12/13/23, 8:20 AM What is the Corona Effect in Transmission Lines?

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What is the Corona Effect in

Transmission Lines? How
Engineers Overcome it?

Last updated: Oct 14, 2021

There is a hissing noise with violet glow phenomenon termed as corona
effect which is commonly observed in high voltage transmission lines.
The corona effects leads to high voltage drop and energy loss along with
release of ozone gas. There is a need to be aware of this phenomenon
and its effects on the transmission system. Read more as we cover the
factors contributing to corona effect, its disadvantages & also some
advantages and methods to reduce the corona effect.

What is Corona Discharge?

DEFINITION: The ionization of air surrounding the high voltage
transmission lines causing the conductors to glow, producing a hissing
noise, is called Corona Discharge or Corona Effect.

Corona Effect in Transmission

Lines:
This phenomenon occurs when the electrostatic field across the
transmission line conductors produces the condition of potential
gradient. The air gets ionized when the potential gradient at the
conductor surface reaches the value of 30kV/cm at normal pressure and
temperature.
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12/13/23, 8:20 AM What is the Corona Effect in Transmission Lines?
In transmission lines, conductors are surrounded by the air. Air acts as a
dielectric medium. When the electric field intensity is less than 30kV/cm,
the induced current between the conductor is not sufficient to ionize the
air. However, when the voltage of air surrounding the conductor exceeds
the value of 30kV/cm, the charging current starts to flow through the air,
that is air has been ionized. The ionized air act as a virtual conductor,
producing a hissing sound with a luminous violet glow.

Advantages & Disadvantages of

Corona Effect
1. Advantages:
To every disadvantage, there is a corresponding advantage. Corona
effect may highly affect the efficiency of transmission lines, however, it
also provides safety to the transmission line.

The main advantages of corona effects are:

Due to corona across the conductor, the sheath of air surrounding

the conductor becomes conductive which rises the conductor
diameter virtually. This virtual increase in the conductor diameter
reduces the maximum potential gradient or maximum electrostatic
stress. Thus, the probability of flash-over is reduced.
Effects of transients produced by lightning or electrical surges are
also reduced due to the corona effect. As, the charges induced on
the line by surge or other causes, will be partially dissipated as a
corona loss. In this way, corona protects the transmission lines by
reducing the effect of transients that are produced by voltage
surges.

2. Disadvantages:
The corona effect has the following disadvantages:

A non-sinusoidal voltage drop occurs in the transmission line due

to non-sinusoidal corona current, which causes interference with
neighboring communication circuits due to elec­tromagnetic
transients and electrostatic induction effects.
Ozone gas is produced due to the formation of corona, which
chemically reacts with the conductor and causes corrosion.
The energy dissipated in the system due to corona effect is called
as Corona loss. The power loss due to corona is undesirable and
uneconomical. The efficiency of transmission line is highly reduced
due to the loss of power or energy.

We can protect our power system from electric transients by using

various devices. Read our blog on Surge Protection Devices which
help to mitigate the effect of such transients.

Factors Affecting Corona

Discharge:
The phenomenon of electric discharge associated with energized
electrical devices, including transmission lines results in a power loss,
reducing the efficiency of the transmission lines. The following factors
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can change the magnitude of the Corona Effect:

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12/13/23, 8:20 AM What is the Corona Effect in Transmission Lines?

1. Supply Voltage: As the electrical corona discharge mainly depends

upon the electric field intensity produced by the applied system
voltage. Therefore, if the applied voltage is high, the corona
discharge will cause excessive corona loss in the transmission lines.
On contrary, the corona is negligible in the low-voltage
transmission lines, due to the inadequate amount of electric field
required for the breakdown of air.
2. Conductor Surface: The corona effect depends upon the shape,
material and conditions of the conductors. The rough and irregular
surface i.e., unevenness of the surface, decreases the value of
breakdown voltage. This decrease in breakdown voltage due to
concentrated electric field at rough spots, give rise to more corona
effect. The roughness of conductor is usually caused due to the
deposition of dirt, dust and scratching. Raindrops, snow, fog and
condensation accumulated on the conductor surface are also
sources of surface irregularities that can increase corona.
3. Air Density Factor: Air density factor also determines the corona
loss in transmission lines. The corona loss in inversely proportional
to air density factor. Power loss is high due to corona in
Transmission lines that are passing through a hilly area because in
a hilly area the density of air is low.
4. Spacing between Conductors: Design engineers calculate the
spacing between the two conductors in the transmission line after
careful and extensive research. As the phenomenon of corona
discharge is affected by the conductor spacing. If the distance
between two conductors is very large as compared to the diameter
of conductor, the corona effect may not happen. It is because the
larger distance between conductors reduces the electro-static
stress at the conductor surface, thus avoiding corona formation.
5. Atmosphere: As corona is formed due to ionization of air
surrounding the conductors, therefore, it is affected by the physical
state of atmosphere. In the stormy weather, the number of ions is
more than normal weather. The decrease in the value of
breakdown voltage is followed by the increase in the number of
ions. As a result of it, corona occurs at much less voltage as
compared to the breakdown voltage value in fair weather.

By Iantresman - CC BY 3.0, Link

How Corona Effect is Reduced:

It has been observed that the intense corona effects are observed at a
working voltage of 33 kV or above. On the sub-stations or bus-bars
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rated for 33 kV and higher voltages, highly ionized air may cause flash-
over in the insulators or between the phases, causing considerable

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12/13/23, 8:20 AM What is the Corona Effect in Transmission Lines?
damage to the equipment, if careful designing is not made to reduce the
corona effect.The corona effect can be reduced by the following
methods:
1. By Increasing Conductor Size: The voltage at which corona occurs
can be raised by increasing conductor size. Hence, the corona
effect may be reduced. This is one of the reasons that ACSR
conductors which have a larger cross-sectional area are used in
transmission lines.
2. By Increasing Conductor Spacing: The corona effect can be
eliminated by increasing the spacing between conductors, which
raises the voltage at which corona occurs. However, increase in
conductor spacing is limited due to the cost of supporting
structure as bigger cross arms and supports to accompany the
increase in conductor spacing, increases the cost of transmission
system.
3. By Using Corona Ring: The intensity of electric field is high at the
point where the conductor curvature is sharp. Therefore, corona
discharge occurs first at the sharp points, edges, and corners. In
order to, mitigate electric field, corona rings are employed at the
terminals of very high voltage equipment.

Corona rings are metallic rings of toroidal shaped, which are fixed at the
end of bushings and insulator strings. This metallic ring distributes the
charge across a wider area due to its smooth round shape which
significantly reduces the potential gradient at the surface of the
conductor below the critical disruptive value and thus preventing corona
discharge.

To grab information about conductor sizing, read our previous blog

on how to choose the most economic size and type of cable?

Important Parameters in Corona

Analysis:
In the design of an overhead transmission line, the phenomenon of
corona plays an important role. Therefore, the following terms are used
in the analysis of corona effects:

1. Critical Disruptive Voltage: The minimum phase-neutral voltage at

which corona occurs is known as 'Critical disruptive voltage'.

Now, consider two conductors having radius of 'r' cm separated from

each other by 'd' cm. Potential gradient 'g' at the conductor surface is
given by:

Where, V is phase-neutral potential. The value of g must be made equal

to the breakdown strength of air, for the formation of corona.The
breakdown strength of air at 76 cm pressure and temperature of 25ºC is
30 kV/cm (max) or 212 kV/cm (r.m.s.) and is denoted by go.If Vc is the
phase-neutral potential required to produce corona under these
conditions, then,

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12/13/23, 8:20 AM What is the Corona Effect in Transmission Lines?
Therefore, Critical disruptive voltage is:

The value of go is directly proportional to air density.Thus, the

breakdown strength of air at a barometric pressure of b cm of mercury
and temperature of t 0C becomes:

Under standard conditions, the value of δ = 1.

∴ Critical disruptive voltage, Vc = go δ r loge (d/r)

The corona effect also depends upon the surface condition of the
conductor. Thus, the irregularity factor mo is accounted by multiplying
the above expression.

∴ Critical disruptive voltage, Vc = mo go δ r loge (d/r) kV/phase

Where, value of mo is given as:

S.No. Conductor surface Value of irregularity factor

1 Polished conductors 1
2 Dirty conductors 0.92 - 0.98
3 Stranded conductor 0.8 - 0.87

2. Visual Critical Voltage: At disruptive voltage Vc, the glow of corona

does not appear along the conductors but at a higher voltage Vv,
termed as Visual critical voltage. The phase-neutral effective value of
visual critical voltage can be determined by the following formula:

Where m v is another irregularity factor. Its value is 1 when conductors'

surface is polished, and 0.72 to 0.82 for rough conductors.

3. Power Loss Due to Corona: The formation of corona is always

accompanied by the loss of energy which is dissipated in the form of
light, heat, sound and chemical action. When disruptive voltage is
exceeded, the power loss due to corona is given by:

Where,

f = supply frequency in Hz

V = phase-neutral voltage (r.m.s.)

Vc = disruptive voltage (r.m.s.) per phase

In all, electrical corona discharge is an important factor in transmission

and sub-transmission systems which should be taken into account to
ensure both reduction in energy loss and increment in system safety.
Corona effect causes corrosion at conductor's surface, and pose a threat
to the signal integrity of data communication. Several techniques have
been implemented to reduce the corona effect to some extent. Such as
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some present day methods include increasing the conductor's diameter,
spacing between the transmission line conductors, using hollow
conductors and corona rings.

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12/13/23, 8:20 AM What is the Corona Effect in Transmission Lines?
Generally, it is recommended to use Aluminum corona rings at the
conductor end of the string insulators for lines above 230 kV and on
both ends of the insulator for 500 kV. Having a good understanding of
the nature of conductor material is essential for engineers, so that they
can develop proper techniques to mitigate adverse effects caused by
electrical corona. In the end, it is emphasized to consider the
configuration of the conducting line as well as the factors affecting
corona discharge such as, resistance of the AC line and the current
capacity.
Let us know if you have any queries regarding this topic and do provide
us with your feedback in the comments.

Last updated: Oct 14, 2021

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Abdur Rehman, PE

Author

Abdur Rehman is a professional electrical engineer with more than eight years of
experience working with equipment from 208V to 115kV in both the Utility and
Industrial & Commercial space. He has a particular focus on Power Systems
Protection & Engineering Studies....

Read more

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12/13/23, 8:20 AM What is the Corona Effect in Transmission Lines?

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