Chapter-2

Overhead & Underground Transmission

2.1 Line supports, spacing between conductors

2.2 Transmission line conductor materials
2.3 Stranded and bundled conductors
2.4 Overhead line insulators, its types
2.5 Voltage distribution along string of suspension insulators, string efficiency
2.6 Classification, construction of underground cables, insulation resistance
2.7 Dielectric stress in single core/multi core cables
2.8 Cable faults and location of faults
• Electrical Power can be carried out through both overhead lines and underground
cables in both transmission and distribution system
• Due to high cost of insulation required for U/G cables, O/H lines are preferred for high
voltage, for long line length and large power transmission lines
• Installation, erection and fault finding are easier in O/H lines but prone to faults of high
wind, rain, ice and others.
• U/G cables less liable to damage through storms or lightening, low maintenance cost,
less chances of faults and better general appearance.
Main components of overhead lines

• The successful operation of an O/H line depends to a great extent upon the
mechanical design of the line
• Mechanical strength of line is such so as to provide against the most probable
weather conditions
• In general main components of an O/H line are
I. Conductors: which carry electric power from the sending end station to receiving
end station
II. Supports: which are poles or towers and keep the conductors at a suitable level
above the ground
III. Insulators: which are attached to supports and insulate the conductors from the
ground
IV. Cross arms: which provide support to the insulators
V. Miscellaneous items: such as phase plates, danger plates, lightening arrestors,
anti-climbing wires, etc
Line Supports
The supporting structures for O/H line conductors are various types of poles and towers
called line supports. In general line supports should have following properties:
 High mechanical strength to withstand the weight of conductors and wind loads, etc.
 Light in weight without loss of mechanical strength
 Cheap in cost and economical to maintain
 Longer life
 Easy accessibility of conductor for maintenance
Types
1. Wooden Poles
2. Steel Poles
3. RCC poles
4. Steel Towers
Spacing between conductors
There must be adequate spacing between the conductors so that they do not come
within sparking distance of each other even while swinging due to wind
Empirical Formula,
Spacing=√S +V/150 (metres)
where, S= sag in metres
V= Line voltage in kV
Typical values
Line Voltage (kV) 0.4 11 33 66 132 220 400 765
Spacing (m) 0.2 1.2 2 2.5 3.5 6.0 11.5 14

As per IE rules, min. clearance between ground and the conductor

kV 0.4 11 33 66 220 400
Clearance to Ground
Across street (m) 5.8 5.8 6.1 6.1 7.0 8.4
Along street (m) 5.5 5.5 5.8 6.1 7.0 8.4
Other areas (m) 4.6 4.6 5.2 6.1 7.0 8.4
2.2 Transmission line conductor materials
 The conductor is one of the important items as most of the capital investment for it and
therefore proper choice of material and size of the conductor is of considerable
importance.
 The conductor material used for transmission and distribution of electric power should
have following properties:
• High electrical conductivity and low resistivity to reduce I 2R loss & voltage drop
• High tensile strength (high breaking load) in order to withstand mechanical stress
• Low cost
• Low specific gravity so that weight per unit volume is small

 All the above requirements are not found in a single material so for selecting a
conductor, a compromise is mode between cost and electrical-mechanical properties
and local conditions.
 Most commonly used conductor materials are:
• Copper
• Aluminium
• Steel cored aluminium(ACSR- Aluminium Conductor Steel Reinforced)
• Galvanised steel and
2.2 Transmission line conductor materials…contd
 The two most common conductor materials are hard drawn copper and aluminium
Table: Properties of copper and aluminium conductors
Copper Aluminium
Electrical conductivity (Silver=1.0) 0.975 0.585
Resistivity (μΩ-cm) 1.777 2.826
Specific gravity 8.89 2.70
Tensile strength (N/m2) 384x106 to 430x106 180x106 to 234x106
Coefficient of linear expansion per 0C 17x10 -6 23x10 -6
Temperature coefficient of resistance at 200C 0.00393 per 0C 0.004 per 0C
Ratio of conductivities for equal area 1 0.6
Ratio of diameters for equal resistance 1 1.29
Ratio of weight for equal resistance 2 1

 ACSR conductor mostly used in overhead transmission line as aluminium provides the necessary conductivity
while steel provides the necessary mechanical strength.
 Due to high cost and non-availability of copper conductor, it is generally not used or rarely used.
• Some new transmission line conductors are:
 AAAC- All Aluminium alloy conductor
 TACSR- T Aluminium Conductor Steel Reinforced
 GZTACSR- Gap type ZT-aluminium conductor steel reinforced
2.3 Stranded and bundled conductors
Stranded Conductor:
• The stranded conductors usually has a central wire which is surrounded by the layers of wires.
• These layers consist of 6,12,18.. wires successively & thus the total strands are 7,13,19… respectively
• The overall diameter of a stranded conductor is given by:
dc =(2n+1) x diameter of each strand,
where n is the number of layer outside the central stand
Bundled conductor:
• The conductors of any one bundle are in parallel and charge per
bundle is assumed to divide equally between the conductors of
bundle.
• The composite or stranded conductors touch each other while bundled conductors are away from each
other
Advantages of bundled conductors:
• Reduce corona loss & minimise the interference with communication systems
• Reduce voltage gradient at conductor surface
• Increase capacitance & low reactance due to increase in self GMD
• Increase in surge impedance loading
2.4 Overhead line insulators, its types
• The O/H line conductors should be supported in the poles or towers in such a way that current from
conductors do not flow to earth through supports, i.e. line conductors must be properly insulated from
supports.
• The insulator must provide necessary clearance against the highest voltage and worst atmospheric conditions
to which the line is likely to be subjected.
• It also provides the necessary mechanical support to the conductors.
• The most suitable materials for insulators are:
 Toughened glass &
 Porcelain
• In general , the insulators should have following desirable properties:
 High mechanical strength in order to withstand conductor load, wind load, etc.
 High electrical resistance in order to avoid leakage current to earth.
 High dielectric strength in order to withstand the voltage level
 Non-porous, free from impurities and crack otherwise permittivity will be lowered.
 High ratio of puncture strength to flashover

Types of Insulators
 Neglecting the shackle type insulators used to support 400/230 V lines,
insulators can be classified as
1. Pin type
2. Suspension type and
Types of Insulators….contd
1. Pin Type Insulator
• This is small, simple in construction and cheap and used on lines up to 33 kV lines.
• The conductors is bound into a groove on the top of the insulator which is cemented on to a
galvanised steel pin attached to the cross arm on the pole or tower.
• To avoid a direct contact between the porcelain and the metal pin a soft metal (generally lead) thimble
is used.
• These are so designed that even when the outer surface of the insulator is wet due to rain , sufficient
leakage resistance is still given by the inner dry surfaces.
• The surfaces of petticoats or rain shed conform to equipotential surface of the electrostatic field
between the pin and conductor while body of insulator conforms to the line of electrostatic field.
Types of Insulators….contd
2. Suspension Type Insulator
• This type insulators are used for lines above 33 kV. This is also known as disc insulators or string
insulators.
• It consists of a number of porcelain discs connected in series by metal links in the form of string
• The conductor is suspended at the bottom end of this string while the other end of string is secured to
the cross arms of the tower
• Each disc is designed for low voltage, say 11 kV and number of disc in series depend on working
voltage
• In the event of failure of one disc, only that disc can be replaced and not the entire string
• Since line is suspended flexibly, mechanical stress are reduced
Types of Insulators….contd
3. Strain Type Insulator
• These are special mechanically strong suspension insulators and are used to take the tension of the
conductors at the line terminations and positions where there is change in the direction of line.
• The discs of strain insulators used in the vertical plane.
• When the tension in the line is excessively high as at long river spans, two or more strings are used in
parallel.
2.5 Voltage distribution along string of suspension insulators, string efficiency
• A string of suspension of insulators consists of a number of porcelain discs connected in series
through metallic links.
• 3-disc string of suspension insulators and each disc
form a capacitance of C (self capacitance).
• The capacitance also exists between metal fittings of
each discs and tower(or earth) is C1=kC.
• Fig (b) shows the equivalent circuit for the 3-disc string.
• Starting from cross arm or tower, the voltage across each
unit is V1,V2 and V 3 as shown in fig.
2.5 Voltage distribution along string of suspension insulators, string efficiency.. Contd…
2.5 Voltage distribution along string of suspension insulators, string efficiency.. Contd…