CHAPTER 2

TRANSMISSION LINES

TRANSMISSION LINES
FUNCTION - to transfer bulk of electrical energy from
generating power plants to electrical substations
located near demand centres.
When interconnected with each other, they become
transmission networks (Malaysia-National Grid).
FOUR (4) basic parameters : resistance (R),
inductance (L), capacitance (C), and conductance (G).
Most transmission lines use HVAC.
HVDC used for greater efficiency for long distances
including submarine power cable.
Electricity is transmitted at HIGH VOLTAGE to reduce
energy lost in long-distance transmission.

Diagram of electrical power system

INDUCTANCE (L)
Inductance is the number of flux linkages produced per
ampere of current flowing through the line.
The greater the spacing between the phases of a
transmission lines, the greater the inductance of the
line.
The greater the radius of the conductors in a
transmission line, the lower the inductance of the line.

EXAMPLE 1
Calculate the loop inductance per km of a single-phase
transmission line consisting of 2 parallel conductors
1.5m apart and 1.5cm in diameter. If it is operating at
50Hz frequency, calculate the reactance of the
transmission line.
D
H /m
r '

L 4 10 7 ln

D
H / km

r'
Diameter of conductor
r ' 0.7788
2
L 4 10 4 ln

D=distance (m) r=radius (m)

B
D=1.5m

r=1.5cm

r=1.5cm

SOLUTION 1
1.5 10 2
r ' 0.7788
5.841 10 3 m
2
D 1.5m
L 4 10 4 ln

D
1.5

3
4 10 4 ln

2
.
219

10
H / km

3
r'
5.841 10

X L 2fL 2 50 (2.219 10 3 ) 0.697

EXAMPLE 2
A 3-phase transmission line 100km has its conductors of
0.6cm diameter spacing at the corners of an equilateral
triangle of 100cm. Find the inductance per phase of the
system.
A

100cm

100cm

100cm
B

SOLUTION 2
0.6 10 2
r ' 0.7788
3 10 3 m
2
D 100cm 1m
D
1

4
3
LA 2 10 ln 2 10 ln

1
.
2118

10
H / km

3
r'
3 10
4

For 100km long transmission line,

LA 1.2118 10 3 100 0.12118 H

CAPACITANCE (C)
The charge deposited on the conductors is proportional to
the applied voltage. The constant of proportionality is the
capacitance.
The greater the spacing between the phases of a
transmission lines, the lower the capacitance of the line.
The greater the radius of the conductors in a
transmission line, the higher the inductance of the line.

EXAMPLE 3
A single phase transmission line has two parallel
conductors 5m apart, radius of each conductor is 1.5cm.
Calculate the capacitance of the line per km. Given that
0=8.854 x 10-12 F/m.

0
C D F /m
ln r
0
C
4.7883 10 12 F / m
5

ln
2
1.5 10
C 4.7883 10 9 F / km

EXAMPLE 4
A 3-phase, 50Hz, 66kV transmission line are placed in
horizontal plane. The conductor diameter is 1.25cm and
distance between conductors is 2m. If the line length is
100km, calculate capacitance per phase.
A

B
2m

C
2m

SOLUTION 4
Deq 3 DAB DBC DCA 3 2 2 4 2.5198m
1.25 10 2
r
6.25 10 3
2
2 0
2 0
C

9.2729 10 12 F / m
Deq
2.5198
ln
ln

6.25 10 3
r

For 100km line length,

C AN 9.2729 10 12 100 103 0.9273 10 6 F

TYPES OF OVERHEAD
TRANSMISSION LINE

SHORT TRANSMISSION LINE

When the length of the transmission line is up to
80km and the line voltage is less than 20kV.
Due to smaller length and lower voltage, the
capacitance (C) effects are small and hence can be
NEGLECTED.
Only resistance (R) and inductance (L) are
considered.

Z R jX (r jL)l

where,

Z = series impedance
r = per-phase resistance
L = per-phase inductance
l = line length

SHORT TRANSMISSION LINE

Circuit diagram
R

Is

Ir
+
Vs

Vr

Load

Vs - sending end voltage Vr - receiving end voltage

current
R
- Loop resistance () X
- Loop inductance ()

I - load

MEDIUM TRANSMISSION
LINE
When the length of the line is about 80km to
250km and the line voltage is moderately high
between 20kV to 100kV.
Due to sufficient length and line voltage,
capacitance (C) is considered.

MEDIUM TRANSMISSION
LINE
Circuit diagram
IS

Ir

IC

line

Vs

Vr

load

Neutral

Vs- sending end voltage Vr- receiving end voltage

current
Ir- receiving end current
Ic- capacitance current
()
X- loop Inductance () C- capacitance (farad)

Is- sending end

R- loop Capacitance

LONG TRANSMISSION LINE

When the length of the line is more than 250km
and line voltage is very high which is more
than100kV.
The line constants (R,L,C,G) are uniformly
distributed over the whole length of the line.
Resistance (R) and inductance (X) are serial
elements of transmission line.
Capacitance (C) and conductance (G) are shunt
elements of transmission line. It caused the power
losses and corona effects.

LONG TRANSMISSION LINE

Circuit diagram
IS

Vs

R/n

Ir

X/n

B/n

G/n

Vr

Load

Vs- sending end voltage Vr- receiving end voltage Is- sending end
current
Ir- receiving end current
Ic- capacitance current
R- loop Capacitance
()
X- loop Inductance () C- capacitance (F)
G loop conductance

SHORT TRANSMISSION LINE

(i) Equivalent circuit

(ii) Phase diagram for LAGGING power factor

VOLTAGE REGULATION
Voltage regulation (VR) is the percentage change in
voltage at the receiving-end of the line in going from
no-load to full-load.
% VR
% VR

VNo load VFull load

VFull load

100

VS VR
100
VR

Lagging power factor %VR is positive

Leading power factor - %VR is negative (capacitive
load)

TRANSMISSION EFFICIENCY
Efficiency is defined as the ratio of receiving-end
power to the sending-end power.
receiving end power PR

100
sending end power Ps
VR I R cos R

100
VS I S cos S

PR
100
2
PR I R

where I2R is line losses.

EXAMPLE 1
A single phase transmission line delivered 1,100 kW
power to a factory at 11 kV in 0.8 p.f. lagging. This
line have a resistance of 2 and inductance coil of
3. Calculate:
i) Sending-end voltage [11,426V]
ii) Regulation Percent [3.873%]
iii)Transmission Line Efficiency [97.24%]

EXAMPLE 2
An 11 kV,3-phase transmission line has resistance of
1.5 and inductance of 4 for each phase. Calculate
regulation percent and efficiency if total end receiver
load, 5000 kVA in 0.8 p.f. lagging.
[I=262.4A ; Vs=7,295.8V ; Regulation= 14.88%]

POWER FLOW (3-phase)

Real input power (watt)
Pin PS 3VS ( L ) I S cos S
Pin PS

3VS ( ph ) I S cos S

Real output power (watt)

Pout PR 3VR ( L ) I R cos R
Pout PR

3VR ( ph ) I R cos R

Apparent input power (VA)

S in S S 3VS ( L ) I S
S in S S

3VS ( ph ) I S

Apparent output power (VA)

S out S R 3VR ( L ) I R
S out S R

3VR ( ph ) I R

CORONA
Corona was electrical discharge emerge around
overhead line conductor, due to air flow where would
disturb radio waves and creating lost power.
When a normal ac voltage is applied across two
conductors with enough spacing between them, there
is no change in the atmospheric conditions
surrounding the conductors.
But if the voltage exceeds a particular limiting value,
then the air surrounding the conductors will gets
ionized and luminous glow (weak purple color) will
rise with hissing sound.
This phenomena is called corona.

The corona discharge around a high

voltage coil.

Large corona discharge (white)

around conductors energized by a 1.5
million volt transformer in a laboratory.

CORONA EFFECTS
1. Power loss
2. The 3rd harmonic components makes the current
non-sinusoidal and this increase the corona loss.
3. The ozone gas formed chemically reacts with the
conductor and can cause corrosion.
4. Light (faint violet glow).
5. Audible noise (hissing or cracking).
6. Insulation damage
7. Radio, television and computer interference.

METHODS TO REDUCE CORONA

EFFECTS
a. Increase the diameter of the conductor
-i.e. ACSR conductors
b. Increase the space between the conductors
c. Using bundled conductors
-produced less resistances and reduce losses

INSULATORS
Functions:
- to provide perfect insulation between the live
conductors and the supports.
- to prevent any leakage current from the live
conductors to earth through the supports.

INSULATOR MATERIALS
1. Porcelain (ceramic)
- most commonly used material for the insulators
- the dielectric strength is about 60 kV/cm
- has a particular shape and covered with glaze
2. Glass
- cheaper but less stronger than the porcelain
- the dielectric strength is about 140 kV/cm
3. Synthetic resin
- consist of the compounds of silicon, rubber, resin etc.
- light weight and comparatively cheaper
- high leakage current and short life

DESIGN PRINCIPLE &

CONSTRUCTION
1) Physical strength - able to withstand loads suitable
with the weight of a conductor.
2) Have high insulation resistance to prevent current
leakage to earth.
3) High resistance ratio of rupture due to surge voltage.
4) The insulators material used must be water-proof
and does not affected by changes in temperature.
5) Construction must be free from any impurities and
cracks as well as non-transparent to liquids and
gases from materials from space.

TYPES OF INSULATORS

PIN TYPE INSULATOR

Schematic design

PIN TYPE INSULATOR

Small, simple in construction and cheap.
Used for transmission and distribution of electrical
power up to 33kV.
For lower voltage up to 11kV one piece is used.
For higher voltage two or more pieces are used.
It becomes more heavy and costly for higher voltages.
Mounted on the cross-arm of the pole.
The line conductor is placed in the groove at the top
of insulator and is tied down with binding wire of the
same material as the conductor.

SUSPENSION TYPE INSULATOR

Schematic design

SUSPENSION TYPE INSULATOR

Used for voltages above 33kV.
Have no. of porcelain disc units which are connected
to one another in series by using metal links to form a
string of porcelain discs.
The top of insulator is connected to the cross-arm of
the tower while the lowest insulator holds the line
conductor.
Each unit is designed for the low voltage about 11kV.
No. of units depend on the operating voltage i.e. if
operating voltage is 132kV , the no. of units required
is 12.

SUSPENSION TYPE INSULATOR

Two types of suspension type insulators:
(1) Cemented cap type
(2) Hewlett @ inter-linking type
In case of failure of any of the units,
the replacement work done on that unit
and entire string need not be replaced.
Just add additional units to the string if the line voltage
is required to be increased at some later stage.

TENSION TYPE INSULATOR

Used for handling the mechanical stresses at angle
positions of the line :
- corner/ sharp curve
- end of lines
- intermediate anchor towers
- long river-crossings
Low-tension (LT) line shackle insulators are used
High-tension (HT) line - assembly of the suspension
insulators is used as strain insulator but
are
arranged on a horizontal plane.
On extra long spans (river crossings) two or more
strings of strain insulators are used in parallel.

ADVANTAGES OF SUSPENSION
INSULATORS
For higher voltages, these are cheaper than the pin
insulator.
Each unit is designed for low voltage (11kV) but by
connecting such units in series to form a string,
insulator for higher voltage level can be designed.
In case of any failure, it is sufficient to replace the
damaged disc and do not need to replace the entire
string.
Provide greater flexibility to the line. The string is
suspended and is free to swing in any direction.
The line conductors are less affected by lighting
because the conductor is lower than the tower crossarm and the string acts as lighting arrestor.

TYPE OF INSULATOR TESTS

FLASHOVER TESTS
Dry flashover test

impulse ratio

impulse spark over voltage

spark over voltage power frequency (50 Hz )

PERFORMANCE TESTS
Puncture voltage test

ROUTINE TESTS
High voltage test

VOLTAGE DISTRIBUTION IN
INSULATOR NETWORK
A string of insulators or network insulator is the unit
formed by connecting several discs in a series with
help of metal links.
The capacitance due to two metal fittings on either
side of an insulator is known as mutual capacitance.
The capacitance between the metal fittings of each
unit and the earth/tower is known as shunt
capacitance.
The capacitance between the conductor and the metal
link is neglected.

VOLTAGE DISTRIBUTION IN
INSULATOR NETWORK
Due to shunt capacitance, the charging current in all
discs of a string is not equal.
So, the voltage across each unit will be different.
The discs nearer to the line conductor will have
maximum voltage and minimum voltage across the top
unit (near the cross-arm).

VOLTAGE DISTRIBUTION IN
INSULATOR NETWORK

NETWORK EFFICIENCY
The voltage across the unit nearer to the conductor
is more than the voltage in the unit nearer to the
tower.
Network efficiency
Voltage across the string

n Voltage across the insulator near to the line conductor

E

nVT

100% efficiency means that the voltage across the

disc will be exactly same.

METHODS TO IMPROVE
NETWORK EFFICIENCY
Cross-arm
-increase the length of cross-arms by increasing the
distance between insulator and tower.
- the ratio of shunt capacitance to mutual capacitance
(k=C1/C) will reduce to 0.1.
- the network efficiency increases and the voltage
distribution is more uniform.
- only suitable for high and large tower post to support
long bar weight and network insulator.

METHODS TO IMPROVE
NETWORK EFFICIENCY
Tower Bar

D = Bar length

Conductor

Figure 2.15 Cross arm schematic

METHODS OF INREASING
STRING EFFICIENCY
Guard ring
-ring way obstruction can be done with use static
shield.
- this static shield assembled on end lower part
insulator unit connected by using joining of metal in
suspension insulator and then connects to line
conductor.
- reduce the earth capacitance and create
capacitance between insulator line and cap.
- higher capacitance in nearby unit with guard ring and
this will reduce voltage fall in the insulator.
- the same voltage in per unit is impossible to obtain
practically.

METHODS OF INREASING
STRING EFFICIENCY
Tower post

I1

Tower Post

V1

i1

C1

Ix

Arc Horn

Cx

V2

Iy

I2

i2

C1

Cy

V3

Obstruction Ring

C1

i3

I3

Conductor

(a) Construction

Iz

Cz

Obstruction Ring

(b) Equivalent circuit