Power Systems II ECE 317

Course Module 1

• Transmission Line Parameters

• Transmission Lines: Steady-state Operation
 Power System
• A system dedicated to the business of electric power:
– Generation (Production)
– Transmission (Transportation)
– Distribution (Retailing)
• The elements include:
Generators, transformers, transmission lines,
busbars, loads, switching devices, control devices,
protection, measuring instruments and so on.
• The requirements on such a business are:
– Highest reliability standards (deliver power in real time,
on demand, and within acceptable voltage & frequency
limits)
– Minimum environmental impacts
– Lowest operation cost
Typical Power System
 Transmission Line Parameters
1.1 Transmission Line Design Considerations.
1. Conductors
• Main material: Aluminium mostly used, instead of copper
- Advantages: Cheaper; lighter; abundance
- Disadvantage: Higher losses for same cross-sectional area

• Most common conductor types:

o ACSR (aluminium conductor, steel-reinforced),
o AAC (all-aluminium conductor),
o AAAC (all-aluminium-alloy conductor),
o ACAR (aluminium conductor alloy-reinforced),
o Expanded ACSR (has fibre or paper filler to increase
conductor diameter, thereby reducing conductor surface
electric field).
• Fig 1.1 Cross-sectional view
of an ACSR conductor

• EHV lines (above 230 kV)

are “bundled” (more than 1
conductor per phase) – to
reduce series reactance and
corona effect (lower electric
field at conductor surface).

• Fig 1.2 Typical lattice

structure of a 345 kV line
 2. Insulators

• Used to insulate line conductors from the supports, thus

preventing any current leakage to ground.
• Insulators should have the following properties:
 High mechanical strength
 High electrical resistance
 High relative permittivity (high dielectric strength)
 High ratio of puncture strength to flashover
• Common materials: porcelain (main material), glass,
steatite
• Types: pin type (up to 33 kV), suspension type (porcelain
discs, each rated at 11 kV, connected in series by metal
links).
 3. Support Structures

• Double-circuit 345-kV lines: self-supporting steel

towers with phases arranged in triangular form (to
reduce tower height) or in vertical configuration (to
reduce tower width).

• Wood frames: voltages up to 345 kV

4. Shield Wires

• Located above the phase conductors for protection

against lightning

• Grounded to the tower

 5. Electrical Factors

• Phase conductors need sufficient thermal capacity (for

normal load, emergency overload, and short-circuit
currents)

• Adequate line insulation is required to deal with

overvoltages due to lightning and switching surges, and to
account for reduced clearances during strong winds.

• Shield wires must intercept lightning strokes. Tower footing

resistance is reduced by using driven ground rods or a
buried conductor (counterpoise).

• Line height: to satisfy conductor-to-ground clearances,

control ground-level electric field and potential shock
hazard.

• Conductor spacing, types and sizes: determine series

impedance and shunt admittance.
 6. Mechanical Factors

• Conductors: ability to support specified ice thickness

and wind, and own weight.

• Suspension insulator strings: ability to support phase

conductors with ice and wind loadings from tower to
tower.

• Towers: deal with phase conductors and shield wires

with ice and wind loadings, plus conductor vibrations
(which may cause conductor failure fatigue).
 6. Environmental and Social Factors

• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies

must be conducted before new line route and
voltage level is decided.

• Factors include: effect on local communities, land

values, access to property, wildlife, use of public
facilities, visual impact, and biological effects of
prolonged exposure to electric and magnetic fields.

7. Economic Factors

• Total installed cost of line plus cost of line losses

must be considered.
1.2. Resistance
 1.3 Conductance

• Accounts for real power loss between conductors or

between conductors and ground (due to leakage
currents at insulators and corona in overhead lines).

• It is normally neglected in overhead lines

• If the conductivity of the dielectric material is known,

then conductance for underground cables is:

G = Cσ/ε mhos per m

1.4 Inductance: Solid cylindrical conductor

Fig 1.3 Flux linkage of a long

round conductor
Fig 1.4 Flux linkage between D1 and D2
1.5 Inductance: Single phase two-wire line

Fig 1.5 Single phase 2 wire line

 λ in Terms of Self- & Mutual Inductance
• Consider a single-phase circuit with 2 coils of L11, L22 and
L12
• Then λ1 = L11I1 + L12I2 and λ2 = L21I1 + L22I2

• Since I2 = - I1, we have:

λ1 = (L11 - L12)I1 and λ2 = (-L21 + L22)I2

• Comparing these with equations for L1 and L2, we have

• L11 = 2 x 10-7 ln 1/r’1
• L22 = 2 x 10-7 ln 1/r’2
• L12 = L21 = 2 x 10-7 ln 1/D

• With n conductors carrying phasor currents such that

• I1 + I2 + … + In = 0, we have
• λi = 2 x 10-7 (Ii ln 1/r’I + ∑ Ij ln 1/Dij )
1.6 Inductance: Three-phase three-wire line with equal
phase spacing

Fig 1.6 Three phase line with equal phase spacing

Example
Three-Phase (Asymmetrical Spacing)
Transpose Line
Bundled Conductors
Capacitance of Transmission Lines
Single-Phase Lines
Capacitance of Three-Phase Lines
Bundled Conductors
 Assignment
• A 3-ph transmission line is designed to deliver 120 MW at
132 kV over a distance of 140 km. The total transmission
loss is not to exceed 5% of rated line MW. The resistivity
of the conductor material is 2.84 x 10-8 Ω-m. Determine
the required conductor size in cm2.

• A single phase transmission line 35 km long consists of 2

solid round conductors, each having a diameter of 0.9 cm.
The conductor spacing is 2.5 m. Calculate the equivalent
diameter of a fictitious hollow, thin-walled conductor
having the same equivalent inductance as the original line.
What is the value of the inductance per conductor?
 Corona

• It is a local electric field that ionizes the air and causes a

discharge, when the surface potential gradient of a
conductor exceeds the dielectric strength of the
surrounding air (~ 30 kV/cm)
• It produces power loss, audible hissing sound , ozone and
radio & TV interference
• Corona is a function of:
 Conductor diameter
 Line voltage
 Line configuration
 Type of conductor and condition of its surface
 Atmospheric conditions (air density, humidity, wind)
• It can be reduced by:
 Increasing the conductor size and spacing
 Use of conductor bundling
• Critical disruptive voltage: The minimum phase-neutral
voltage at which corona occurs.

d
Vc = m0 g 0δr log e kV/phase
r
3.92b
where δ = , air density
273 + t
b = barometric pressure, cm
r = radius of conductor, cm
d = conductor spacing, cm
mo = surface irregularity factor (1 for polished
conductors; 0.98 ~ 0.92 – dirty conductors;
0.87 ~ 0.8 - stranded conductors)
g 0 = breakdown strength of air at 76 cm of Hg and
25oC (30 kV/cm max or 21.2 kV/cm rms)
• Visual critical voltage: the minimum phase-neutral
voltage at which corona glow appears all along the line
conductors
 0.3  d
Vv = mv g 0δr 1 +  log e kV/phase
 δr  r
Where mv – irregularity factor (1 for polished
conductors; 0.72 ~ 0.82 – rough conductors)

• Corona power loss

 f + 25  r
P = 242.2  (V − Vc )2 x 10−5 kW/km/phas e
 δ  d
Where f = frequency (Hz), V = phase-neutral voltage
(rms), Vc = critical disruptive voltage (rms)