Ethiopian Technical University

Introduction to Power System (EACT 4032)

Chapter- 2 Power Transmission System

Transmission Line Design Considerations
• An overhead transmission line consists of conductors, insulators, support structures,
and, usually, shield wires.
Conductors
• Now a days aluminum conductors have completely replaced copper for overhead lines
because of the much lower cost, abundant supply and lighter weight of an aluminum
conductor compared with a copper conductor of the same resistance.
• An aluminum conductor has a larger diameter than a copper conductor of the same
resistance is also an advantage. With a larger diameter, the lines of electric flux
originating on the conductor will be farther apart at the conductor surface for the same
voltage. This means there is a lower voltage gradient at the conductor surface and less
tendency to ionize the air around the conductor. Ionization produces the undesirable
effect called corona. Ionization produces the undesirable effect called corona.
• The most commonly used aluminum conductors for high voltage transmission lines
are:
AAC - all-aluminum conductors
AAAC - all-aluminum- alloy conductors
 ACSR - aluminum conductor, steel-reinforced
ACAR - aluminum conductor alloy-reinforced
Alumo-weld - aluminum-clad steel conductor
Special and Emerging aluminum conductors used for high voltage transmission lines
ACSS - aluminum conductor steel supported
GTZACSR - gap-type ZT-aluminum conductor, steel-reinforced
ACFR - aluminum conductor carbon reinforced
ACCR - aluminum conductor composite reinforced
• Alternate layers of wire of a stranded conductor are spiraled in opposite directions to
prevent unwinding and to make the outer radius of one layer coincide with the inner radius
of the next layer. Stranding provides flexibility for a large cross-sectional area. The number
of strands depends on the number of layers and on whether all the strands are of the same
diameter.
• A type of conductor known as expanded ACSR has a filler such as paper separating the
inner steel strands from the outer aluminum strands. The paper gives a larger diameter (and
hence, lower corona) for a given conductivity and tensile strength. Expanded ACSR is used
for some extra-high-voltage (EHV) lines.
• EHV lines often have more than one (i.e., two, three or four) conductor per phase; these
conductors are called a bundle. Bundling increases the effective radius of the line
conductors which reduces the electric field strength near the conductor surface thereby
reduces corona power loss. They also have a smaller series reactance.
Insulators
• Insulators for transmission lines above 69 kV are typically suspension-type insulators, that
consist of a string of discs constructed of porcelain, toughened glass, or polymer. The
number of strings of insulator per phase as well as insulator discs in a string increases with
line voltage.
Support Structures
• A self supporting, lattice steel tower typically used for EHV lines may the phases arranged
either in a triangular configuration to reduce tower height or in a vertical configuration to
reduce tower width. Sometimes a Wood frame and a concrete pole may be used as support
structure for lower voltage lines.
Shield Wires
• Shield wires located above the phase conductors protect the phase conductors against
lightning. They are usually high- or extra-high-strength steel, Alumoweld, or ACSR with
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. As such, when
lightning strikes a shield wire, it flows harmlessly to ground, provided the tower impedance
and tower footing resistance are small.
Transmission Line Parameters
Resistance
• The resistance of transmission-line conductors is the most important cause of power
loss in a transmission line.
• The ac resistance or effective resistance of a conductor is

• where Ploss is the power loss in watts and I is the rms current in the conductor in
amperes. The effective resistance is equal to the dc resistance of the conductor only if
the distribution of current throughout the conductor is uniform.
• The dc resistance of a conductor at a specified temperature T is

where ρT = conductor resistivity at temperature T

l = conductor length
A = conductor cross-sectional area
• Conductor resistance depends on the following factors:
1. Conductor material used
2. Geometry of conductor
3. Spiraling
4. Temperature
5. Frequency (“skin effect”)
6. Current magnitude—magnetic conductors
• Resistivity depends on the conductor metal. Annealed copper is the international standard
for measuring resistivity ρ (or conductivity σ, where σ = 1/ρ). Commercial hard - drawn
copper wire has 97.3 % and aluminum
has 61 % of the conductivity of standard
annealed copper. At 20°C for hard-drawn
copper ρ is 1.77 X 10-8 Ω.m. For
aluminum at 20°C ρ is 2.83 X 10-8 Ω.m.
• The dc resistance of stranded conductors is greater than the value computed by the above
Equation because spiraling of the strands makes them 1 or 2 % longer than the actual
conductor length itself. As a result, the dc resistance of a stranded conductor is 1 or 2% larger
than that calculated for a specified conductor length.
• The variation of resistance or resistivity of metallic conductors with temperature is practically
linear over the normal range of operation according to:

where ρT2 and ρT1 are resistivities at temperatures T2 and T1 oC, and RT1 and RT2 are the
resistances of the conductor at temperatures T 1 and T2 respectively, in degrees Celsius
respectively. T is a temperature constant that depends on the conductor material and is
listed in Table above.
Suppose R1 and R2 are the resistances of a conductor at T 1 °C and T2 °C (T2 > T1 ) respectively. If
α1 is the temperature coefficient at T1 °C then,
• For dc, the current distribution is uniform throughout the conductor cross section and the dc
resistance equation is valid. However, for ac, the current distribution is nonuniform. As the
frequency of alternating current increases, the no nonuniformity of current distribution
becomes more pronounced. An increase in frequency causes nonuniform current density.
• Specifically, as frequency increases, the current in a solid cylindrical conductor tends to
crowd toward the conductor surface with smaller current density at the conductor center.
This phenomenon is called skin effect. A conductor with a large radius can even have an
oscillatory current density versus the radial distance from the conductor center.
• Also, although in small amount, a further resistance increase occurs when other current-
carrying conductors are present in the immediate vicinity which is called proximity effect.
• For magnetic conductors, such as steel conductors used for shield wires, resistance depends
on current magnitude. The internal flux linkages, and therefore the iron or magnetic losses,
depend on the current magnitude. For ACSR conductors, the steel core has a relatively high
resistivity compared to the aluminum strands, and therefore the effect of current magnitude
on ACSR conductor resistance is small.
Example:
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Inductance of a Single Cylindrical conductor:
To obtain an accurate value for the inductance of a transmission line, it is necessary to
consider the flux inside each conductor as well as the external flux.
The inductance is defined as:

where λ is the flux linkage in Weber-turns and I is the phasor current in Ampere.
1. Internal Inductance
The correct value of inductance due to internal flux can be computed as the ratio of flux
linages to current by taking into account the fact that each line of internal flux links only a
fraction of the total current .
By Ampere's law the magnetomotive force (mmf) in ampere-turns around any closed path
(i.e., the line integral around the closed path of the component of the magnetic field intensity
tangent to the path) is equal to the net current in amperes enclosed by the path

where H is the magnetic field intensity in At/m, ds is the

incremental distance/length along the closed contour in m and
I is the current in ampere.
Let Hx be the field intensity at a distance x from the center of the conductor

Since Hx is symmetrical, meaning Hx is constant at all points equidistant from the center of
the conductor.

Where Ix is the current enclosed.

Assuming the current density is uniform across the conductor.

Substituting Ix in Hx ,

The flux density x meters from the center of the conductor is

Since µr is 1 for conductors,

In the tubular element of thickness dx the flux dφ is Bx times the cross-sectional area of the
element normal to the flux lines, the area being dx times the unit axial length. The flux per
unit meter of axial length is

The entire cross section does not enclose this flux. The flux linkages dλ per meter of length,
which are caused by the flux in the tubular element, are the product of the flux per meter of
length and the fraction of the current linked. Thus,

Integrating from the center of the conductor to its outside edge to find λint the total flux
linkages inside the conductor, we obtain

Since μo = 4π X 10–7 H/m

The internal inductance per unit length is

It is independent of the conductor radius.

2. External Inductance
g
Assignment
A. Explain in detail about Special and Emerging aluminum conductors used for high voltage
transmission lines
1. ACSS - aluminum conductor steel supported
2. GTZACSR - gap-type ZT-aluminum conductor, steel-reinforced
3. ACFR - aluminum conductor carbon reinforced
4. ACCR - aluminum conductor composite reinforced
5. Expanded ACSR - aluminum conductor, steel-reinforced
B. Explain in detail about the 5 types of insulators used in transmission/distribution lines as
overhead insulation:
1. Pin Insulator 2. Suspension Insulator
3. Strain Insulator 4. Stay Insulator
5. Shackle Insulator
C. Explain in detail about the following hydraulic turbines:
1 Pelton Turbine 2. Crossflow Turbine 3. Francis Turbine
4. Kaplan Turbine 5. Straflo Turbine
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