KEPCO 765 kV TRANSMISSION SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

CORONA & ELECTRIC FIELD EFFECTS STUDIES

Kwang Ho Yang,

Jeong Boo Kim, S.M NEE,

Dong I1 Lee, Koo Yong Shin

Hee Sung Ahan

Korea Electric Power

Research InstibAdKEPRI)
103-16, Munji-Dong Yousung-Gu
Daejeon, 305-380, Korea

Korea Electrotechnology
Research Institute
28-1, Seongju-Dong, Chmgwon
Ky~ngnam,641-120, Korea

Ja Yoon Koo

Han Yang University

396 Daehak-Dong, Ansan
Kuunggi-Do, 425-791, Korea

Corona characteristics on 6X810mm2, 6X480m2, 6X4lOmm; 4X

810 and 4X765mm2 were investigated in the corona cage. The
artificial rain rate(1-2 /hr,13 /hr,28 /hr)was varied and the
wet conductor noise level was also measured. In the next series of
tests, the subconductor spacing of 6-Rail cor.C;ucwr bundle was changed
h i o m 35 cm to 50 cm and AN level WES measured by a sound level
metedRion NA-40). Spacing of 40cm in 6-Rail bundle gave the
mini audible noise and its AN La was 45.0 dB(A)[GI. We have
found the audible noise level increases rapidly right after the conductor
surface gradient reaches 16 kV/cn
T o investigate the electrical environmental impact of this conductor
bundle selected in corona cage, KEPEU built a full scale test at cost of 6
million dollars and measured AN, RI and TVI.

DSTRACT

This paper describes corona and elechic field effects

studies of a 765 kV double circuit test line. In Korea there are many
mountains and it is very difficult to get the right of way because our
population density is very high and our territory is small.
So Korea Electric Power cOrpOration(KEPC0) decided to build one
double-circuit 765 kV line of vertical arrangement c o n f i i t i o n instead
of two single-circuit 765 kV lines of horizontal configuration.
Corona performance on several candidate conductor bundles has been
investigated with a corona cage since 1984 by KEPRI. We have known
that a bundle of 6-Rail(29.61 mm) conductors per phase is the o p t i
and its AN level L o in the corona cage was measured as 45.0 dB(A) in
GE method. To investigate electrical environmental impact of the future
commercial line with this conductor bundle, KEPRI built a full scale 765
kV test line in 1993 as the second step study. Long-term measurements
have been made in this double-circuit test line.
We have found that the Audible Noise(AN1 data were very close to
UIC prcdickd by W A Corona and Field Effects computer program,
however, the RI data in fair weather was huher than the predicted by
the BPA program by 2.4 dB( p V/m).
Audible Noise Level Lso in foul weather is below 50 dB(A). We think
Uic 6-Rail conduclors bundle is the optimum size in 765kV
double-circuit transmission line from the environmental view-point.

2. ENGINEERING 8 c CONSTRUCTION

Full Scale Test Line

According to the corona cage test results, 6-Rail conductor bundle
satisfies the Audible Noise Regulation, but a 765kV double circuit
Wansmission line has never been operated in the world. We considered a
f u U scale test line is necessary to verify whether there is any electrical
environmental impact with this conductor bundle or not.

Keywords: Corona, Audible noise, Radio(te1evision) interference

1. INTRODUCTION
The peak demand of KEPCO in 1994 was 26,696 MW, whereas the
peak demand in 1987 was 11,ooO MW. According to load forecast in
Korea the maximum peak demand in 2001 will reach 38,ooO MW.
Recently the load demand increase rate is about 10%.
Due to the geographical and social condition, the distance between
generating sites and Ioad centers is very long, 150-200 km and the total
transferred power to Seoul will reach 10,ooO M W in 2010. The total 345
kV line length is about 5,000 Ckm and the capacity of the 345kV/154kV
step down hansformer is 24,172 MVA.
Therefore KEPCO feels the necessity of 765kV transmission line to
carry bulk power from generation sites to load center, Seoul. Since 1984,
KEPRI has been studying the design of a 765kV double-circuit
bansmission line considering rugged mountainous area and the difficulty
to get the right of way.
For 765kV transmission line, it is believed that the AN will dominate
the conductor selection [1,2,31 Considering the govemment environmental
noise regulation is 50 dB(A) in the residential area, KEPRI investigated
several candidate conductor bundles using BPA Corona and Field Effects
computer program. To select the optimum conductor bundle, a 6mx6mX
20m corona cage was conslructed in 1986. By the electric field
calrullrtion anrilYhl# ba\H,utl on uls chwgs simulation method, the cmss
section of the caueC41 was determined as 6mX6m on the grounds that It
cnn sufficlently slmulab the eleclrlc Pldd Jletrlbutlon acouratdy wlthlri
Im from the conductor bundle surface in a actual transmission line.

IEEE Catalogue No. 95TH8130

0-7803-2981-3/95/$4.00@1995IEEE

Fig.1 T h e genera1 view of 765kV test line

KEPRI built the test line along the sea coast which is located at the
distan:e of about 170km from IU3PII1 main office. The test line
consists of four towers and three spans. The middle span length is
300m and the other spans are equally 200 m Along the hmsversal
ccntcr line of Uie middle span, thc inskument sensors for the Audible
Noise, Rndio Interference and TV Interference are installed, This center
llne mechanically and electrically colncldes. The test line of three spans
ik rsultkibl@ tu BnHtlU~t thu 111 MHtl TVt k k ~ d k ris Wnll ## AN, PI#,1
shows the general view of the test line The first tower is dead-end

288

and transposxtion tower whose weight is 195 ton and the height is 76
m. The second and t h i i suspension tower is 79 m. The bus is
overhead line bus supported by self-supporting structures.

Radio Interference : Three loop antennas are installed at 3m, 18m and
188 m from the outmost phase
They are called RI, Rz and R3 respectively.
TV Interference

: Three biconical antennas are installed at 40 m, 8Om

and 188 m from the outmost phase.
They are called TI, T2 and T3 respectively.

Meteorological data : Temperature, Humidity,barometric pressure, wind

speed, wind dmtion, rainfall-meter etc.
Data Acsuisition system scans the data in every three minutes and
stores the data in magnetic tape for statistical analysis.

F i g 2 765kV test transformer

The 3 phase double circuit lines, transposed in low reactance
arrangement with shunt reactor of 2 MVA per phase, have been
charged by three auto transformers (22.9kV / W k V , 3 MVA).

Fig.3 T h e installation view of AN, RI and TVI sensors

The design summary of the test line is as follows :

: 765 kV
0 Nominal vollape
: 800 kV
0 Maximum voltage
: 2
0 Number of circuit
: 6 X Rail (29.61 mm)
0 Conductor size
: 2 x lzOmmz ACSWAW
0 Ground wire
: -5'
0 Shielding angle
0 Switching surge factor : 2 p.u
: 52% mm [71
0 Minimum clearance
0 Number of insulator discs

We have charged the test line from April 1993, but there were some
troubles in O L E transformer and data acsuisition system. So the test
line has been normally operated since August 1993.
We analyzed the data for 14 months ('93 Aug -'94 October) and
compared with the predicted value by BPA program and the measured
value of corona cage test. Table 1. shows the number of effective data
and its effective data acquisition rate in this period. Only effective data
were used in the statistical analysis.

- suspension string

: 300kN X 33ea
: 4ookN X 29ea
: 1 6' 23kVf76W3, 3 MVA
0 BIL of test transformer : 1425 kV
0 On Load Tap Changer transformer : 3 6' 23kV/O-25kV,
1500 KVA
string
- Tension
0 Test transformer

No.of Raw Data

Items

Fair

I Rainy

No. of Effective Data

(Acquisition Rate)
Rainy
Fair

svstem
KEPRI installed sensors of audible noise, corona hum, radio
interference, T V interference, aeolian noise and meteorological data along
the lateral line of the center h e as in Fig.3.

Audible Noise

Corona Hum

k s u l t 01 Audible Noise Measuranenl

If the measured data are belong to following conditions, then the data
are defined as effective data. A N 3 and A N 6 microphones are located at
15 m and 178 m, respectively from the outmost phase.

: Four microphones are installed at 0 m, 15 m, 60 m

and 178 m from the outmost phase.
We call the microphones ANI, AN% A N 4 , and
AN6 respectively, Also we call the installation
point of AN% "datum point", to assess audible
noise of the linc.
The microphones were made by the standard IEC
651 typel and ANSI 51.4-1983 typel. The height of
microphone is 0.34 m instead of 1.5 m in IEEE
standard to decrease wind effects for the
microphone,

1. Wind velocity is less than 5 "sec

2. Test vdtage should be in *1.5% tolerance
3. AN value is Ercater than 28 d N A )
4. AN value is greater than background noise(AN6)by 4 dB.

We compared Audible Noise value with background noise(ANs) and

corrected the value by ANSI/LEEE standard 656(1992), I<SA0701(1987),
JIS-Z8731(1983)and IEEE Report [81 as following,

11

: Four microphones wlth 120 Hz filter are Installed

along the lateral line at -32 m, 8 m, 18 m and
28m from the outmost phase.

289

AN ANU a 1U
6 s AN - A N 6 s 9
4 i: AN - A N 6 5 5

then AN AN
AN = AN-1
AN = AN-2

Table 2 shows statistical analysis results of the effective data.

TABLE 2. COMPARISON OF MEASURED AND .PREDICTED

A-WEIGIIT AN A T 1% FROM OUTMOST PHASE
MEASURED
PREDIcrED
WEATHER
TEST LINE(CORONA CAGE
BpA

HEAVY RAIN b
FAIR Lm

52.2

53.0
42.2

52.0
23.5

42.7

We did not attach shield rings in the double tension insulator string
of the dead-end tower and bus-supporting towers at the construction
stage. So there were some corona discharges in these tension insulator
strings and hardwares. But after installing specially designed shield
rings, the discharges were disappeared. We installed three loop antennas
which are made by CISPR 16, ANSI C63.2-1980. The height of antenna
is 2m. The effective data of RI in Rz antenna which is located at 18m
from outmost phase, satisfy following conditions.

1. The values of R2 are greater than 14 dB(pV/m)

2. The values of & antenna which is located at 188 m are less than
47 dB(fl/m) and greater than 15 dB(pV/m)
3. The values of Rz are greater than those of R3 by 6 dB(pV/m)
according to IEEE standard 430(1986)
4. Fair weather condition : Humidity is less than 80 %

We have known that the measured value of random noise Lso is very
close to the predicted by BPA program and higher than the value of the
corona cage by 4 dB(A). Artiicial rain rate and n a W rain rate are
different to each other, so there is 4 dB(A) difference of Lso between
test line and corona cage. Fig. 4 shows the cumulative distribution of
AN data in foul weather. In this figure 50 % cumulative frequency of
A N 3 is 49.1 &(A).

116.8

Table 3. shows the statistical analysis of the effective data of Rz

antenna and Fig.6 shows the cumulative distribution of RI in fair
weather. We added 6 dB to the Lso for the conversion factor to convert
from the test line data to the infinite line.

TABLE 3. COMPARISON OF THE MEASURED AND THE

PREDICTED RI, 18 M PROM TIW OUTERMOST PHASE, 0.475
Hk BASED UPON ANSI QP DETECTOR.

I t

RAINb

72.9

Fig.4 Cumulative distribution of AN Foul weather based upon 4468

samples collected from August/93 to October/94
A N 3 : AN distribution at the datum point
A N 6 : AN distribution at the background noise measuring point

FAIR Lm.

e. a
l

I
I

4
6$
RI Noise Gel [dBuV/M]

Fig.6 Fair weather RI distribution a t 18 m from the phase 0.475 Hk

based upon 134,037 samples collected from AugustJ93 to
October/94, ANSI QP dectector

FREQUENCV [Hz]

Fig.5 AN frequcncy spectrum in rainy weather

Fig8 rhowr the tVricnl lA4 octhve bend fmquency apsctrum of AN#
mlcrophane Installed at the evaluallon p l n t In the ralny weathPn In thlm
figure 120 1-12 tonal component is not so high as typical frequency
spectrum of the transmission line audible noire.

mectric Field Measurement

We measured electric fields along the lateral line from the center of
the test line and compared them with the predicted by BPA program.
Fig.7 shows the comparison of them which am very close to each other,
fh f(tfpc;cJ rrluih (a d.trrmlnr rSIr mlnlmllrv olununnw ~1 wnp
mission llne conductors In road crossing, paddy field and near village,
the electric field should be less than 3.5 kV/m

290

According to this criteria, the minimum height of 765kV transmission

line is 28m. 'The average tower height is about 100m. Fg.8 shows the
geometry of the suspension tower in the test fine and the conductor
height of the tower.

The result of the analyses shows that this 6-conductor bundle

satisfies the audible noise criterion under the foul weather condition and
the radio interference level under the fair weather.
Considering to reduce the sag of a conductor and the tower height in
an average long span of the commercial tines after the survey of 766
kV line route, a bundle of 6-Cardinal conductors was selected in a 765
kV transmission line at the final decision.
The Cardinal conductor has about the same cross section and current
carrying capacity as the Rail conductor, but has a slightly larger
diameter and more mechanical strength than the Rai conductor, now the
Cardinal conductors have been energized in the test line.
Later we'll present the result of 6-Cardina1(480 d,30.42 an) conductor bundle.

References

Ill Transmission Line Reference Book-345kV and AbovdSecond,

Electric Power Research Institute, USA (1982)

[21 M.Fukushima, YSawada, et al. : "Audible Noise and Radio Noise

from UHV AC Transmission Lines (MHvleasurement of Corona
Performance of Conductor Bundles with a UHV Corona Cage",
Central Research Institute Electric Power Industry, Japan(1978)

Fig.7 The comparison of electric field between the measured and

the calculated

133 ACBritten, E.G.Clarke & H.E.Konke1 : "Radio Interference, CorOns

Losses, Audible Noise and Power Frequency Electric Fields as
Factors in the Design of Escom's 765kV Lines", An Offiiial Journal
of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers ELECTRON,
p.7, 1988
[41 Corona Cage design for the study of next Extra High Voltage
Transmission KEPRI, 1985

[5J EEJYPES Special Course on Corona and Field Effects of High

Voltage Transmission Lines, 1981
[61 J.B.Kim, D . L k , K.H.Yang and H.S.Ahn, "A study on the next EHV
Transmission(1-VI", KEPRI, Korea, 1984-9

[7] J.B.Kim & E.B.Shim, "Air Insulation Design of 765kV Double-Circuit

Transmission Line", International symposium on H g h Voltage
Engineering in 1993.

[81 J.B.IGn, D.LLee, K.Y.Shin, K.H.Yang and H.S.Ahn, "The second

stage study on EI-IV Transmission System", KEPRI, Korea, 1994

Rg.8 Configuration of the suspension tower

3.CONCLUSIONS
The following conclusions are drawn from our long-term study using
766 kV full scale test line.
1. The foul weather AN(h0) of the measured is 49.1 dB(A) and is v w
close to the predicted by BPA program.
2. The fair weather R I ( h ) of the measured is 45.7 dB(N/m) and is
greater than the predicted by 2.4 dB(PV/m).
3. The comparison of electric field between the measured and the
onlouintmd bhtW@dthr)t both MUIWc ~ i n s l d dwith eedh other,
4. We think 6-Rail bundle is suitable to 765 kV double circuit transmission line from the viewpoint of environmenr

291