test system. Different types of fault applied at different points along the line
(b) Two-port element system representation. were simulated. It was observed that the voltage profile along the line
could vary greatly with type of fault and fault location. It was observed
from all simulations that three-phase faults applied at 2166 km (83% of
⎡Vs ⎤ = [Q ] ⎡Vr ⎤
⎢ Is ⎥ eq
⎢ Ir ⎥ length from source) cause the highest overvoltage. Faults applied far
⎣ ⎦ ⎣ ⎦ (5)
from this critical point have lower overvoltage levels. Fig. 4 shows the
voltage profile resulting from three-phase faults at: 2166 km, 1877 km
⎡ Vs ⎤ = [Q ⎡ VL (Y) ⎤
ZeqS ][Q TrS ][QL (Y) ] and 1300 km. Fault at 2166 km produces a severe overvoltage profile
⎢ Is ⎥ ⎢ IL (Y) ⎥ (6)
⎣ ⎦ ⎣ ⎦ with a maximum value of 8.34 pu at 1000 km. Sliding the fault toward
where: the sending end maximum voltage reduces and location of maximum
QZeqs: sending end equivalent impedance two-port element. voltage moves toward this terminal. Faults downstream 1800 km pro-
QTrS: sending end TR impedance two-port element. duce overvoltage lower than 2.0 pu.

Fig. 4. Voltage profile for balanced faults applied at three locations.

102
J. Santiago, M.C. Tavares Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 99–111

Fig. 5. Voltage profile for phase A to ground faults applied at three locations.

Additionally, it was observed that all line-to-ground (LG) faults 4.2. Influencing factors on severity and critical location of three-phase fault
produce lower overvoltage. Fig. 5 shows the voltage profile resulting
from phase A to ground faults at: 2166 km, 1877 km and 1300 km. Sensitivity analysis of steady-state voltage response with variation
Fault at 2166 km produces a maximum overvoltage profile with highest of load level and strength of source is presented in this section.
value of 3.3 pu at 1000 km. Those lower overvoltage levels are derived
from higher zero sequence attenuation. 4.2.1. Loading level
Fig. 6 shows the maximum sustained voltage per phase due to
permanent fault along the line with generation station at sending end
4. Three-phase fault analysis and strong power system at receiving end (GS configuration of source).
It is important to notice that the maximum value does not occur at the
4.1. Three-phase fault simulation consideration fault location, as it is seen in Fig. 4. A source connected to a no-load
HWL+ line has just one network frequency resonant point, as indicated
At this stage all simulations were performed in PSCAD/EMTDC on Refs. [29,30] and proved in Section 3. Fig. 6 shows two voltage
software. Faults were applied on 37 discrete points along the HWL+ peaks, each one associated to each terminal equivalent that produces a
line. As the line was divided in several sections to introduce transpo- resonance near the opposite HWL+ line terminal. There is a cross re-
sition representation, fault locations and measurements points, each ference between terminal equivalent and resonance location. Maximum
line section has regular line length. No exquisite line length was mod- overvoltage values are obtained with higher loading level and the lo-
eled, what removed the need of investigating the line model adequacy cation of critical fault region does not change with loading level. The
for HWL studies. Both transformers’ saturation and surge arresters on sending end has a resonance for fault applied at 81% of line (distance
substation are modeled. As the line transposition was modeled, phase from sending end) and its maximum voltage is 9.9 pu for 1.0 SIL and for
response will change on all the remainder of the text. light loading (0.1 SIL) is 7.5 pu. The receiving end has resonance for
As already observed, on UHVAC systems three-phase faults are ex- fault applied at 87% of line (distance from receiving end) and its
tremely rare events that normally are associated to tower collapsing. maximum value is 6.1 pu that practically has no variation with loading
Fault resistance depends mainly of these factors: type of fault, voltage level. It can also be observed that the power flow direction is relevant to
level, arc length, level of fault, time frame of analysis and grounding define the highest resonant condition, being the sending terminal more
resistances (substations and towers). Considering these factors for test important than the receiving terminal.
system, phase fault resistance could vary from 0.1 to 10 Ω [28]. For test
system it is adopted a conservative value of 10 Ω. The main properties 4.2.2. Strength of equivalent source at both ends
of three-phase faults can be extended to phase-to-phase faults. Fig. 7 shows maximum sustained voltage per phase produced by
It is important to state that the transmission line model in this work permanent fault along the line with GS and GW configuration of
does not consider the disruptive discharge between phase and ground sources. In both cases HWL+ line carries 1.0 SIL. As the source of
(or tower) or corona effect for high overvoltage level. Even so it allows sending end is always a generation station (G) the resonant fault point
to identify the critical conditions. This means that critical cases in this does not change. For receiving end the fault resonant location varies
work can have extremely high over-voltage. However in practical cases when considering a strong source (S — 87% from receiving end) and a
if no mitigation method is used, an electric disruption will occur on weak source (W — 76% from receiving end). Therefore, weaker sources
different points along the line that formerly reach such higher values, move the resonant point towards the central region (attracts the critical
removing the resonance condition and promptly reducing the voltage location). Additionally, weaker sources reduce the maximum over-
level, however in an uncontrolled way. A controlled way to reduce the voltage level, in this case from 6.1 pu to 5.0 pu.
voltage is introduced in Section 5. Fig. 8 shows maximum sustained voltage per phase produced due to
permanent fault along the line with SS, SW and WW configuration of

103
J. Santiago, M.C. Tavares Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 99–111

Fig. 6. Maximum voltage for three-phase fault along the line for different loading condition. Configuration GS.

sources, HWL+ line carrying 1.0 SIL. Sending end with strong source by sending source is higher than critical fault seen by receiving source.
(S) produces maximum overvoltage of 7.7 pu for faults applied at 87% However, no variation on distance from source of that critical locations
of length of line from sending end. If a strong source is connected to the is observed.
receiving end, the point of fault with resonance condition is at 87% of
length from the receiving end, but with maximum overvoltage of
4.2.3. Maximum voltage profiles
6.1 pu, lower than the case when it is connected to sending end.
Fig. 9 shows the voltage profile along the line due to three-phase
Sending end with weak source (W) produces maximum overvoltage of
fault on both critical locations, specifically at 2166 km and at 377 km of
7.0 pu for faults applied at 76% of length of line from sending end.
length from sending end, when configuration GS is used.
When the same weak source is connected to receiving end, the point of
Maximum voltage takes place in the middle section between source
fault with resonance condition is located at 76% with overvoltage of
and fault location, at 1000 km from sending or receiving end, de-
5.0 pu.
pending on the case. There is an unbalance in voltage among phases
When strength of sending and receiving equivalent source is similar
due to real transposition representation.
(as shown in SS and WW cases) maximum voltage of critical fault seen
Fig. 9 also shows the voltage profile along the line due to three-

Fig. 7. Maximum voltage per phase for three-phase fault along the line for different source configuration GS and GW.

104
J. Santiago, M.C. Tavares Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 99–111

Fig. 8. Maximum voltage per phase for three phase fault along the line for source configuration SS, SW and WW.

phase fault applied on the sending end (0 km) and in the middle of the systems have been developed to cope with this profile. In the case of
line (1300 km) that are non-critical points, when configuration of HWL+ lines, voltage and current behavior under three-phase faults are
sources GS is used. For three-phase fault on sending end, maximum completely different and severe overvoltage is the most challenging
voltage is around 1.75 pu and occurs at kilometer 1200 from sending characteristic to deal with. As some algorithms were proposed to detect
end. faults in HWL+ lines [14,16,31], in this section we introduce the main
It is very important to notice that three-phase and phase to phase voltage transient characteristic in order to specify a mitigation proce-
faults applied out of critical region have lower voltage levels and are dure, if necessary.
not a concern for system. Fig. 10a shows the voltage waveform at five points along the line (0,
530, 1010, 1580, 2070 and 2600 km) when a three-phase fault is ap-
plied on critical point at 81% of length from sending end for source
4.3. Transient characteristic of voltage under three-phase fault
configuration GS (critical three-phase fault location).
Considering that protection system should trip the line until
UHVAC conventional systems under fault usually present high
100 ms ≈ 6 cycles after fault occurrence, the voltage waveform and
overcurrent level without severe overvoltage and their protection

Fig. 9. Voltage and current profiles with three-phase fault. Source configuration GS. Fault at critical and non-critical points.

105
J. Santiago, M.C. Tavares Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 99–111

Fig. 10. Three-phase permanent fault on critical location. Source configuration GS.
(a) Voltage waveform.
(b) Active and reactive power.
(c) Voltage waveform with protection trip at 100 ms.
(d) Active and reactive power with trip at 100 ms.

106
J. Santiago, M.C. Tavares Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 99–111

Fig. 11. Three phase fault at non-critical locations. Source configuration GS.
(a) Voltage waveform for fault at sending end.
(b) Active and reactive power for fault at sending end.
(c) Voltage waveform for fault at the middle of the line.
(d) Active and reactive power for fault at middle of line.

active and reactive power are shown in Fig. 10c and d. Again, these application. It means that even if a protection system can detect and
cases produce severe overvoltages. In fact, those cases will provoke clear the fault, it is necessary that HWL+ line protection system acts
dielectric breakdown in the middle of line. extremely fast to avoid transmission system insulation breakdown.
In the simulated case, a permanent fault is modeled and voltage Nowadays, conventional protection systems, considering optimal
reaches its maximum values approximately 300 ms after fault incep- conditions in algorithms processing, relay contact and circuit-breakers
tion. Voltage would reach extremely high values, as well as active and tripping time, can reach 50 ms (3 cycles), which is still not enough to
reactive power as shown in Fig. 10b. protect the HWL+ line under critical three-phase fault location.
Fig. 10c shows that voltage is above 2.5 pu at 1000 km from sending Fig. 11 shows the voltage waveform on five points along the line (0,
end within 20 ms, or better, in the second cycle after the fault 530, 1010, 1580, 2070 and 2600 km) and active and reactive power

107
J. Santiago, M.C. Tavares Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 99–111

when three-phase faults are applied out of critical region, first at Fig. 12 shows the maximum voltage measured along the line due to
sending terminal (Fig. 11a, b) and later at the middle of the line LG faults (on phases A–C) applied along the line and the maximum
(Fig. 11c, d), when source configuration is GS. In these cases, protection voltage due to statistical line energization. With this information spark-
system trips the line at 100 ms after the fault. gap voltage breakdown is defined with a 10% margin. For spark-gap at
Fault on the sending end of the line on Fig. 11a, b produces a 1300 km the maximum voltage due any LG fault is 1.98 pu and the
maximum overvoltage of 2.3 pu around 1000 km from sending end. maximum voltage of maneuver is 1.18 pu. Therefore, voltage break-
The duration of this voltage level is shorter than half a cycle and this down of spark gap is set to 2.17 pu. Simulations were performed ap-
overvoltage is not severe. Active and reactive power do not present plying three-phase faults along the line with spark-gap connected.
abnormal high values during all transient period. Fault in middle of the Spark-gap model used is based on long electric arc model in free space
line produces a maximum overvoltage of 1.70 pu. Once more, over- [32,33], that represent a primary arc with long electrode distance. It
voltage level and active and reactive power values during all transient was considered three standard deviation of 2% for spark-gap voltage
period are under regular values. breakdown.
Fig. 13 shows the maximum voltage and current produced by any
5. Overvoltage mitigation requirements and evaluation of method fault point along the line. The two voltage peaks around critical faults
based on spark gaps were drastically attenuated. Now the maximum overvoltage is around
4.1 pu when fault is applied at 1877 km. Maximum current is under
Overvoltages due to positive sequence faults (three-phase or LL typical values.
faults) out of critical region will not provoke extremely high over- Fig. 14 shows the maximum voltage and maximum current along
voltages. Protection system acting on standard 100-ms time can prop- the line for three-phase fault applied along the line. This profile is de-
erly protect the HWL+ line. Therefore, no special overvoltage mitiga- fined by worst cases that produce the highest voltage and current at
tion procedure is needed. every point of measurement. Maximum voltage for worst fault is mea-
Three-phase faults within critical region produce severe overvoltage sured around 250 km from sending end. Maximum currents are found
that compromises the line insulation performance. Overvoltages can at both ends and in the middle of the line.
reach 2.5 pu in around 1 cycle and keep on increasing. Typical system Fig. 15a shows the voltage waveform on different points along the
protection time response (considering time of protection algorithm, line (0, 288, 1011, 1588 and 2600 km) during three-phase fault at
relay and circuit-breaker) are not adequate for HWL line. In those cases 1877 km from sending end for case GS with spark gap installed. Max-
extreme overvoltages will provoke insulation breakdown along the line, imum overvoltage occur at 288 km and the peak has a duration lower
probably in the central region. Therefore, an overvoltage mitigation than ¼ of cycle. Fig. 15b shows the voltage across the gap and Fig. 15c
procedure is necessary to control the overvoltage until the protection shows the arc current. Gap ignites as soon as breakdown value is
system trips HWL+ line. reached. Active and reactive power at both terminals were contained by
In this paper a preliminary mitigation procedure is presented. This the gap, Fig. 15d.
procedure consists in installing spark gap at the middle of the line in Therefore the characteristic values for the spark gap proposed are:
order to drastically reduce the voltage profiles. An spark gap is a surge
protective device consisting of an open-air or enclosed gap that is ■ Nominal voltage system: 800 kV.
connected phase to ground. The criteria proposed to locate and design ■ Maximum peak of arc current: 29 kApk–5 ms.
the gap breakdown voltage are: ■ Critical flash over (CFO): 2.17 pu (1.417 MVpk).

■ Spark-gaps are used because of fast action as they act as a voltage- 6. Conclusions
controlled switch. When voltage reaches breakdown value (VBD)
spark-gap closes, grounding the line in microseconds. Half-wavelength (HWL+) transmission is an extremely interesting
■ The most straightforward location is 1300 km, because grounding AC alternative for bulk power transmission over very long distances.
the center of line will detune the resonance condition and voltage This paper presents an extended analysis of faults on HWL+ lines, with
profile tends to decrease as seen in Fig. 9 and Fig. 11c. focus on the most critical cases. Factors that affect faults severity on
■ Voltage breakdown is coordinated with LG faults and with typical HWL lines are type and location of fault, strength of source and loading
switching maneuvers in order to prevent operation for any of these level, in that order.
events. The three-phase fault on critical regions produce the most severe
overvoltages profiles, deserving a special analysis. The results can be

Fig. 12. Maximum voltage along the line due to different LG faults and line energization.

108
J. Santiago, M.C. Tavares Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 99–111

Fig. 13. Maximum voltage (V) and current (I) along the line due to different three-phase faults using one spark-gap in the middle of line.

Fig. 14. Maximum voltage (V) and current (I) measured along the line for worst three-phase faults using one spark gap in the middle of line.

extrapolated for line-to-line faults, which are much more prone to the worst will be severity. The power flow direction also influences the
occur, mainly if compact transmission line structures are considered. critical overvoltages, being more severe the critical location near re-
Therefore, the positive sequence faults must be studied carefully in ceiving end.
HWL lines. Line-to-ground faults are less severe in such a long line due The critical fault region may range from 350 km to 400 km around
to zero sequence attenuation. both critical points. Three-phase fault in these regions will produce high
There are two critical regions for three-phase fault, each one asso- overvoltage along the line and the maximum value will occur in the
ciated with the network equivalent at the remote line end, what we middle region between the remote terminal and the fault location.
named as cross terminal equivalent resonance location. The critical These faults are extremely severe and 2.5 pu can be reached as fast as
fault points are defined by the remote terminal strength and correspond within 1 cycle.
to region between 70% and 90% of the line measured from that term- Faults out of critical regions are not severe and can be eliminated
inal. Weaker equivalent source moves the critical point towards the line without any special procedure. However, due to the voltage rising rate
central region; we can say that they attract the critical location. The of critical faults, typical protection times of 4–6 cycles cannot be con-
overvoltage severity (maximum value) is directly influenced by the line sidered. All properties of three-phase faults can be extrapolate to line-
loading, being higher for higher loading level. The stronger the source to-line fault.

109
J. Santiago, M.C. Tavares Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 99–111

Fig. 15. Three-phase fault on critical point (1877 km) with arc gap on 1300 km. Source configuration GS.
(a) Voltage waveform on different points of the line.
(b) Voltage waveform across arc gap.
(c) Arc current waveform.
(d) Active and reactive power at sending and receiving end.

A preliminary mitigation method was presented based on the in- Acknowledgments

stallation of spark-gaps in all three phases in the middle of the HWL. It
removed the positive sequence resonance condition in less than ¼ This work was supported by Funding agencies FAPESP (2015/
cycle, allowing regular protection actuation. The maximum overvoltage 13823-0 and 2017/20010-1) and CNPq (306351/2017-0), Brazil.
was reduced to 4.0 pu. Further studies will specify the number of gaps
and their characteristics, taking into account the line protection co- References
ordination.
[1] Global Energy Interconnection, “UHV Grid,” Development and Cooperation
Organization, 2016, [Online]. Avalible: http://www.geidco.org/html/qqnycoen/

110
J. Santiago, M.C. Tavares Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 99–111

col2015100800/column_2015100800_1.html. [18] O. Dias, M.C. Tavares, Single-phase auto reclosing mitigation procedure for half
[2] N.B. Kutuzova, Experience in the Design and Operation of 1150 kV Overhead Line wavelength, IET Gener. Transm. Distrib. (2017) 1–9.
Ekibastuz-Ural from the Point of View of Influence on the Environment (In [19] Y. Zhang, Y. Wang, B. Han, L. Ban, Z. Xiang, R. Song, Mechanism and mitigation of
Russian), energo-info, 2012 [Online]. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/ power fluctuation overvoltage for ultra high voltage half-wave length transmission
20110812223757/http://www.energo-info.ru/images/pdf/Kutuzova.pdf. system, IEEE Trans. Power Deliv. 8977 (c) (2017) 1.
[3] M.P. Bahrman, B.K. Johnson, The ABCs of HVDC transmission technologies, IEEE [20] E.A. Silva, F.A. Moreira, M.C. Tavares, Energization simulations of a half-wave-
Power Energy Mag. 5 (2) (2007) 32–44. length transmission line when subject to three-phase faults — application to a field
[4] N.M. MacLeod, C.D. Barker, N.M. Kirby, Connection of renewable energy sources test situation, Electr. Power Syst. Res. 138 (2016) 58–65.
through grid constraint points using HVDC power transmission systems, 2010 IEEE [21] M.A. Paz, M.C. Tavares, Energization of the half-wavelength transmission trunk
PES Transmission and Distribution Conference and Exposition: Smart Solutions for considering the occurrence of single phase fault, Int. Conf. Power Syst. Transients
a Changing World, New Orleans, LA, USA, 2010, pp. 1–7. (2013) 1–6.
[5] F.J. Hubert, M.R. Gent, Half-wavelength power transmission lines, IEEE Spectr. 2 [22] J. Gertrudes, E. Gomes, M. Tavares, Circuit Breaker TRV on a No-Load AC Half-
(1) (1965) 1–9. Wavelength Transmission Line, Ipstconf.Org, Vancouver, Canada, 2013, pp. 1–7.
[6] F.S. Prabhakara, K. Parthasarathy, H.N. Rao, Analysis of natural half-wave-length [23] F.M. Gatta, F. Iliceto, Analysis of some operation problems of half-wave length
power transmission lines, IEEE Trans. Power Appar. Syst. PAS-88 (12) (1969) power transmission lines, IEEE Conference Publications — 3D Africon Conference.
1787–1794. Africon ’92 Proceedings (Cat. No.92CH3215) (1992) 59–64.
[7] L.C.F. Gomes, L.C.P. Da Silva, M.C. Tavares, Half-wavelength transmission lines for [24] J.S. Ortega, M.C. Tavares, New perspectives about AC link based on half-wave-
connecting power plants in Amazon region to the Brazilian system, 2013 IEEE length properties for bulk power transmission with flexible distance, IET Gener.
Grenoble Conference PowerTech, POWERTECH 2013 (2013). Transm. Distrib. 12 (12) (2018) 3005–3012.
[8] T. Feng, et al., Analysis of Fault Characteristics of Half-wavelength AC Transmission [25] J.S. Acosta, M.C. Tavares, Methodology for optimizing the capacity and costs of
Lines, Conference 2016 IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting (PESGM), overhead transmission lines by modifying their bundle geometry, Electr. Power
Boston, MA, USA, 2016 no. 51120175001, pp. 8–12. Syst. Res. (October) (2017).
[9] J.A. Santiago, M.C. Tavares, Electromagnetic transient study of a transmission line [26] M. Tavares, et al., Power Transmission over long Distances with Half-WaveLength
tuned for half wavelength, International Conference on Power Systems Transients Technology, (In Portuguese) project’s book of ANEEL 004/2008 by Annel-
— IPST 2015, Cavtat, Croatia, 2015 p. 7. Eletronorte-Chesf-Ente-Unicamp-UEFS-UFBA, First Edit, São Paulo, 2017.
[10] F.S. Prabhakara, K. Parthasarathy, H.N.R. Rao, Performance of tuned half-wave- [27] J. Ronne-Hansen, A General Model for Representing Arbitrary Unsymmetries in
length power transmission lines, IEEE Trans. Power Appar. Syst. PAS-88 (12) Various Types of Network Analysis, IEEE Trans. Power Syst. 12 (3) (1997)
(1969) 1795–1802. 1323–1330.
[11] F. Iliceto, E. Cinieri, Analysis of half-wave length transmission lines with simulation [28] V. De Andrade, E. Sorrentino, Typical expected values of the fault resistance in
of corona losses, IEEE Trans. Power Deliv. 3 (4) (1988) 2081–2091. power systems, 2010 IEEE/PES Transmission and Distribution Conference and
[12] C. Portela, M. Alvim, M.C. Tavares, M.R. Azevedo, New concepts of long distance Exposition: Latin America, T and D-LA 2010, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2011, pp. 602–609.
transmission lines at alternatng current and extra high voltage, XX SNPTEE, Recife- [29] S. Xiao, Y. Cheng, W. Wan, Y. Wang, Relay protection for half wavelength AC
PE, Brazil, 2009. transmission line, Beijing, China, APAP 2011 — Proceedings: 2011 International
[13] G. Samorodov, et al., Technical and economic comparison between direct current Conference on Advanced Power System Automation and Protection, vol. 2, 2011,
and half-wavelength transmission systems for very long distances, IET Gener. pp. 1308–1311.
Transm. Distrib. 11 (11) (2017) 2871–2878. [30] J.A. Santiago Ortega, Behavior of Transmission Lines with Half-Wavelength
[14] F.V. Lopes, B.F. Küsel, K.M. Silva, D. Fernandes, W.L.A. Neves, Fault location on Properties as an Option for Very Long Distances Transmission. Master Dissertation,
transmission lines little longer than half-wavelength, Electr. Power Syst. Res. 114 University of Campinas, 2015.
(2014) 101–109. [31] F.V. Lopes, B.F. Küsel, K.M. Silva, Traveling wave-based fault location on half-
[15] B.F. Kusel, K.M. Silva, E.C. Molas, Analysis of phasor estimation in signals from wavelength transmission lines, IEEE Lat. Am. Trans. 14 (1) (2016) 248–253.
faults in half-wave length transmission lines, Anais do XIS Congresso Brasildeiro de [32] V.V. Terzija, H.-J. Koglin, Long arc in free air: laboratory testing, modelling, si-
Automatica, Campina Grande, Brazil, 2012, pp. 4588–4595. mulation and model-parameters estimation, IEE Proc. Gener. Transm. Distrib. 149
[16] R.G. Fabián Espinoza, Distance Protection for Half-Wavelength Power Transmission (3) (2002) 319.
Lines (In Portuguese). Doctoral Thesis, University of Campinas, 2015. [33] V.V. Terzija, H.-J. Koglin, Long arc in free air: testing, modelling and parameter
[17] R. Fabián Espinoza, M.C. Tavares, Faulted phase selection for half-wavelength estimation: part I, Ninth International Conference on Harmonics and Quality of
power transmission lines, IEEE Trans. Power Deliv. 8977 (c) (2017) 1–10. Power, Orlando, FL, USA, USA, 2000, pp. 404–409.

111