EE 517 Power System Analysis and Design

Lecture 2 Transmission Line Modelling and Performance

Transmission Line Modelling and Performance

Introduction
In the previous discussion, the per phase parameters of transmission lines were obtained.
This lecture deals with the representation and performance of transmission lines under normal
operating conditions. Transmission lines physically integrate the output of generating plants and
the requirements of customers by providing pathways for the flow of energy among the various
circuits in an electric power system. Transmission lines are represented by an equivalent model
with appropriate circuit parameters on a “per-phase” basis. The terminal voltages are expressed
from one line to neutral, the current for one phase and, thus, the three-phase system is reduced to
an equivalent single-phase system.
For our purposes here, we consider a transmission line to have a sending end and a
receiving end, and to have a series resistance and inductance and a shunt capacitance and
conductance as primary parameters. In addition, we classify transmission lines as short, medium,
and long. In a short line, the shunt effects (conductance and capacitance) are neglected; this
approximation is considered valid for lines up to 80 km long. In a medium line, the shunt
capacitances are lumped at a few predetermined locations along the line; medium lines generally
range from 80 to 240 km in length. Lines longer than 240 km are considered to be long lines and
to have uniformly distributed parameters.

1. Transmission Line Representation

To facilitate performance calculations relating to a transmission line, the line is
approximated as a series-parallel interconnection of the relevant parameters. A short
transmission line, for which the shunt effects may be neglected, is represented by a lumped
resistance in series with a lumped inductance. A medium-length line is represented by lumped
shunt capacitors located at predetermined points along an RL series circuit. (In practice, the
entire capacitive effect in medium-length line may be represented by only one or two lumped
capacitors.) Finally, a long transmission line is represented by uniformly distributed parameters.
Furthermore, the shunt branch of a long line consists of both capacitances and conductances
distributed uniformly along the line.

1.1 Short Transmission Line Model

Capacitance may often be ignored without much error if the lines are less than about 80
km long, or if the voltage is not over 69 kV. The short line model is obtained by multiplying the
series impedance per unit length by the line length.

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EE 517 Power System Analysis and Design
Lecture 2 Transmission Line Modelling and Performance

where r and L are the per-phase resistance and inductance per unit length, respectively, and

The short line model on a per phase basis is shown in figure 5.1. V s and Is are
the phase voltage and current at the sending end of the line, and V R and IR are the phase voltage
and current at the receiving end of the line.

If a three-phase load with apparent power S R(3ɸ) is connected at the end of the
transmission line, the receiving end current is obtained by

The phase voltage at the sending end is

and since the shunt capacitance is neglected, the sending end and the receiving end current are
equal, i.e.,

The transmission line may be represented by a two-port network as shown in figure 5.2, and the
above equations can be written in terms of the generalized circuit constants commonly known as
the ABCD constants.

or in matrix form
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EE 517 Power System Analysis and Design
Lecture 2 Transmission Line Modelling and Performance

According to (5.3) and (5.4), for short line model

Voltage regulation of the line may be defined as the percentage change in voltage at the
receiving end of the line (expressed as percent of full-load voltage) in going from no-load to full-
load.

At no-load IR = 0 and from (5.5)

For a short line, A = 1 and VR(NL) = VS. Voltage regulation is a measure of line voltage drop and
depends on the load power factor. Voltage regulation will be poorer at low lagging power factor
loads. With capacitive loads, i.e., leading power factor loads, regulation may become negative.
This is demonstrated by the phasor diagram of figure 5.3.

Once the sending end voltage is calculated the sending-end power is obtained by

The total line loss is then given by

and the transmission line efficiency is given by

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EE 517 Power System Analysis and Design
Lecture 2 Transmission Line Modelling and Performance

where PR(3ɸ) and PS(3ɸ) are the total real power at the receiving end and sending end of the line,
respectively.

Example 1
A 220 kV, three-phase transmission line is 40 km long. The resistance per phase is 0.15
Ω per km and the inductance per phase is 1.3263 mH per km. The shunt capacitance is
negligible. Use the short line model to find the voltage and power at the sending end and the
voltage regulation and efficiency when the line is supplying a three-phase load of

a. 381 MVA at 0.8 power factor lagging at 220 kV

b. 381 MVA at 0.8 power factor leading at 220 kV

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EE 517 Power System Analysis and Design
Lecture 2 Transmission Line Modelling and Performance

1.2 Medium Transmission Line Model

As the length of the line increases, the line charging current becomes appreciable and the
shunt capacitance must be considered. Lines above 80 km and below 250 km in length are
termed as medium length lines.

1.2.1 Nominal π Representation

For medium length lines, half of the shunt capacitance may be considered to be lumped at
each end of the line. This is referred to as the nominal π model and is shown in figure 5.4. Z is
the total series impedance of the line given by (5.1) and Y is the total shunt admittance of the line
given by

Under normal conditions, the shunt conductance per unit length, which represents the leakage
current over the insulators and due to corona, is negligible and g is assumed to be zero. C is the

line to neutral capacitance per km, and length. The sending end voltage and current
for the nominal π model are obtained as follows:

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EE 517 Power System Analysis and Design
Lecture 2 Transmission Line Modelling and Performance

From KCL the current in the series impedance designated by IL is

From KVL the sending end voltage is

Substituting for IL from (5.15), we obtain

The sending end current is

Substituting for IL and VS

Comparing (5.17) and (5.19) with (5.5) and (5.6), the ABCD constants for the nominal π model
are given by

In general, the ABCD constants are complex and since the π model is a symmetrical two-port
network, A = D. Furthermore, since we are dealing with a linear passive, bilateral two-port
network, the determinant of the transmission matrix in (5.7) is unity, i.e.,

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EE 517 Power System Analysis and Design
Lecture 2 Transmission Line Modelling and Performance

Solving (5.7), the receiving end quantities can be expressed in terms of the sending end
quantities by

Example 2
A 345 kV, three-phase transmission line is 130 km long. The resistance per phase is
0.036 Ω per km and the inductance per phase is 0.8 mH per km. The shunt capacitance is 0.0112
μF per km. The receiving end load is 270 MVA with 0.8 power factor lagging at 325 kV. Use the
medium line model to find the voltage and power at the sending end and the voltage regulation.
Solution:

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EE 517 Power System Analysis and Design
Lecture 2 Transmission Line Modelling and Performance

Example 3
A 345 kV, three-phase transmission line is 130 km long. The series impedance is z =
0.036 + j 0.3 Ω per phase per km, and the shunt admittance is y = j 4.22 x 10 –6 siemens per phase
per km. The sending end voltage is 345 kV, and the sending end current is 400 A at 0.95 power
factor lagging. Use the medium line model to find the voltage, current, and power at the
receiving end and the voltage regulation.

1.3 Long Transmission Line Model

For the short and medium length lines reasonably accurate models were obtained by
assuming the line parameters to be lumped. For lines 250 km and longer and for a more accurate
solution the exact effect of the distributed parameters must be considered. In this section
expressions for voltage and current at any point on the line are derived. Then based on these
equations on equivalent π model is obtained for the long line. Figure 5.5 shows one phase of a
distributed line of length l km,

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