UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL
HOWARD COLLEGE CAMPUS
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
POWER SYSTEMS 1 (ENEL 3PS H2) - TEST 1
DATE: 12 OCTOBER 2020 FULL MARKS: 50 TIME: 90 MINUTES
ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS
PLEASE BE ADVISED TO USE BALL PENS ONLY, NO WOOD PENCILS
Q1.
(a) Explain how the energy loss occurring in an overhead power line conductor is related to its dimension. [3]
(b) Explain how loss factor is related to energy consumption in a power line. [3]
(c) Explain how the interest and depreciation cost governs the dimension of a conductor for an overhead power
line. [3]
(d) Explain where and why parabolic method is/are not useful for sag calculations of a transmission line. [3]
(e) Explain the role of factor of safety on sag for an overhead power line conductor. [3]
(f) Explain the effect of ambient temperature on sag of an overhead line conductor. [3]
Q2. Durban Water Supply plant has six motors of which four motors run all the time every year except no-water
condition/s and emergency shutdown of the plant which is normally 24 hours every year. The total operating
hours of the remaining two motors is 1000 hours every year during which one of the motors remains as standby.
Each of the motors are rated at 500 kW and operates at a voltage level of 6.6 kV with a power factor of 0.92
(lag). The motors are electrically connected to a common bus which in turn is connected via a ‘feeder’ to Durban
Electric Supply. The conductor cost is Rand (70000a+1200) per km where ‘a’ is in cm2. Annual interest and
depreciation charges combine to be 12% while the simple tariff for electrical energy is Rand 3.0 per unit.
Resistivity of conductor material is 1.76 µΩ-cm. Find the most economic cross-section of the ‘feeder’ conductor
connecting the bus to Durban Electric Supply. [20]
Q3. An overhead transmission line with a span of 230 m has two adjacent towers at the same ground level and
of equal heights. The line conductor weighs 1.15 kgf per m length and working tension in it is 70% of the
ultimate tension of the conductor material which is 4000 kgf. The conductor is subjected to ice covering of 8
mm thickness and wind pressure of 38 kgf/m2 of projected area. Calculate the diameter of the conductor if the
sag is found to be 5.25 m for ice density of 913.5 kg/m3. [12]
-End-
University of KwaZulu-Natal
School of Engineering
Power Systems 1 (ENEL 3PS H2)
Formula Sheet – Section 1
Sag & Tension Catenary Method
𝐻 𝑤𝑙 𝑤𝑙 2𝐻 𝑤𝑙
𝛿 = (cosh ( ) − 1) 𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐻 cosh ( ) 𝐿= sinh ( )
𝑤 2𝐻 2𝐻 𝑤 2𝐻
Transmission Inductance
Lines 𝐷𝑚 𝐷𝑚 = (𝐷𝐴𝐵 𝐷𝐵𝐶 𝐷𝐶𝐴 )1/3 𝐷𝑆 = (𝐷𝑆𝐴 𝐷𝑆𝐵 𝐷𝑆𝐶 )1/3
𝐿 = 2𝑥10−7 ln ( )
𝐷𝑠
Capacitance (Line to neutral)
2𝜋𝜀0 1
𝐶𝑛 = =
ln(𝐷𝑚 /𝐷𝑠𝑐 ) 18 × 109 𝑙𝑛 (𝐷𝑚 )
𝐷𝑠𝑐
Underground Capacitance Grading Voltage Across A Cable Cable Capacitance
Cables 2𝜋𝜖0 𝑟1 𝑟2 𝑅 𝐶𝑜 = 𝐶1 + 𝐶𝑆 = 3𝐶𝑐 + 𝐶𝑠
𝐶= 𝑉 = 𝑔𝑚𝑎𝑥 (𝑟𝑙𝑛 ( ) + 𝑟1 𝑙𝑛 ( ) + 𝑟2 𝑙𝑛 ( )) (𝐶𝑐 + 𝐶𝑠 )
1 𝑟 1 𝑟 1 𝑅 𝑟 𝑟1 𝑟2 𝐶𝐿 = 𝐶𝐶 +
( 𝑙𝑛 ( 1 ) + 𝑙𝑛 ( 2 ) + 𝑙𝑛 ( )) 2
𝜖1 𝑟 𝜖2 𝑟1 𝜖3 𝑟2
𝐶𝑏 = 3 𝐶𝑠
2
𝐶𝐿 = (3𝐶𝑐 + 𝐶𝑠 )
3
𝐶𝐿 = 2𝐶𝑐 + 𝐶𝑆
Thermal Resistance (Single Core) Thermal Resistance(3 Core) Thermal Resistance of Ground
𝜌𝜃𝐷 𝐷
𝑅𝜃𝐷 = ln ( ) (𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝑜ℎ𝑚)
2𝜋 𝑑
Thermal Resistance (Protective Cover) Rated Current of Under Ground Cable
