Electric Energy Engineering

ELEN 0372
Chapter (4)
Overhead Transmission Line Parameters

Introduction
 The purpose of a transmission system is to transfer electric energy
from generating units at various locations to the distribution system
which ultimately supplies the load.
 The electric parameters of overhead transmission lines are
resistance, inductance, capacitance, and conductance. These
parameters can be determined from the specifications for the
conductors, and from the geometric arrangements of the conductors.

Transmission Line Resistance

 The resistance of transmission-line conductors is the most
important cause of power loss in a transmission line. The effective
resistance of a conductor is
power loss
R
I2

where the power is in watts and I is the rms current in the conductor in
amperes.
2

1
  The effective resistance is equal to the DC resistance of the
conductor only if the distribution of current throughout the
conductor is uniform.
 DC resistance is given by the formula:
ℓ
R
A
where is the resistivity at 20o C.
ℓ is the length of the conductor.
A is the cross-sectional area of the conductor.
 The International System of Units (SI system), ℓ is in meter, A in
square meter and in ohm-meter. The conductor resistance is
affected by three factors: frequency, spiraling and temperature.
 For DC, the current distribution is uniform throughout the
conductor cross section. However, for AC, the current distribution
is nonuniform. As frequency increases, the current tends to crowd
toward the conductor surface, with smaller current density at the
conductor center.
3

 This phenomenon is called skin effect. This is a result of the

nonuniform flux distribution in the conductor. Therefore, the AC
resistance to be higher than the DC resistance. At 60 Hz, the AC
resistance is about 2 percent higher than the DC resistance.

2
 Spiraling causes the stranded conductor length to be more than the
given conductor length. This results in a higher resistance than the
calculated value. The conductor resistance increases as temperature
increases.
 The inductance and capacitance are because of magnetic and electric
fields around the conductor, respectively, as shown in figure 1.

Figure 1: A single-phase two-wire transmission line and its associated

magnetic and electric fields.
5

 The lines of magnetic flux form closed loops linking the circuit,
and the lines of' electric flux originate on the positive charges on
one conductor and terminate on the negative charges the other
conductor.
 Variations of the current in the conductors causes a change in the
number of lines of magnetic flux linking the circuit.
 Any change in the flux linking a circuit induces a voltage in the
circuit which is proportional to the rate of change of flux.
 The inductance of the circuit relates the voltage induced by
changing flux to the rate of change of current.
 The capacitance which exists between the conductors is defined as
the charge on the conductors per unit of potential difference
between them. The capacitance exists between conductors or
between conductors and the ground.
 Conductance accounts for leakage currents flowing across
insulators and ionized pathways in the air. Since the leakage
currents are negligible compared to the current flowing in the
transmission lines, the conductance is usually neglected.
6

3
 Overhead transmission lines consists of conductors, insulators and
usually shield wires. Transmission lines are suspended by towers
made of steel, wood or reinforced concrete with its own right-of-way.

4
 Conductors
 In the early days of the transmission of electric power, conductors
were usually made of copper, but aluminum conductors have
completely replaced copper for overhead lines because of the much
lower cost and lighter weight of an aluminum conductor compared
with a copper conductor of the same resistance.
 The fact that an aluminum conductor has a larger diameter than a
copper conductor of the same resistance is also an advantage.
 With a larger diameter, there is a lower electric field at the
conductor surface and less tendency to ionize the air around the
conductor “corona”.
 Stranded conductors are easier to manufacture, since larger
conductor sizes can be obtained by simply adding successive layers
of strands. Stranded conductors are also easier to handle and more
flexible than solid conductors, especially in larger sizes. For
purposes of heat dissipation, overhead transmission-line conductors
are bare (no insulating cover).
9

 Symbols identifying different types of aluminum conductors are as

follows:
AAC: all-aluminum conductor
AAAC: all-aluminum alloy conductor
ACAR: aluminum conductor alloy-reinforced
ACSR: aluminum conductor steel-reinforced
 The most used conductor for high voltage transmission lines is
ACSR, which consists of layers of aluminum strands surrounding
a central core of steel strands as shown in figure 2.

Figure 2: Cross section view of a 24/7 ACSR

conductor (7 steel strands, and 24 aluminum strands).
10

5
 Corona in Overhead Transmission Lines
 Corona occurs when the surface electric field of a conductor exceeds
the dielectric strength of the surrounding air (30 kV/cm during fair
weather), producing ionization in the area close to the conductor,
with consequent corona losses, audible noise, and radio interference.
 Corona is a function of conductor diameter, line configuration, and
conductor surface condition, physical state of the atmosphere. The
following are the factors upon which corona depends :

(i) Atmosphere
As corona is formed due to ionization of air surrounding the
conductors, therefore, it is affected by the physical state of
atmosphere. Corona losses under rain or snow, for instance, are much
higher than in dry weather.

(ii) Conductor surface conditions

The corona effect depends on the conditions of the conductors. The
rough and irregular surface will give more corona.
11

(iii) Spacing between conductors

If the spacing between the conductors is made very large as
compared to their diameters, there may not be any corona effect. It is
because larger distance between conductors reduces the electric field
at the conductor surface, thus avoiding corona formation.

(iv) Line voltage

The line voltage greatly affects corona. If it is low, there is no corona
is formed. However, if the line voltage has such a value that electric
field developed at the conductor surface make the air around the
conductor conducting, then corona is formed.

(v) Conductor Size

The corona effect may be reduced by increasing conductor size.

12

6
 In high-voltage overhead transmission lines, it is preferable to use
more than one conductor per phase (bundle conductor). Bundling
increases the effective radius of the conductor and reduces the
electric field and corona at the conductor surface. Another
important advantage of bundling is reduced line inductance.
 The bundle conductor consists of two, three or four sub-conductors
as shown in figure (3).
 Spacers made of steel or aluminum bars are used to maintain the
distance between bundle conductors along the line.

Figure (3): Stranded conductors arranged in bundles per phase of

(a) two, (b) three, and (c) four.
13

14

7
Insulators
The transmission line conductors must be properly insulated
from towers with the help of insulators to prevent any leakage current
from conductors to earth. In general, the insulators should have the
following desirable properties :
(i) High mechanical strength.
(ii) High electrical resistance of insulator material.
(iii) High dielectric strength.
(iv)The insulator material should be non-porous, free from impurities
and cracks.

The most used material for insulators of overhead line is porcelain but
glass and special composition materials are also used to a limited
extent.
There are several types of insulators but the most used are pin type,
suspension type.

15

Insulators for transmission lines above 69 kV are typically suspension-

type insulators, which consist of a string of insulator discs. The
number of insulator discs in a string increases with line voltage.

Pin type
Suspension type
Shield Wires
Shield wires locate above the phase conductors to protect them against
lightning. They are much smaller cross section than the phase
conductors. The number and location of the shield wires are selected so
that almost all lightning strokes terminate on the shield wires rather
than on the phase conductors. Shield wires are grounded to the tower.
16

8
(a) Tension Insulators (b) Suspension insulators
17

18

9
 Vibration Dampers

19

Inductance of Overhead Transmission Line

(1) Inductance of a Single-phase Two-wire Line (Solid Conductor)
Consider a single-phase two-wire
transmission line composed of solid round
conductors with radii r1 and r2. One
conductor is the return circuit for the other.
The inductance of the first conductor
r ' per-unit length is
1

D
L1  2  10 7  ln [H/m]
r1 '
The inductance of the second conductor per-unit length is
D
L 2  2  10 7  ln [H/m]
r2 '
where r1' = 0.7788 r1.
r2' = 0.7788 r2.
D is the distance between the two conductors.
20

10
Note that the calculated inductance consists of self inductance of
the conductor and mutual inductance between the conductors.

The inductance of the transmission line is then

 D D D2
L  L  L  2 10 7  ln  ln   2 10 7  ln
1 2  r1' r ' r 'r '
2 1 2
1/2
 D2  D
L  4 10 7  ln    4 10 7  ln
r ' r '
 1 2  r 'r '
1 2

If r1 = r2 = r, then

D
L  4  10  7  ln [H/m]
r'

21

(2) Inductance of Balanced Three Phase Line (Solid Conductor)

(A) Symmetrical Spacing
Consider a three-phase transmission line with three conductors,
each with radius r. The three conductors are arranged with the
same separation among them (symmetrical spacing) as shown in
Figure (1). The inductance per phase of the three-phase
line is given by:
D
L  2  10 7 ln H/m
r'
where r' = 0.7788 r.
D is the distance between any two conductors.
Because of symmetry, the inductances of phases
a, b and c are the same.
Figure (1): Cross-sectional view of the symmetrical
spaced conductors o f a three-phase line.

22

11
 (B) Unsymmetrical Spacing
Practical transmission line can not maintain symmetrical spacing of
conductors because of construction considerations. When the
conductors of a three-phase transmission line are not spaced
equilaterally, the problem of finding the inductance becomes more
difficult.

Figure (2): Cross-sectional view of the

unsymmetrical spaced conductors of
a three-phase line.

Consider a three-phase transmission line with three conductors, each

with radius r. When three-phase line conductors are not equidistant
from each other, the conductor spacing is said to be unsymmetrical.
Under these conditions, a different inductance in each phase results
in unequal voltage drops in the three phases even if the currents in
the conductors are balanced. Therefore, the voltage at the receiving
end will not be the same for all phases.
23

In order that voltage drops are equal in all conductors, the positions of
the conductors are interchanged at regular intervals along the
transmission line. Such an exchange of positions is known as
transposition. The effect of transposition is that each conductor has the
same average inductance. In a transposed system, each phase conductor
occupies the location of the other two phases for one-third of the total
line length as shown in Figure (3).

Figure (3): Arrangement of conductors in a transposed three-phase

transmission line.

24

12
 Average inductance per phase is given by:
D eq
L  2 10 7 ln H/m
r'
where Deq is the geometric mean of the three spacings of the
three-phase line.

D eq  3 D ab D ac D bc

25

(1) Inductance of a Single-phase Two-wire Line (Bundled Conductor)

Inductance of transmission lines per conductor is given by:
Dm
L  2  10 7 ln [H/m]
Ds
(2) Inductance of Balanced Three Phase Line (Bundled Conductor)
(A) Symmetrical Spacing
Inductance of transmission lines per phase is given by:
Dm
L  2  10 7 ln [H/m]
Ds
(B) Unsymmetrical Spacing
Inductance of transmission lines per phase is given by:
D eq
L  2  10 7 ln [H/m]
Ds
where Ds is the geometric mean radius.
Dm is the geometric mean distance.
26

13
 Geometric Mean Radius (GMR)
This is the radius of a fictitious conductor assumed to have no internal
flux but with the same inductance as the actual bundled conductor.
GMR is also called self geometric mean distance, Ds. If the conductor
consists of n sub-conductors, the GMR is given by:

GMR  n (d11d12 d13 ....d1n )(d 21.d 22 ....d 2 n )......(d n1.d n 2 .....d nn )
2

where d11=GMR1, d22=GMR2 ,………….., dnn=GMRn

For a solid conductor, GMR= Ds = r' = 0.7788r, where r is the radius

of the conductor.
27

Geometric Mean Distance (GMD)

This is the geometrical mean of the distances from one conductor to the
other. GMD is also called mutual geometric mean distance, Dm. If each
conductor consists of m and n' sub-conductors, the GMD is given by:

GMD  mn' (Daa'D ab' ...Dan' )(Dba'D bb' ...D bn' ).....(Dma'D mb' .....D mn' )

For a solid conductor, GMD between two solid conductors is equal to

the distance between their centers, GMD = Dm = D.

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14
Example (1):
A single-phase transmission line 35 km long consists of two solid
round conductors, each having a diameter of 0.9 cm. The conductor
spacing is 2.5 m. Calculate the total inductance of the transmission line.

Solution:
GMR for a solid conductor is

0.9
r'   0.7788  0.35 cm
2
The inductance of the transmission line is
D 250
L  4  10 7 ln  4  10  7 ln  26.3  10 7 H/m
r' 0.35

The total inductance of the transmission line is

L T  26.3 10 7  35000  0.092 H

29

Example (2):
A single-phase transmission line is composed of two bundled
conductors. Conductor A consists of three 0.25 cm radius conductors,
while conductor B consists of two 0.5 cm radius conductor. Find
inductance for each bundled conductor, and inductance of the
transmission line in H/m.

Conductor B

Conductor A

30

15
Solution:
D D 9 m
aa' bb'
D D  D  62  92  117 m
ab' ba' cb'
D 2 2
 12  9  15 m
ca'

Geometric mean distance:

D 6D D D D D D  10.743 m
m aa' ab' ba' bb' ca' cb'

Geometric mean radius of the bundled conductor A:

3
D sA  3 D aa D ab D ac D ba D bb D bc D ca D cb D cc  9  0.25 10  2  e 4   6 4 12 2  0.481 m
2 1

 

Geometric mean radius of the bundled conductor B:

2
D sB  2 D a'a' D a'b' D b'b' D b'a'  4  0.5 10 2  e 4   6 2  0.153 m
2 1

 

31

The inductance of conductor A

Dm 10.743
L A  2  10 7 ln  2  10 7 ln  6.212  10 7 H/m
D sA 0.481

The inductance of conductor B

Dm 10.743
L B  2  10 7 ln  2  10 7 ln  8.503  10  7 H/m
D sB 0.153

The inductance of the transmission line is

L  L A  L B  14.715  10 7 H/m

32

16
Example (3):
One conductor of a single-phase transmission line is composed of
three solid 0.5 cm radius wires. The return conductor is
composed of two solid 2.5 cm radius wires. Find the inductance
of the complete transmission line in mH/km.

Solution:
Geometric mean distance:

GMR of the bundled conductor X:

33

GMR of the bundled conductor Y:

The inductance of conductor X

Dm 16.802
L X  2  10 7 ln  2  10 7 ln  6.888  10 7 H/m
D sX 0.5366

The inductance of conductor Y

Dm 16.802
L Y  2  10 7 ln  2  10 7 ln  7.9725  10 7 H/m
D sY 0.312

The inductance of the transmission line is

L  L X  L Y  14.8605  10 7 H/m  1.48605 mH/km

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17
Example (4):
Three-phase 60 Hz transmission line has a flat horizontal
configuration. Each sub-conductor of the bundled conductor has
GMR = 1.42 cm. Find the inductive reactance in /km per phase
for d = 45 cm

Figure (4)

Solution:

GMR for a bundled conductor is

D s  4 1.42  45 1.42  45  8 cm

35

The geometric mean distance of the phase conductor spacing is

D m  D eq  3 8  8 16  10.08 m  1008 cm

The inductance per phase is

D eq 1008
L  2 10 7 ln  2 10 7 ln  9.674 10 7 H/m
Ds 8
The inductive reactance per phase is

X L  2π f L  2π  60  9.674  10 7  3.647  10 4 Ω/m

 0.3647 Ω/km

36

18
Example (5):
Calculate the inductive reactance in /km per phase of a bundled
60 Hz three-phase transmission line having three subconductors per
bundled conductor. Each sub-conductor has GMR =1.18 cm with
45 cm between subconductors. The spacing between bundled
conductor centers is 9, 9, and 18 m.

D12 = 9 m D23 = 9 m

D13 = 18 m
Solution:
GMR for a bundled conductor is

GMR  Ds  9 1.18  45  45  1.18  45  45  1.18  45  45 13.37 cm

37

GMD of the phase conductor spacing is

D eq  3 9  9 18 11.34 m 1134 cm

The inductance per phase is

D eq 1134
L  2 10 7 ln  2 10 7 ln  8.881 10 7 H/m
Ds 13.37
The inductive reactance per phase is

X L  2π f L  2π  60  8.88110 7  3.348 10 4 Ω/m

 0.3348 Ω/km

38

19
 Capacitance of Overhead Transmission Line
The conductors of overhead transmission-lines are charged, and
there is a potential difference between the conductors and between
the conductors and the ground. Therefore, there is capacitance
between the conductors and between the conductors and the
ground. The basic equation for calculation of the capacitance is the
definition of the capacitance as the ratio of the charge and the
potential difference between the charged conductors. For
transmission lines, the capacitance per unit length is required

q
C
V
 F / m
where q is the charge per unit length in C/m.
V is the potential difference between the conductors or a
conductor and ground.

39

(1) Capacitance of a Single-phase Two-wire Line (Solid Conductor)

Consider a single-phase two-wire line
composed of solid round conductors with
radii r1 and r2. One conductor is the return
circuit for the other. The capacitance
between the conductors of a two-wire line is
 o
Cab  [ F / m]
D
ln
r1r2
where o is the permittivity of free space (8.85410-12 F/m).
D is the distance between the conductors, center to center.
r1 and r2 are the radii of the two conductors.
If r1 = r2 = r, then
 o
Cab  [ F / m]
D
ln
r
40

20
 If the transmission line is supplied by a transformer having a
grounded center tap, the potential difference between each
conductor and ground is half the potential difference between the
two conductors. Therefore, it is convenient to define a capacitance
between each conductor and a neutral. The capacitance from
conductor a to point n is Can and is the same as the capacitance
from conductor b to n, Cbn.

Can and Cbn are connected in series, therefore

1 C an C bn
C ab  
1 1 C an  C bn

C an C bn

41

If C an  C bn
2
C an C
Then C ab   an
2C an 2

C an  C bn  2C ab

2 o
Can  [ F / m]
D
ln
r

42

21
 (2) Capacitance of Balanced Three Phase Line (Solid Conductor)
(A) Symmetrical Spacing
The capacitance per phase to neutral for symmetrical spacing three-
phase lines is

2 o
Can  [ F / m]
D
ln
r

Figure (1): Cross-sectional view of the symmetrical

spaced conductors o f a three-phase line.

43

(B) Unsymmetrical Spacing

When the conductors of a three-phase line are unsymmetrical
spaced, the problem of calculating capacitance becomes more
difficult and the capacitances of each phase to neutral are unequal.
In a transposed transmission line, the average capacitance to neutral
of any phase for the complete transposition cycle is the same as the
average capacitance to neutral of other phases.

Figure (2): Cross-sectional view

of the unsymmetrical spaced
conductors o f a three-phase line.

The capacitance per phase to neutral of a transposed three-phase line is

2 o
Can  [ F / m] D eq  3 D ab D bc D ca
D
ln eq
r
where Dab, Dbc, and Dca are the distances between the centers of the
phase conductors.
44

22
(1) Capacitance of a Single-phase Two-wire Line (Bundled Conductor)
2πεo πε o
C an  [F/m] C ab  [F/m]
D D
ln m ln m
Ds Ds
(2) Capacitance of Balanced Three Phase Line (Bundled Conductor)
(A) Symmetrical Spacing
Capacitance of transmission lines per phase to neutral is given by:
2 πε o
Can  [F/m]
D
ln m
Ds
(B) Unsymmetrical Spacing
Capacitance of transmission lines per phase to neutral is given by:
2πεo
C an  [F/m]
D
ln eq
Ds
45

Example (6):
A three-phase overhead transmission line has its conductors arranged
at the corners of an equilateral triangle of 2 m side. The diameter of
each conductor is 1.25 cm. Calculate the capacitance per phase to
neutral in μF/km.
Solution:
The conductor radius is
1.25
r  0.625 cm
2
The capacitance per phase to neutral is
2πεo 2π  8.854  10 12
C an    9.644  10 12 [F/m]
D 200
ln ln
r 0.625
 9.644  10 3 [ F / km]

46

23
 Example (7):
A three-phase 50 Hz, 66 kV overhead transmission line has a
horizontal arrangement as shown in Figure (3). The conductor
diameter is 1.25 cm. If the line length is 100 km, calculate:
(a) The capacitance per phase to neutral.
(b) The charging current per phase.
Assuming complete transposition of the line.

Figure (3)

Solution:
The conductor radius is
1.25
r  0.625 cm
2
D eq  3 D ab D bc D ca  3 2  2.5  4.5  2.82 m  282 cm

47

(a) The capacitance per phase to neutral is

2πεo 2π  8.854  10 12

C an    9.1 10 12 [F/m]
Deq 282
ln ln
r 0.625
The capacitance per phase to neutral for 100 km is

C  9.1 10 12  100000  9.1 10 7 [F]  0.91 [ F ]

(b) The charging current per phase is

Vph
IC   ω C Vph  2 π f C Vph
XC
66000
 2   50  0.91 10 6   10.9 [ A]
3

48

24
Example (8):
Three-phase 60 Hz transmission line has a flat horizontal
configuration. Each sub-conductor of the bundled conductor has a
radius of 2 cm. Find the capacitive reactance in .km per phase
for d = 45 cm

Figure (4)

Solution:

GMR for a bundled conductor is

D s  4 2  45  2  45  9.487 cm

49

The geometric mean distance of the phase conductor spacing is

D m  D eq  3 8  8 16  10.08 m  1008 cm

The capacitance per phase to neutral is

2πεo 2π  8.854  10 12
C an    11.92 10 12 [F/m]
Deq 1008
ln ln
Ds 9.487
The capacitive reactance per phase is
1 1
XC    222.532  10 6 Ω.m
2π f C 2π  60  11.92  10 12
 222.532  103 Ω.km

50

25
Example (9):
Calculate the capacitance per phase to neutral in μF/km of a
bundled 60 Hz three-phase transmission line having three
subconductors per bundled conductor. Each sub-conductor has a
radius of 1.5 cm with 45 cm between subconductors. The spacing
between bundled conductor centers is 9, 9, and 18 m.

D12 = 9 m D23 = 9 m

D13 = 18 m
Solution:
GMR for a bundled conductor is

GMR  Ds  9 1.5  45  45  1.5  45  45 1.5  45  45  14.48 cm

51

Geometric mean distance of the phase conductor spacing is

D eq  3 9  9  18  11.34 m  1134 cm

The capacitance per phase to neutral is

2πεo 2π  8.854 10 12
C an    12.757  10 12 [F/m]
Deq 1134
ln ln
Ds 14.48
 12.757  10 3 [ F / km]

52

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