EE007

Transmission Line
Parameters
Transmission Line Parameters

Equivalent circuit of a line consists of uniform distribution of

resistance, inductance, conductance and susceptance along the
length of the line.
r jx r jx r jx

ig g jb ic ig g jb ic

For overhead line conductors, conductance (g) is neglected because ic >>>> ig.
Resistance

The most important cause of power loss in a line

PLOSS
R AC
3I 2

where: RAC effective resistance per wire

PLOSS total line loss
I RMS magnitude of line current
Resistance
(for solid conductors)
l
R
A
(three strands) (above three strands)
l l
R (1.01) R (1.02)
A A

where: R resistance in
resistivity, -cmil/ft
l length, ft
A area, cmil
Resistance
t
R1 R2

(T t 1 ) (T t 2 )
t2
R 2 R 1 (1 1 (t 2 t 1 ) ) t1

0 1 R
t 0 R1 R2
1 0 t T
T

where: T inferred absolute zero resistance temperature, C

t1, t2 initial and final temperature
R1, R2 resistance at temperature t1 and t2
0 , 1 temperature coefficient of resistance at 0C and t1
Skin Effect

Skin Effect. The internal inductance of the conductor gives rise to a

voltage of self-induction so that the voltage drop in the conductor is
the sum of the voltage of self-induction and the ohmic resistance
drop.

R AC k R DC 1 1 F2
k
2

where: F = 0.0105 d2 f (for copper)

F = 0.0063 d2 f (for aluminum)
d = diameter in inches
f = frequency in Hz
% Conductivity, Resistivity

Temperature
% Resistivity Resistivity
Material Constant
Conductivity (-m x 10-8) (-cmil/ft)
(C)
Copper
Annealed 100% 1.72 10.37 234.5
Hard Drawn 97.3% 1.77 10.66 241.5
Aluminum
Hard Drawn 61% 2.83 17 228.1
Brass 20 27% 6.4 8.4 38.51 480
Iron 17.2% 10 60 180
Silver 18% 1.59 9.6 243
Steel 2-14% 12 - 88 72 - 530 180 980
Conductors

Advantages of Aluminum over Copper Conductor

lower cost
lighter weight for the same resistance
has larger diameter than copper for the same resistance
Type of Aluminum Conductors
AAC All Aluminum Conductor
AAAC All Aluminum Alloy Conductor
ACSR Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced
ACAR Aluminum Conductor Alloy Reinforced
Sample Problems

1. Tables of electrical characteristics of all aluminum Merigold

stranded conductor list a dc resistance of 0.01558 /1000 ft. at
20C and ac resistance of 0.0956 /mile at 50 C. The conductor
has 61 strands and its size is 1.113 x 106 CM. Verify the dc
resistance and find the ratio of ac to dc resistance. =17 -CM/ft.
Answer: 1.037
Inductance

Inductance flux linkages per unit current

N
L weber turns / ampere or Henry
I I
For single phase systems using solid conductors
L L in L ex
7 D 7 D
L 2 x 10 ln 1
L 2 x 10 ln

4
r'
where:
re
D = separation distance between conductors
r = radius of the conductor
r = re-1/4 = the equivalent radius of a fictitious wire that replaces the actual wire in order to compute
for the inductance of the wire due to internal and external flux linkages
Lin = internal inductance = x 10-7 H/m
Lex = external inductance = 2 x 10-7 ln D/r H/m
Inductance

For the complete single phase circuit consisting of two wires

7 D
L T 4 x 10 ln H/m
r'

For stranded conductors , r is replaced by DS

D
L 2 x 10 7 ln H/m
DS

DS geometric mean radius (GMR) or self GMD or the geometric

mean of all possible distances of every element in a group to all
other elements of the same group including itself.
Inductance

For three strand conductor

DS 9 D11 D12 D13 D 21 D 22 D 23 D 31 D 32 D 33

For n-strand conductor

D S n D11 D12 D1n D 21 D nn

2

where: D11, D22 . . . Dnn = r

D12, D13 . . . Dn(n-1) = center to center distance between strands
Inductance

Dm geometric mean distance (GMD) or the geometric mean of all

possible distances of every element in a group to all other elements
in the other group.

Dm mn Dad Dae Dbd Dbe Dcd Dce

Inductance of stranded conductors

7 Dm
L 2 x 10 ln H/m
DS
Inductance

Three phase lines

D
L 2 x 10 7 ln H / m per phase
DS

Transposition. Exchanging the position of the conductors at regular

intervals along the line so that each conductor occupies the original
position of every other conductor over an equal distance.
Inductance

Three phase lines with unsymmetrical spacing

7
Deq
L 2 x 10 ln H / m per phase
DS
where: Deq 3 Dab Dbc Dca

Bundled Conductors. Two or more conductors per phase in close

proximity compared with the spacing between phases.
Inductance

Parallel Circuits
Dpeq
L 2 x 10 7 ln p
H / m per phase
D S

where: DpS 6 DS3 Daa' Dbb ' Dcc'

D peq 3 D ab D ab' D bc D bc ' D ca D ca'
Capacitance

Potential Difference (or voltage) between two points due to a charge

q D2
V12 ln [from pt .1 to pt .2]
2 k D1
where:
q = charge (coulombs/meter)
k = permittivity = kokr
ko = absolute permittivity of free space (1/36 x 10-9 F/m or 8.85 x 10-12 F/m)
kr = relative permittivity (dielectric constant)

Capacitance of Two Infinitely Long Parallel Straight Conductors

17.7 x 1012 8.85 x 1012
Cn F/m C F/m
D D
ln ln
r r
[line to neutral ] [line to line]
For stranded wires, r is replaced with do/2 where do is the outside diameter of the conductor
Capacitance

Capacitance of Three Phase Lines (neglecting the effect of the earth)

With Equilateral Spacing
17.7 x 1012
Cn F / m per phase [line to neutral ]
D
ln
r
With Unsymmetrical Spacing
17.7 x 1012
Cn F / m per phase [line to neutral ]
Deq
ln
r

where: D eq 3 D ab D bc D ca
Capacitance

Bundled Conductors
17.7 x 1012
Cn F / m per phase [line to neutral ]
D
ln b
DS

where: D bS rd ( 2 bundle )
D bS 3 r d 2 ( 3 bundle )
D bS 1.09 4 r d 3 (4 bundle )

Note: D may be Deq depending on the arrangement of conductors

Capacitance

Parallel Conductors
17.7 x 1012
Cn F / m per phase [line to neutral ]
Dpeq
ln p
DS

where:
DpS 6 DS3 Daa' Dbb ' Dcc'
Dpeq 6 Dab Dab' Dbc Dbc ' Dca Dca'
Sample Problems

1. A transmission line consists of two solid conductors having a radius of 2.5 cm

and separated on centers by a distance of 3.6 m. Find the total line inductance
in millihenry per meter. Determine the reactance of the transmission line
expressed in ohms per mile if the frequency is 60 Hz.
Answer: 2.09 H/m, 1.26 /mi

2. One circuit of a single-phase transmission line

is composed of three solid 0.25 cm radius
wires. The return circuit is composed of two
0.5 cm radius wires. Find the inductance of
the complete line in henrys per meter.
Answer: 0.704 H/m
Sample Problems

3. A three-phase transmission line has its conductors arranged in a triangle so that

two of the distances between conductors is 25 ft. and the third distance is 42 ft.
Determine the inductance and inductive reactance per phase per mile. DS
=0.0284 ft.
Answer: 2.225 mH/mi, 0.839 /mi
4. A single-phase transmission line uses bundled arrangement shown below. Line
A has its conductors situated at the corners of an equilateral triangle. All
conductors are identical and each has a radius of 2 cm. (a) Find the inductance
of each line and the total inductance in mH per km. (b) For operation of the line
at a frequency of 60 Hz, determine the total line reactance in ohms per mile
Answer: 1.86 mH/km, 1.125 /mi
Sample Problems

5. A bundled and transposed three-phase transmission line has a conductor

configuration shown below. The identical conductors have a radius of 0.74 cm.
The spacing between phase conductors is 30 cm. Determine the line reactance
per phase in ohms per mile at 60 Hz.
Answer: 0.634 /mi

6. The bundled conductors of a line are arranged as shown below. Each conductor
has a radius of r. Find the expression for the mean geometric radius in terms of r.
Answer: 2.17r, 1.91r
Sample Problems

7. A three-phase double circuit line consists of 300,000 cmil 26/6 ACSR Ostrich
conductors arranged as shown below. Find the 60 Hz inductive reactance in
ohms per mile per phase. DS = 0.0229 ft.
Answer: 0.37 /mi
8. A three-phase transposed
transmission line has the
configuration shown below. Find
the expression for the inductance
of each phase expressed in henry
per meter. Assume d << D. Use ra as
the radius of each strand of line A,
rb for line B and rc for line C.
Sample Problems

9. The length of transmission lines consisting of two identical conductors with one
(1) cm. radius is 50 miles. It is desired that the capacitive reactance be at least
10,000. Determine the separation distance needed between the lines to
achieve this result at 60 Hz.
Answer: 43.82 m

10. A 60 Hz, three-phase transmission line has its conductors arranged in the form
of a triangle. The distance between the conductors is Dab = Dca = 7 m and Dbc = 9
m. Each conductor has a diameter of 1 cm. The line to line voltage is 161 kV. (a)
Find the line to neutral capacitance and the capacitive reactance for a 100 mi -
length. (b) What is the current drain associated with the line to neutral
capacitive reactance of the line.
Answer: 7.59 x 10 12 F/m, 42.82 A
End of Topic