UNIT–V: Sag and Tension Calculations and Overhead Line Insulators:

Sag and Tension calculations with equal and unequal heights of towers–Effect of Wind
and Ice on weight of Conductor–Stringing chart and sag template and its applications–
Types of Insulators – String efficiency and Methods for improvement– Voltage
distribution–Calculation of string efficiency– Capacitance grading and Static
Shielding.

SAG IN OVERHEAD LINES

While erecting an overhead line, it is very important that conductors are under safe tension. If
theconductors are too much stretched between supports in a bid to save conductor material, the
stress in the conductor may reach unsafe value and in certain cases the conductor may break due
to excessive tension. In order to permit safe tension in the conductors, they are not fully stretched
but are allowed to have a dip or sag.
The difference in level between points of supports and the lowest point on the conductor is
called sag.

Fig. . (i) shows a conductor suspended between two equilevel supports A and B. The conductor is
not fully stretched but is allowed to have a dip. The lowest point on the conductor is O and the
sag is S. The following points may be noted :

(i) When the conductor is suspended between two supports at the same level, it takes the shape of
catenary. However, if the sag is very small compared with the span, then sag-span curve is like a
parabola.
(ii) The tension at any point on the conductor acts tangentially. Thus tension TO at the lowest
point O acts horizontally as shown in Fig. (ii).
(iii) The horizontal component of tension is constant throughout the length of the wire.
(iv) The tension at supports is approximately equal to the horizontal tension acting at any point
on the wire. Thus if T is the tension at the support B, then T = TO.

Conductor sag and tension. This is an important consideration in the mechanical design of
overhead lines. The conductor sag should be kept to a minimum in order to reduce the conductor
material required and to avoid extra pole height for sufficient clearance above ground level. It is
also desirable that tension in the conductor should be low to avoid the mechanical failure of
conductor and to permit the use of less strong supports. However, low conductor tension and
minimum sag are not possible. It is because low sag means a tight wire and high tension,
whereas a low tension means a loose wire and increased sag. Therefore, in actual practice, a
compromise in made between the two.

When supports are at equal levels. Consider a conductor between two equilevel supports A
and B with O as the lowest point as shown in Fig. It can be proved that lowest point will be at
the mid-span.
Let
l = Length of span
w = Weight per unit length of conductor
T = Tension in the conductor.
Consider a point P on the conductor. Taking the lowest point O as the origin, let the co-ordinates
of point P be x and y. Assuming that the curvature is so small that curved length is equal to its
horizontal projection (i.e., OP = x), the two forces acting on the portion OP of the conductor are :
(a) The weight wx of conductor acting at a distance x/2 from O.
(b) The tension T acting at O.
When supports are at unequal levels. In hilly areas, we generally come across conductors
suspended between supports at unequal levels. Fig. shows a conductor suspended between two
supports A and B which are at different levels. The lowest point on the conductor
is O.

Let
l = Span length
h = Difference in levels between two supports
x1 = Distance of support at lower level (i.e., A) from O
x2 = Distance of support at higher level (i.e. B) from O
T = Tension in the conductor
Effect of wind and ice loading. The above formulae for sag are true only in still air and at
normal temperature when the conductor is acted by its weight only. However, in actual practice,
a conductor may have ice coating and simultaneously subjected to wind pressure. The weight of
ice acts vertically downwards i.e., in the same direction as the weight of conductor. The force
due to the wind is assumed to act horizontally i.e., at right angle to the projected surface of the
conductor. Hence, the total force on the conductor is the vector sum of horizontal and vertical
forces as shown in Fig.
.
INSULATORS

The overhead line conductors should be supported on the poles or towers in such a way that
currents from conductors do not flow to earth through supports i.e., line conductors must be
properly insulated from supports. This is achieved by securing line conductors to supports with
the help of insulators. The insulators provide necessary insulation between line conductors and
supports and thus prevent any leakage current from conductors to earth. In general, the insulators
should have the following desirable properties :

(i) High mechanical strength in order to withstand conductor load, wind load etc.
(ii) High electrical resistance of insulator material in order to avoid leakage currents to earth.
(iii) High relative permittivity of insulator material in order that dielectric strength is high.
(iv) The insulator material should be non-porous, free from impurities and cracks otherwise the
permittivity will be lowered.
(v) High ratio of puncture strength to flashover.

The most commonly used material for insulators of overhead line is porcelain but glass, steatite
and special composition materials are also used to a limited extent. Porcelain is produced by
firing at a high temperature a mixture of kaolin, feldspar and quartz. It is stronger mechanically
than glass, gives less trouble from leakage and is less effected by changes of temperature.

TYPES OF INSULATORS

The successful operation of an overhead line depends to a considerable extent upon the proper
selection of insulators. There are several types of insulators but the most commonly used are pin
type, suspension type, strain insulator and shackle insulator.
1. Pin type insulators. The part section of a pin type insulator is shown in Fig. As the name
suggests, the pin type insulator is secured to the cross-arm on the pole. There is a groove on
the upper end of the insulator for housing the conductor. The conductor passes through this
groove and is bound by the annealed wire of the same material as the conductor . Pin type
insulators are used for transmission and distribution of electric power at voltages upto 33
kV. Beyond operating voltage of 33 kV, the pin type insulators become too bulky and
hence uneconomical.
2 Suspension type insulators. The cost of pin type insulator increases rapidly as the working
voltage is increased. Therefore, this type of insulator is not economical beyond 33 kV. For high
voltages (>33 kV), it is a usual practice to use suspension type insulators shown in Fig. . They
consist of a number of porcelain discs connected in series by metal links in the form of a string.
The conductor is suspended at the bottom end of this string while the other end of the string is
secured to the cross-arm of the tower. Each unit or disc is designed for low voltage, say 11 kV.
The number of discs in series would obviously depend upon the working voltage. For instance, if
the working voltage is 66 kV, then six discs in series will be provided on the string.

Advantages
(i) Suspension type insulators are cheaper than pin type insulators for voltages beyond 33 kV.
(ii) Each unit or disc of suspension type insulator is designed for low voltage,usually 11 kV.
Depending upon the working voltage, the desired number of discs can be connected in series.
(iii) If any one disc is damaged, the whole string does not become useless because the damaged
disc can be replaced by the sound one.
(iv) The suspension arrangement provides greater flexibility to the line. The connection at the
cross arm is such that insulator string is free to swing in any direction and can take up the
position where mechanical stresses are minimum.
(v) In case of increased demand on the transmission line, it is found more satisfactory to supply
the greater demand by raising the line voltage than to provide another set of conductors.
The additional insulation required for the raised voltage can be easily obtained in the suspension
arrangement by adding the desired number of discs.
(vi) The suspension type insulators are generally used with steel towers. As the conductors run
below the earthed cross-arm of the tower, therefore, this arrangement provides partial protection
from lightning.
3. Strain insulators. When there is a dead end of the line or there is corner or sharp curve, the
line is subjected to greater tension. In order to relieve the line of excessive tension, strain
insulators are used. For low voltage lines (< 11 kV), shackle insulators are used as strain
insulators. However, for high voltage transmission lines, strain insulator consists of an assembly
of suspension insulators as shown in Fig. 8.8. The discs of strain insulators are used in the
vertical plane. When the tension in lines is exceedingly high, as at long river spans, two or more
strings are used in parallel.
4. Shackle insulators. In early days, the shackle insulators were used as strain insulators. But
now a days, they are frequently used for low voltage distribution lines. Such insulators can be
used either in a horizontal position or in a vertical position. They can be directly fixed to the pole
with a bolt or to the cross arm. Fig. shows a shackle insulator fixed to the pole. The conductor in
the groove is fixed with a soft binding wire.

Potential Distribution over Suspension Insulator String

A string of suspension insulators consists of a number of porcelain discs connected in series

through metallic links. Fig. (i) shows 3-disc string of suspension insulators. The porcelain
portion of each disc is inbetween two metal links. Therefore, each disc forms a capacitor C as
shown in Fig. (ii). This is known as mutual capacitance or self-capacitance. If there were mutual
capacitance alone, then charging current would have been the same through all the discs and
consequently voltage across each unit would have been the same i.e., V/3 as shown in Fig. (ii).
However, in actual practice, capacitance also exists between metal fitting of each disc and tower
or earth. This is known as shunt capacitance C1. Due to shunt capacitance, charging current is
not the same through all the discs of the string . Therefore, voltage across each disc will be
different. Obviously, the disc nearest to the line conductor will have the maximum* voltage.
Thus referring to Fig. (iii), V3 will be much more than V2 or V1.

The following points may be noted regarding the potential distribution over a string of
suspension insulators :
(i) The voltage impressed on a string of suspension insulators does not distribute itself uniformly
across the individual discs due to the presence of shunt capacitance.
(ii) The disc nearest to the conductor has maximum voltage across it. As we move towards the
cross-arm, the voltage across each disc goes on decreasing.
(iii) The unit nearest to the conductor is under maximum electrical stress and is likely to be
punctured. Therefore, means must be provided to equalise the potential across each unit.
(iv) If the voltage impressed across the string were d.c., then voltage across each unit would be
the same. It is because insulator capacitances are ineffective for d.c.

String Efficiency
As stated above, the voltage applied across the string of suspension insulators is not uniformly
distributed across various units or discs. The disc nearest to the conductor has much higher
potential than the other discs. This unequal potential distribution is undesirable and is usually
expressed in terms of string efficiency.
The ratio of voltage across the whole string to the product of number of discs and the voltage
across the disc nearest to the conductor is known as string efficiency.
String efficiency = Voltage across the string/Voltage across n disc nearest to conductor
where n = number of discs in the string.

String efficiency is an important consideration since it decides the potential distribution along
the string. The greater the string efficiency, the more uniform is the voltage distribution. Thus
100% string efficiency is an ideal case for which the volatge across each disc will be exactly the
same. Although it is impossible to achieve 100% string efficiency, yet efforts should be made to
improve it as close to this value as possible.
The equivalent circuit for a 3-disc string. Let us suppose that self capacitance of each disc is C.
Let us further assume that shunt capacitance C1 is some fraction K of selfcapacitance i.e., C1 =
KC. Starting from the cross-arm or tower, the voltage across each unit is V1,V2 and V3
respectively as shown.
METHODS OF IMPROVING STRING EFFICIENCY:

(i) By using longer cross-arms. The value of string efficiency depends upon the value of
K i.e., ratio of shunt capacitance to mutual capacitance. The lesser the value of K, the
greater is the string efficiency and more uniform is the voltage distribution. The value
of K can be decreased by reducing the shunt capacitance. In order to reduce shunt
capacitance, the distance of conductor from tower must be increased i.e., longer
cross-arms should be used. However, limitations of cost and strength of tower do not
allow the use of very long cross-arms. In practice, K = 0·1 is the limit that can be
achieved by this method.
(ii) By grading the insulators. In this method, insulators of different dimensions are so chosen
that each has a different capacitance. The insulators are capacitance graded i.e. they are
assembled in the string in such a way that the top unit has the minimum capacitance, increasing
progressively as the bottom unit (i.e., nearest to conductor) is reached. Since voltage is inversely
proportional to capacitance, this method tends to equalise the potential distribution across the
units in the string. This method has the disadvantage that a large number of different-sized
insulators are required. However, good results can be obtained by using standard insulators for
most of the string and larger units for that near to the lineconductor.

(iii) By using a guard ring. The potential across each unit in a string can be equalised by using a
guard ring which is a metal ring electrically connected to the conductor and surrounding the
bottom insulator as shown in the Fig. 8.13. The guard ring introduces capacitance be tween metal
fittings and the line conductor. The guard ring is contoured in such a way that shunt capacitance
currents i1, i2 etc. are equal to metal fitting line capacitance currents i′1, i′2 etc. The result is that
same charging current I flows through each unit of string. Consequently, there will be uniform
potential distribution across the units.