Wasit University

College Of Engineering
Department Of Electrical Engineering

First course

Search title : Overhead power transmission lines

Written by: Hussam Ayman Hamed

The name of the supervisor : Faisal.Theyab Al-Taie

History:2020/4/24
When you complete the reading, you will have knowledge of the
following:

- What is Transmission Line and types of Transmission Line.

-The different between Transmission line and Distribution Line.

- How power is transferred over long distances.

- When transmitting electrical power over long distances, which is better: by AC or DC, and why.

- Why is transmission line 11KV OR 33KV, 66KV not in 10KV, 20KV, or 30KV.

- how electricity gets to your house.

- Classification of overhead transmission lines.

- The most common conductor in use for transmission today.

- Different types of transmission systems.

- How the Weather Affects on Conductors.

- Transmission Line system.

- What the best smaller conductor or larger conductors.

-Line losses.

- Overhead transmission system advantages and disadvantages

- Advantages and disadvantages of overhead cables.

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Introduction
The electricity transmission system consists of several components, the most important of which
are:

-Transmission lines are mounted on electricity towers or buried underground cable eyeballs .
-Electrical transformers of both booster and low voltage.
-Substations .

*In this research we will talk about Overhead Power Transmission Lines .

What is Transmission Line?

Transmission long line is the conductor with special design (bundled) to carry bulk amount of
generated power at very high voltage from one station to another as per variation of the voltage
level.

The first transmission of electrical impulses over an extended

distance was demonstrated on July 14, 1729 by the physicist Stephen
Gray. The demonstration used damp hemp cords suspended by silk
threads (the low resistance of metallic conductors not being
appreciated at the time).

However the first practical use of overhead lines was in the context of
telegraphy. By 1837 experimental commercial telegraph systems ran
as far as 20 km (13 miles). Electric power transmission was
accomplished in 1882 with the first high-voltage transmission between
Munich and Miesbach (60 km). 1891 saw the construction of the first
three-phase alternating current overhead line on the occasion of the
International Electricity Exhibition in Frankfurt, between Lauffen and
Frankfurt.

The difference between Overhead Transmission Line and Overhead Distribution Line

Transmission line voltages are usually considered to be 110 kV and above. Lower voltages, such as
66 kV and 33 kV.

Distribution Line voltages are usually considered to be less than

33kV .

Overhead Transmission Line Components

- Shield and Ground wire – used primarily for protection from lightning
strikes and corresponding surges

- Insulators – used to contain, separate, or support electrical conductors

- Conductors – metal cables used for carrying electric current

- Structures – support structures to hold up the conductors

- Foundation – system which transfers to the ground the various dead

and live loads of the tower and conductors
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Transmission systems
Electric power is commonly (or usually) generated at 11 kV
in generating stations in India and Europe. While in some
cases, generation voltage might be higher or lower.
Generating machines, to be used in power stations, are
available between 6 kV to 25 kV from some big
manufacturers. This generating voltage is then stepped up
to 132kV, 220kV, 400kV or 765kV etc. Stepping up the
voltage level depends upon the distance at which power is
to be transmitted. Longer the distance, higher will be the
voltage level. Stepping up of voltage is to reduce the I2R
losses in transmitting the power (when voltage is stepped
up, the current reduces by a relative amount so that the
power remains constant, and hence I2R loss also reduces).
This stage is called as primary transmission.

The voltage is the stepped down at a receiving station to

33kV or 66kV. Secondary transmission lines emerge from
this receiving station to connect substations located near
load centers (cities etc.).

The voltage is stepped down again to 11kV at a substation. Large industrial consumers can be supplied at
11kV directly from these substations. Also, feeders emerge from these substations. This stage is called as
primary distribution.

Feeders are either overhead lines or underground cables which carry power close to the load points (end
consumers) up to a couple of kilometers. Finally, the voltage is stepped down to 415 volts by a pole-
mounted distribution transformer and delivered to the distributors. End consumers are supplied through a
service mains line from distributors. The secondary distribution system consists of feeders, distributors
and service mains.

AC vs DC Transmission Line

AC is used to transmit electrical energy, although it is more complex than DC. However, AC power has a
number of advantages over DC:

The electrical energy can be transferred via

alternating current to very long distances and this
is what DC cannot do in an economical or
practical way. The generator voltage can be
reduced and raised using a device called a
transformer that cannot be applied to the DC due
to the absence of a change in magnetic flux. The
transformer raises the voltage coming from the
generator, which is usually between 11-36 kV,
raises it to levels of 110-765 kV, which makes it
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possible to transfer it to very long distances between countries or even across continents.

The generation companies tend to or used to generate round figure voltages like 10kV, 20kV, 60kV, 120kV
etc. But this huge voltage needs to be transmitted over huge distance. The overhead line through which the
power will be transmitted has its own impedance which will cause a considerable amount of voltage drop.
This drop as being calculated is near about 10% based on all Physical factors. That’s why generation
companies add 10% more in their actual target which neutralizes the line losses and the receiving end gets
the targeted result. So,

Net Voltage = Target Voltage + 10% of Target Voltage

→ 132kV = 120kV + 12kV (10% of 120kV)

→ 66kV = 60kV + 6kV

→ 11kV = 10kV + 1kV

Overhead transmission lines Advantages

1-High Power transmission.

2- Low installation and material cost.
3-Long distance transmissions.
4-The fault or damage in overhead lines can easily
locate.
5- Maintenance of the line is easier.
6- Extension or joining on overhead lines can be
performed easily and also it facilitates easy
replacing.
Overhead transmission lines disadvantages

1- As it is exposed to the surrounding, safety risk is high.

2- A continuous pathway for the line creates obstructions.
3- Vulnerable to lightning strikes

Conductors
The most common conductor in use for transmission today is
aluminum conductor steel reinforced (ACSR). Also seeing much
use is all-aluminum-alloy conductor (AAAC). Aluminum is used
because it has about half the weight and lower cost of a
comparable resistance copper cable. It does, however, require a
larger diameter than copper because of lower specific
conductivity. Copper was more popular in the past and is still in
use, especially at lower voltages and for grounding.

While larger conductors lose less energy because of their lower

electrical resistance, they cost more than smaller conductors. An optimization rule called Kelvin's
Law states that the optimum size of conductor for a line is found when the cost of the energy wasted
in a smaller conductor is equal to the annual interest paid on that additional cost of the line
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construction for a larger conductor. The optimization problem is made more complex by additional
factors such as varying annual load, varying cost of installation, and the discrete sizes of cable that
are commonly made.

Advantages and disadvantages of overhead cables

Weather effects on Conductors:

Summer effects

The amount of heat dissipated from power conductors is reduced during hot and calm weather conditions.
Basically, if the temperature of air around the cable is low, more heat is lost from the cable to the air. If the air
is already hot, the exchange of heat is lesser. This low heat dissipation causes the lines to overheat. However,
the rise in conductor temperature (overheating) worsens when cables are transmitting too much power than
required. The first effect of this increased conductor temperature is snagging, which is the downward bulging
of the cable between two poles, caused by the increase in the length of cables.

Winter effects

Fall in temperature could affect power lines by

increasing the amount of heat dissipated from
the conductors. This contributes to lowering of
conductor temperature and thus the shortening
or contracting of power lines. These cables
could snap as a result of this shortening if there
was inadequate allowance left during
installation. Snapping and falling of poles/towers
is sometimes catastrophic and can cause fires
and deaths.

5
Line Losses:
Transmitting electricity at high voltage reduces the fraction of energy lost to
resistance, which varies depending on the specific conductors, the current flowing
and the length of the transmission line. For
example, a 100 mi (160 km) span at 765 kV
carrying 1000 MW of power can have losses of
1.1% to 0.5%. A 345 kV line carrying the same
load across the same distance has losses of
4.2%.For a given amount of power, a higher
voltage reduces the current and thus the
resistive losses in the conductor. For
example, raising the voltage by a factor of 10
reduces the current by a corresponding factor
of 10 and therefore the {𝐼2𝑅} losses by a factor

of 100, provided the same sized conductors are

used in both cases. Even if the conductor size
(cross-sectional area) is decreased ten-fold to
match the lower current, the{ 𝐼2𝑅 } losses are still
reduced ten-fold. Long-distance transmission is
typically done with overhead lines at voltages of
115 to 1,200 kV. At extremely high voltages, more
than 2,000 kV exists between conductor and
ground, corona discharge losses are so large that
they can offset the lower resistive losses in the line conductors. Measures to reduce
corona losses include conductors having larger diameters; often hollow to save
weight, or bundles of two or more conductors.

Factors that affect the resistance, and thus loss, of conductors used in transmission
and distribution lines include effect. The resistance of a conductor increases with its
temperature. Temperature changes in
electric power lines can have a significant
effect on power losses in the line. Spiraling,
which refers to the way stranded
conductors spiral about the center, also
contributes to increases in conductor
resistance. The skin effect causes the
effective resistance of a conductor to
increase at higher alternating current
frequencies. Corona and resistive losses
can be estimated using a mathematical
model.

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Classification of transmission lines

By length of the line:

Short Transmission Line
A short transmission line is classified as a transmission line with:
 A length less than 80km (50 miles)
 Voltage level less than 66 kV
 Capacitance effect is negligible
 Only resistance and inductance are taken in calculation capacitance is neglected.

Medium Transmission Line

A medium transmission line is classified as a transmission line with:
 A length more than 80 km (50 miles) but less than 250 km (150 miles)
 Operational voltage level is from 66 kV to approx 132 kV
 Capacitance effect is present
 Distributed capacitance form is used for calculation purpose.

Long Transmission Line

A long transmission line is classified as a transmission line with:
 A length more than 250 km (150 miles)
 Voltage level is above 132 kV
 Line constants are considered as distributed over the length of the line.

By operating voltage:
Overhead power transmission lines are classified in the electrical power industry by the range of voltages:

 Low voltage (LV) – less than 1000 volts, used for connection between a residential
or small commercial customer and the utility.
 Medium voltage (MV; distribution) – between 1000 volts (1 kV) and 69 kV, used for
distribution in urban and rural areas.
 High voltage (HV; sub transmission less than 100 kV - sub transmission or
transmission at voltages such as 115 kV and 138 kV), used for sub-transmission
and transmission of bulk quantities of electric power and connection to very large
consumers.
 Extra high voltage (EHV; transmission) – from 345 kV, up to about 800 kV used for
long distance, very high power transmission.
 Ultra-high voltage (UHV) – higher than 800 kV. The Financial Times reported UHV
lines are a "game changer", making a global electricity grid potentially
feasible. State Grid said that compared to conventional lines, UHV enables the
transmission of five times more power, over six times the distance.
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How electricity gets to your house:

1. Electricity is made at a generating station by huge generators. Generating

stations can use wind, coal, natural gas, or water.

2. The current is sent through transformers to increase the voltage to push the
power long distances.

3. The electrical charge goes through high-voltage transmission lines that stretch
across the country.

4. It reaches a substation, where the voltage is lowered so it can be sent on smaller

power lines.

5. It travels through distribution lines to your neighborhood. Smaller transformers

reduce the voltage again to make the power safe to use in our homes. These
smaller transformers may be mounted on the poles, or sitting on the ground
(they’re the big green boxes, called pad mount transformers).

6. It connects to your house and passes through a meter that measures how much
your family uses.

7. The electricity goes to the service panel in your basement or garage, where
breakers or fuses protect the wires inside your house from being overloaded.
(Never touch a service panel! It is only to be operated by your parents or a
professional.)

8. The electricity travels through wires inside the walls to the outlets and switches
all over your house.

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Resources
1- www.google.com
2- www.wikipedia.org
3- www.quora.com
4- Electrical Design of Overhead Power Transmission Lines
5- Electrical Power Transmission System Engineering: Analysis and Design
6- Transmission Line Calculator (Including radiation and surface-wave excitation losses)
7- Electrical Power Transmission And Distribution
8- www.large.stanford.edu
9- www.slideshare.net
10- Grigsby, L. L., et al. The Electric Power Engineering Handbook

"The first rule of success that surpasses any other rule is the
possession of power. It is important to know how this power is
focused, tamed and directed on important things, rather than

being wasted and dispersed on trivial and useless things "

Michael Korda