Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Working Group
B1.30
April 2013
CIGRE_B1_30 – Technical Brochure – Final Draft
CABLE SYSTEMS
ELECTRICAL
CHARACTERISTICS
WG B1.30
Members
Christian Royer, convenor (CA), Eric Dorison (FR), secretary, Niels Andersen (DK), Roberto
Benato (IT), Bruno Brijs (BE), Ki Wook Chang (KR), Antony Falconer (ZA), Sara Fernandez
(ES), Unnur Stella Gudmunsdottir (DK), Li JI (CB),
Maria Lorentzou (GR), Yves Rajotte (CA), Candelario Saldivar (MX),
Tommy Virta (FI), Wojciech Wiechowski (PL), Thomas Wilki (US),
Corresponding members
Copyright © 2013
“Ownership of a CIGRE publication, whether in paper form or on electronic support only infers right of
use for personal purposes. Unless explicitly agreed by CIGRE in writing, total or partial reproduction of
the publication and/or transfer to a third party is prohibited other than for personal use by CIGRE
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intranet or other company network is forbidden for all persons. As an exception, CIGRE Collective
Members are allowed to reproduce the publication only.
Disclaimer notice
“CIGRE gives no warranty or assurance about the contents of this publication, nor does it accept any
responsibility, as to the accuracy or exhaustiveness of the information. All implied warranties and
conditions are excluded to the maximum extent permitted by law”.
ISBN : 978-2-85873-225-8
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 8
2 Definition of Cable Systems Electrical Characteristics ................................................................ 10
2.1 Basic cable system electrical characteristics ........................................................................ 10
2.2 Sequence Impedances .......................................................................................................... 12
2.2.1 Symmetrical component circuit analysis technique......................................................... 12
2.2.2 Application to underground cables .................................................................................. 12
2.3 Surge Impedances ................................................................................................................ 14
2.4 Comparison OHL – UGC .................................................................................................... 17
3 Cable systems types ...................................................................................................................... 18
3.1 Cable design ......................................................................................................................... 18
3.1.1 Single-core cables ............................................................................................................ 19
3.1.2 Three-core cables ............................................................................................................. 22
3.2 Configuration of installation ................................................................................................ 23
3.3 Screen bonding..................................................................................................................... 25
4 Formulae for Cable Systems Electrical Characteristics ................................................................ 27
4.1 General ................................................................................................................................. 27
4.2 Formulae existing in literature ............................................................................................. 27
4.2.1 Frequency dependent Impedances formulae.................................................................... 27
4.2.2 Formulae applicability ..................................................................................................... 33
4.2.3 Impedances formulae for power frequency concerns ...................................................... 43
4.2.4 Sequence impedances ...................................................................................................... 49
4.2.5 Surge impedance.............................................................................................................. 56
4.3 Areas for improvement in cable modelling.......................................................................... 57
4.3.1 Proximity effects and spiral effects ................................................................................. 57
4.3.2 Armour modelling ........................................................................................................... 57
4.3.3 Semi-conductive coating ................................................................................................. 57
5 Parameters needed for modelling purposes .................................................................................. 58
5.1 General ................................................................................................................................. 58
5.2 Sensitivity analysis on the precision of parameters ............................................................. 58
5.3 Cable data sheets .................................................................................................................. 58
5.4 Production tests and measurements ..................................................................................... 59
5.5 On site measurement of cable system parameters................................................................ 61
6 Case studies .................................................................................................................................. 62
7 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 63
8 References .................................................................................................................................... 63
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
SCOPE
The Brochure deals with cable systems for land and submarine AC applications, with a nominal
voltage above 45 kV. Paper cables (MI, SCFF and HPFF) as well as extruded cables are considered.
DESCRIPTION OF THE TB
The Brochure focuses on the derivation of the impedances of cable systems from cables
characteristics and links arrangements (including laying conditions and screen bonding techniques).
Theoretical expressions and measurement techniques of electrical parameters are presented.
A critical analysis is carried out to define the applicability of the models and needs in further studies
are highlighted.
The first chapter presents shortly the modelling needs required by the studies to be carried out during
cable system planning and design.
The second chapter introduces the various cable system electrical characteristics, namely basic
impedances and secondary cable system electrical characteristics such as sequence impedances,
characteristic and surge impedances.
Basic impedances are those impedances which are required in the telegrapher’s equations which link
the voltages and currents at any location along the cable system. These impedances are the
background of every modelling.
Sequence impedances are introduced by the symmetrical component circuit analysis technique which
addresses power frequency concerns (such as load flow management or short-circuit overvoltages).
The symmetrical component circuit analysis from Fortescue, which is widely used, consider a positive-
sequence system which is representative of normal operating conditions, a negative-sequence
condition (as the positive sequence, except that the phase sequence is reversed) and a zero-
sequence system (where the phase conductor currents are equal in magnitude and phase).
In a system with 3 phase conductors, for each sequence, the voltages and currents of the 3
conductors are linked through the same impedance (exactly, if some symmetry conditions are fulfilled).
So that the complex system involving coupling between conductors may be represented by a simple
one-line equivalent circuit.
Any operating condition (particularly single-phase to earth fault) may be studied from the sequence
conditions.
In a cable system, as the currents flowing in the metal screens may be expressed as a function of the
currents flowing in the conductors (depending on the screen bonding technique), this leads to lumped
parameter models where the cable system is reduced to a quite simple PI circuit involving a series
impedance and a shunt impedance. These impedances may be derived to reduce the error in
approximating distributed elements to lumped elements, introducing a so-called characteristic
impedance and a propagation constant.
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A table illustrates the main differences between UGL and OHL electrical characteristics.
Chapter 3 details the many different parameters that can have influence on the cable systems
electrical characteristics.
Those parameters are classified in three main categories :
cable design : all the components of a cable itself
configuration of installation : all the parameters and dimensions relating to the positioning of the
cables in the surrounding medium,
screen bonding : parameters relating to the electrical connection of the metallic screens of the
cable and the ground, including the possible use of earth continuity conductor
Data on typical cable system designs are given, as well as examples in Appendix A.
Chapter 5 describes the different sources of information where data can be collected on the
parameters that can have an influence on electrical parameters of a cable systems: cable data sheets
from manufacturers, production tests and measurements, on-site measurements. Appendix C provides
examples of test procedures to measure the sequence impedances. Measurement of the wave
velocity in the main insulation, using an impulse generator, is recommended as the result may be used
later for fault localization.
Chapter 6 introduces 3 case studies, detailed in Appendix D, to illustrate some of the difficulties
involved in the calculation and measurement of cable system electrical characteristics.
The first case study is a theoretical case study which describes the calculation of impedances for
external and internal faults, showing the influence of cable system parameters such as screen
bonding, the influence of proximity of a metallic object of a second circuit…
The two other case studies display comparisons between field measurements of impedances and
calculations carried out on 4 different circuits, in Belgium and in Denmark.
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CONCLUSION
The electrical modelling of cable system has been addressed for about 150 years.
The state of the art provided by this Brochure shows that, generally speaking, satisfactory models are
now available to perform the various studies needed by the integration of cables into the network,
including long links.
For power frequency concerns, simple formulae are displayed.
Measurement techniques of some electrical parameters are described and case studies show that a
good agreement may be reached between calculated and measured electrical parameters.
Nevertheless, some areas are not fully covered and improvements are needed, especially regarding
the modelling of magnetic armours in submarine cables.
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1 Introduction
Underground transmission cables have significantly different electrical characteristics than overhead
lines.
These differences must be taken into account during system planning, design, implementation and
operation.
It is worth noting that the electrical characteristics of cables, which are needed during these successive
phases, are different.
Formulae available in the literature are given to derive these impedances from the common cable and
link designs, as identified in the WG (see Appendix A) and detailed in § 3. A critical analysis is
carried out to define the applicability of these formulae; some new formulae are proposed, and needs
in further studies are highlighted.
The different needs depend on the studies to be carried out. Following CIGRE WG C4.502 “Power
system technical performance issues related to the application of long HVAC cables”, the models
required may be classified in 3 main categories:
System planning study, which determines where new lines are needed, the voltage and current
ratings, and major auxiliary equipment such as shunt compensation. At this stage, N-1
contingencies are considered and overhead vs. underground options may be considered. The basic
study tool is a power flow program, and positive sequence, power frequency models are adequate.
System design study, or system impact study, which determines the impact of a cable vs.
overhead choice on the rest of the power system. At this stage, the basic project parameters have
been determined. Concerns include harmonic resonance, short circuit currents, transient stability,
voltage stability, and system relaying. The modelling needs vary from positive sequence to three-
phase model, and from power frequency up to a few kHz.
Equipment design study, which establishes detailed protection and operating procedures for the
cable, sheaths, switchgear, shunt compensation, and related equipment. The basic study tool is an
electromagnetic transients program, which can also handle the grounding and bonding
connections. Accurate high-frequency models are necessary for many of these studies.
This Brochure focuses on the way to derive basic impedances from cables characteristics and links
arrangements (including laying conditions and screen bonding techniques).
Also, the Brochure gives simple expressions for the sequence impedances and the surge impedance,
used for systems planning and impact assessment.
These expressions are obtained, using approximations which are possible either for the power
frequency or in the range of high frequencies, as illustrated on Figure 1.
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Cable characteristics
Link arrangement Sequence System Planning
Impedances
power frequency
depending on softwares
for transients studies
Modal
Equipment Design
Surge
Impedances
As regards modal surge impedances, which are needed by the software dedicated to transient studies,
the Brochure presents the procedure that may be applied to derive these impedances from the basic
impedances. Generally, such software introduce some simplifying assumptions (e.g. neglecting semi-
conductive layers) so that some discrepancies may be found between different software.
Application to transient studies is not addressed in detail, this issue being less a question of cable
modelling than the way models are used.
More details about transient modelling and transient studies can be found in C4.502 Technical
Brochure (to be published).
Finally, some case studies illustrate the use of the different models, focusing on power frequency
issues.
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The calculation of voltages and currents in a cable system is based on a model in which the cable
system is represented by distributed impedances : series impedances and shunt impedances.
The telegrapher’s equations which link the voltages and currents at a distance z along the cable system
may be expressed as:
V
Z .I
z
I
Y .V
z
Z and Y are square matrices of the series impedances and shunt impedances (or admittances).
The size of these matrices is equal to the number of conductors in the system : cable conductors, metal
screens, armours, pipes …
Figure 2 illustrates the modelling of a single-core unarmoured cable (not taking into account semi-
conductive layers).
When considering a three-phase transmission system, mutual influences between cables are dealt with
through introduction of matrices of mutual impedances between cables.
The matrices Z and Y consist of submatrices : Zii and Yii for every cable as expressed in Figure 2; Zij
and Yij, expressing the couplings between cables i and j, according to the expression given in Figure 3.
There is no capacitive coupling between buried cables. The mutual impedances between cores and
screens of different cables are equal.
The impedances which appear in these matrices are primary cable system electrical characteristics.
Expressions of these basic impedances from the cable design, material characteristics and components
sizes were established through solving Maxwell’s equations, with some simplifying assumptions.
As far as power frequency issues are dealt with, simplified - and simple - expressions may be derived,
using approximations of Bessel’s functions.
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v i
Conductor Vi ci I i ci
carrying current ici v si i si
ycs ycs
Yii
ycs y sg ycs
V1 I1
V V2 I I 2
V3 I 3
Matrix of
Matrices of series ic1
mutual impedances
and shunt impedances is1 between cables i and j
of the link
ic2 ic3
Y11 0 0
Y 0 Y22 0
is2
is3
0 0 Y33
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Symmetrical component circuit analysis technique is a technique which has been largely used in the
past for power frequency concerns (such as load flow management or short-circuit overvoltages), and
still remains useful to give quick answers, and get a good understanding of the grid behaviour.
In systems involving only three phase conductors, as an overhead line without skywire, any operating
condition may be regarded as the superposition of three special operating conditions.
Symmetrical component circuit analysis from Fortescue [1] is based on following special circuit
conditions:
a positive-sequence condition where the phase conductor currents are equal in magnitude and 120
out of phase (representative of normal operating conditions),
a negative-sequence condition, as the positive sequence, except that the phase sequence is
reversed,
a zero-sequence condition where the phase conductor currents are equal in magnitude and phase.
This condition is useful to derive single-phase to earth short-circuit current.
When the system is operated under these special conditions, the voltages and currents in every phase
conductor are linked by the same impedances (see Appendix B.5), if the mutual impedances between
all the conductors are equal i.e. if the spacings between the conductors are equal.
Basically, this technique transforms a complex system involving coupling between conductors into
several easy-to-handle systems without coupling between conductors.
In transmission systems, symmetry conditions required by Fortescue analysis are generally not
fulfilled and, consequently, this approach is a simplification.
Symmetrical component technique may nevertheless be applied, considering a mean value of the
spacing between cables.(see 4.2.3.8 and 4.2.4.3)
Where only the phase voltages and currents are of interest, an elementary length of cable system may
be modelled as a equivalent circuit, including one series and one shunt impedances per phase, as
shown in Figure 4, under positive-sequence, negative-sequence and zero-sequence conditions.
As far as three-phase underground links using single-core cables with metal screen are concerned, the
first step is to reduce the system involving 6 components (core and screen of every cable) into a
system where only the three phase conductors are involved.
This is achieved through the determination of screen currents as a function of the currents flowing in
the phase conductors, taking into account the screen bonding technique.
The sequence impedances may be referred to as secondary cable system electrical characteristics.
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zs
ys/2 ys/2
Elementary length dz
The series impedance zs involves a resistive part and an inductive part, respectively r and l, and the
shunt impedance ys a conductive part and a capacitive part, respectively g and c.
Usually, the characteristic impedance zc and the propagation constant are introduced, defined as :
zs
zc zs .ys
ys
z’s sh .L
z s' z c .sh .L z s .
.L
y’s/2 y’s/2 .L
th
ch .L 1 2
y s' 2. ys .
z c .sh .L .L
2
Link Length L
This is the starting point of studies dealing with the transmission capability as a function of the link
length. For instance, the critical length may be derived through this model.
For this purpose, the impedances are calculated for the power frequency.
Where the cable length is short, approximation of the hyperbolic functions leads to a simpler
equivalent circuit, the series and shunt impedances zs and ys being multiplied by the length of the link.
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Vm Tv1.V I m TI1.I
Vm Z m .I m Z m TV1 .Z .TI
z
I m Ym .Vm Ym TI1 .Y .TV
z
The transfer matrices TV and TI are defined so that Zm and Ym are diagonal matrices. They are formed
with the eigenvectors of Z.Y and Y.Z respectively.
The following relationships are obtained for modal voltages and currents
2 2
Vm 2 .Vm I m 2 .I m 2 Z m .Ym
2 2
z z
vmi z v fi .e i.z vbi .e i.z zcmi .imi z v fi .e i.z vbi .e i.z
where zcmi is the characteristic impedance and i is the propagation constant of mode i :
z mi z mi
z cmi i z mi . y mi
i y mi
vfi and vbi are constants, expressing the boundary conditions, at link ends.
For a three-phase link with single-core unarmoured cables, 6 modes are obtained.
The transfer matrices are frequency-dependent. But, for frequencies above about 10 kHz, they tend to
be constant, and may be expressed referring to the Concordia’s matrix rigidly where cables are laid in
trefoil; with sufficient accuracy for other laying conditions). Moreover, for high frequencies, one of
the 6 modes is predominant, namely the coaxial direct mode. [2] [3]
The characteristic impedance of this mode so-called, simply, surge impedance is a secondary
cable system electrical characteristic.
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V I
Z .I Y .V
z z
. z .z
vmi p, z v fi .e i vbi .e i
i z .z
imi p, z v fi .e i vbi .e i
y mi
I 2.I
I
I I I
I
I I I
I
I 2.I
I I I
I I I
3.I
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Computer models have evolved and became more sophisticated over time.
Various methods have been worked out to define approximations of the characteristic impedances,
propagation constants and transfer matrix elements, to make easier the transfer from the frequency
domain to the time domain.
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With regard to the positive sequence single-phase circuit, the main differences between overhead lines
(OHL) and underground cables (UGC) are :
Underground cables have a smaller per unit length inductance due to a smaller spacing between
phase conductors;
Underground cables have a much greater per unit length capacitance due to the presence of an
insulating material with a dielectric relative permittivity different from 1 and a small distance
between phase conductor and metal screen.
The kilometric capacitive reactive power absorbed by the two transmission line options are:
These values give strong constraints on the limit lengths without the use of shunt reactive
compensation, on Ferranti’s effect and no-load line energization (WG Cigré C4.502 and [9]). A more
comprehensive overview of OHL and UGC steady-state performances can be given by means of
capability charts [11].
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cable design : all the components of a cable itself , as described in section 3.1
configuration of installation : all the parameters and dimensions relating to the positioning of the
cables in the surrounding medium, as described in section 3.2
screen bonding : parameters relating to the electrical connection of the metallic screens of the
cable and the ground, including the possible use of earth continuity conductor, as described in 3.3
Data on typical cable system design reported within the WG are given in Appendix A.
There are three main types of land and sea cables; fluid filled cables (FF), gas filled cables (GF) and
extruded cables [12]. Figure 7 subcategorises these cables after type of insulation.
Extruded
FF cables GF cables
cables
Polypropylene/ Polypropylene/
Paper insulation paper insulation Paper insulation paper insulation
(PPL) (PPL )
For HV AC underground cables SCFF, XLPE and EPR are usually single core, while HPFF and
HPGF are generally three insulated conductors inside a steel pipe.
While most HV underground cables are single core, without an armour, HV submarine cables are
either single core with an armour or, more often, made of three «4 layer» single core cables inside a
common armour. These cables are referred to as three-core cables.
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Insulation
Semiconductive screens
Bedding
Outer covering
3.1.1.1 Conductor
The purpose of the conductor is to transmit the required current with low losses. Different types of
conductor design can be seen in Figure 9 [9]. Hollow conductors are usually used for oil or water to
cool down the conductor. Stranded and segmental conductors provide more flexibility and exhibit a
reduced skin effect.
The conductor in HV and EHV cables is either made of copper (Cu) or aluminium (Al) where Cu has
a lower specific resistance which leads to smaller conductor cross sectional area in order to obtain the
same current capacity as for Al conductor. Setting economical considerations apart, the advantage of
Al over Cu, is that Al has lower density which leads to much less weight for the same cable current
rating.
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3.1.1.2 Insulation
There are three practical dielectrics for HV and EHV cables, impregnated multi-layered paper, oil
filled paper insulated cables and extruded polymer such as XLPE.
The purpose of the insulation is to protect the conductor and ensure no connection between the two
current carrying components of the cable, the conductor and the metal screen.
Due to the insulation between the two current carrying components, HV cables closely resemble very
long cylindrical capacitors. AC loads will therefore draw a capacitive charging current per phase, IC,
proportional to the permittivity εr. and the link length.
This charging current is superimposed on the desired current to be carried by the conductor. Therefore
the length of the cable is limited because of the capacitive load of the cable. The critical length of the
cable reduces with increasing voltage and permittivity of the insulation.
A field smoothing layer, or a semiconductive layer, is placed between the insulation and the conductor
and again between insulation and the sheath.
Normally, models do not include semiconductive layers. That is, the models include several
conductive layers, such as conductor and metal screen, and insulation materials in-between, but no
semiconductive layers. Instead the semiconductive layers are considered a part of the insulation, where
the thickness and the permittivity of the insulation are changed accordingly. This is explained better in
section 4.2.2.4.
The cable metal screen is a metallic covering used as an electrostatic screening as well as a return path
for the capacitive charging current. It is also used for conduction of earth fault current in the case of a
fault on the cable. When using composite metallic screen, the sheath is often used for ensuring water
tightness. A water tightness material can be placed on either side of the metal screen.
To minimise sheath overvoltages at the ends of the cable and current flowing in the metal screen ,
special connection techniques of the metal screen are used. Screen bonding techniques are discussed in
section 3.3.
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3.1.1.5 Bedding
Beddings are used to reduce the thermo-mechanical stresses applied to the metal screen due to the
insulation thermal expansion or to fill voids in or round out cable, between metal screen and armour.
Armoured cables use a single insulating bedding compound layer. Bedding compounds are elastomer-
based, comprised of a variety of polymer blends or polymers. The exact formulation depends on cable
construction and application.
Bedding compounds make cables round for easier pulling. In addition, by protecting metal screen from
mechanical and/or water damage, bedding compounds also can add to field life. The bedding layer
may be both an insulating layer between the metal screen and the armour, as well as a water barrier.
3.1.1.6 Armour
Generally, land cables are not armoured cables, whereas submarine cables are armoured to support the
cable weight during laying and to provide mechanical protection to the cable during operation.
Depending on installation depth and risk of third party damages, a double armour layer may be used.
A nonmagnetic material is used for single-conductor cables; for three-core cables, galvanized
steel wires or strips are preferred.
The armour will increase the amount of losses and strengthen the cables electromagnetic screening,
which will in turn minimize the proximity effect of adjacent cables, as well as lowering the stress of
the sheath because of high currents during conditions such as earth fault.
The primary function of the cable outer coverings is mechanical protection against the surroundings.
For land cables, the outer covering is normally a sheath made of high density polyethylene with a
relative permittivity of 2.3. This outersheath is the final layer of an underground cable and is often
covered with a semi-conductive compound.
In submarine cables, extruded polymeric sheaths or servings made from wound polyethylene yarn
layers may be used.
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There is a lot of different kinds of three-core cables. But, in the HV range, they are normally made of
three cores inside a common armour or a pipe, each core being similar to a single-core cable without
an armour as described above.
In the former case, they are said to be of Separate Screens type (for instance SL or SA type which
means with separate lead or aluminium sheath). The three cores are assembled together, using fillers to
keep the cable round.
In the latter case, they are Pipe type cables: the three cores are pulled simultaneously inside a steel
pipe. The pipe is then filled with an insulating medium, either oil or gas (nitrogen), pressurized to
about 15 bars.
Conductor
Fillers
Metal screen
Steel pipe
Armour
Oil or gas
Separate screens Pipe type cable
1.760
Copper Conductor
Paper Tapes
Annealed Stainless
Steel Binder Tape
69 kV HPFF Cable
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The purpose of the skid wires is mainly to reduce the coefficient of friction between the cores and pipe
during installation.
For the purpose of this document, the configurations of the installation are viewed only as the
collection of parameters that can have an influence on the cable system electrical characteristics. The
main parameters considered are the relative position of the cables, and the presence of cable
transposition.
Land cables
Generally, the construction method used for the cable installation will determine most of the
parameters of the configuration :
directly buried cables : direct buried cables are usually laid in flat formation or touching trefoil.
Some cases reported to the WG also use open trefoil. Spacing between cables will largely depend
on the space available and ampacity considerations. Typical spacing would vary between no
spacing (touching cables) to 4-5 cable diameters. In case of double circuit configuration, spacing
between the two circuits can be much larger, up to a few meters ;
cables in through, filled or unfilled : this type of installation can use cables in flat formation or
cables in touching trefoil. Due to limited space in the cable through, spacing between cables is
usually minimal ;
cables in ducts : cables in duct tend to use triangular formations or open trefoil. In some cases, flat
and/or vertical formations were also reported to the WG. For this kind of installation, spacing
between cable is usually in the range of 2-5 cable diameters ;
cables in tunnels : cables in tunnel use a variety of formations as each installation is unique.
Spacing between cables is usually large as these important installations can carry very large loads
at very high voltage.
Use of directional drilling may lead to large spacing between cables (e.g. 1 m).
Cable transposition
Cable transposition is used in some countries to re-establish symmetry in a non symmetrical system.
In a 3-phase system, each cable (phase) would be put in each of the three available position for one
third of the length of the system, resulting in a more balanced system. Some countries use cable
transposition in a systematic way, transposing cables at each joint location along the links, while other
countries don't use cable transposition at all.
Submarine cables
Submarine cable systems often use three core cables, where all three cable cores are wound together,
resulting in a symmetrical system.
For very large cross-sections and higher voltages, single-core cables are generally used. In that case,
cable spacing between phases is typically very large with regard to cable diameter (few meters up to
hundred of meters and more), much larger than in any land cable installation.
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Touching cables
Upwards trefoil Downwards trefoil Horizontal flat formation Vertical flat formation
Spacing S
Triangle configurations
Links involving
2 circuits
The mutual influences between cables and, consequently, the cables’ impedances, depend on the
arrangement and the spacing between cables.
As regards the sequence impedances, they are rigidly determined only for the trefoil arrangement (or
the flat formation with cables transposition) as explained in § 4.2.41.
The impact of magnetic shieldings which may be installed on the links is not considered in this
Brochure.
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Special connection techniques of the metal screen are used to minimise sheath overvoltages at the ends
of the cable and current flowing in the metal screen.
The technique used should be in agreement with cable and accessories design, during normal
operation and even during a failure .
The underground line and the method available for the connections is subdued to :
electric induction on the sheath, during normal operation and even in case of a fault,
specific rules depending on each country, relative to the maximum induced voltage allowed on the
sheath, next to any point where someone can touch (wiping bell at the terminations for example) ;
the voltage allowed varies between 35 to 400 Volt.
the resistivity of the ground which influences the voltage in the sheath,
the value of the asymmetric factor taken into account during a fault at power frequency,
surge arrestors specifications.
CIGRE WG 21-18 published in 2005 TB 283 [13] Special bonding of high voltage power cables,
that includes detailed discussions and calculations about the modern design of special bonding of
metal screen. Only basic design considerations are presented below. Three basic types of earthing
connections can be distinguished .
The simplest method of connection is solid bonding where the metal screen is connected to earth at
both ends . This connection method results in large steady state losses as induced current is permitted
to flow in the metal screen. The voltage level in the sheath is close to zero along the line because it is
only due to capacitive currents.
This method eliminates the current flowing in the screen, but does not eliminate the possibilities of
sheath over-voltage problems at the ungrounded end.
In some countries, the earth continuity conductor (ecc) along the line is not used and the earth is used
to return the fault current during a failure. In other countries, no surge arrestor are used.
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Surge arrestors
Isolated cable
Long cables usually have cross-bonded sheaths. This grounding method consists essentially in
sectionalising the sheaths into elementary (minor) sections and cross-connect them in three
consecutive sections (so-called major section). To control possible over-voltages, surge arresters are
usually connected to the cross-bonding points and the sheaths are generally solidly grounded at each
major section end.
By using such a method, the induced sheath currents can be cancelled. This results in a better
transmission capacity for the underground cable, or in a much cheaper design for a cable assigned to a
given transmission capacity but permanent and transient voltages can still appear in the sheath and at
the metallic parts at the ends of the cable sections. An earth continuity conductor, connecting
grounding points may be installed to reduce the overvoltages stressing the sheath surge arresters
during phase-to-earth short-circuits.
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4.1 General
All the formulae in the literature were established with some assumptions detailed in § 4.2.1.
These assumptions are fulfilled by most of the cable designs in use in the past, at the time the formulae
were derived, but are more or less suitable for some today designs.
Studies have been carried out to extend the applicability of the basic formulae and main results are
reported in § 4.2.2.
Simple formulae, which may be derived for power frequency concerns, are given in § 4.2.3.. They are
used to get expressions of the sequence impedances as detailed in $ 4.2.4.
Formulae for the surge impedance are given in § 4.2.5.
The electromagnetic theory of transmission lines has been developed quite early by Maxwell himself,
Rayleigh, Heaviside, Thomson and other famous scientists.
In 1934, Schelkunoff [14] worked out a comprehensive work on coaxial structures : he derived from
Maxwell’s equations formulae for the impedances and admittances which link voltages and currents in
such systems (see Appendix B.1)
In 1943, Pollaczek [15] studied the electromagnetic field propagation in the ground, filling the gap for
modelling of a buried single-core cable (Schelkunoff’s approach being limited to the case where the
cable surrounding may be considered as an infinite medium).
Modelling of three-phase transmission systems is achieved assuming the cables are parallel and that
the electrical field at a cable surface may be obtained using superposition principle.
Unfortunately, the formulae are not easy to handle since they involve (a lot of) Bessel’s functions.
Simpler formulae based on Bessel’s functions’ approximations may be found in a paper from
Wedepohl and Wilcox (1973) [16] . They are valid up to about 100 kHz [17]
These formulae are given in the following figure, for a buried three-phase link with single-core cables.
Extension to armoured cables is dealt with in Appendix B.2
As regards three-core cables, impedances and admittances may be derived the same way from
Maxwell’s equations, with additional assumptions. Details on these models are given in Appendix B.3.
Finally, in 1979, Ametani [18] proposed a general formulation covering any type of cable.
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z cc z int z ss 2.z 4
z int z1 z 2 z 3 r1
r2
r3
z ss z 5 z os z g
r4
z cs z ss z 4
m1 0.356 r3 r2
z1 .coth (0,777.m1.r1 ) +
2 g1 r1 g1 r12
m3 1
.coth m 3 . -
1
.
z3 g 3 2 r2 2. .g 3 .r2 .r2 r3 dij
m3 1 1
. .
z4 g 3 .r2 r3 sh m 3
m3 1
.coth m 3 .
1
.
z5 g 3 2 r3 2. .g 3 .r3 .r2 r3 2.e0,5
D
.ms
1.7811 (Bessel's constant)
j r4
Ln
zos 2 r3
mi j.g i . i .
j.. s D 4
zg . Ln .ms .h
2. r4 3 is the magnetic permeability
g is the electrical conductivity
j.. s D 2
subscript 1 refers to the conductor,
. Ln .ms . hi h j 3 to the screen and s to the ground
zij 2. d ij 3
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These formulae are based on approximations of Bessel’s functions in Schelkunoff’s model through
hyperbolic functions at higher frequencies, introducing a corrective term to give the exact real part of
the impedances at lower frequencies.
Comparing with Schelkunoff’s formulae, the maximum error in the resistive part of z1 is 4% and
occurs when |m1.r1 | = 5 and in the reactive part is 5 % for |m1.r1 |= 3,5.This corresponds, for instance,
to frequencies of 137 - 67 Hz for a copper conductor and 224 - 110 Hz for an aluminium conductor,
with a 20 mm radius.
The following figure shows the error as a function of the parameter |m1.r1| on a typical case.
The figures above the horizontal axis are the frequencies corresponding to the values of the parameter
|m1.r1|, considering a resistivity of 1,72.10-8 Ohm.m (representative of a copper conductor) and a
radius of 25 mm.
Clearly, the agreement is not so good for lower frequencies. Detailed information may be found in
[19]
The maximum error in formulae for z3, z4,z5 is below 3 % as far as the ratio of the thickness of the
sheath reported to its mean radius is less than 4.
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Insulation
j...2. . g
Y i i g i i ..Tan
r j.
Ln 2
r1
where:
i is the permittivity and gi the electrical conductivity of the insulation
r1 is the inner radius of the insulation and r2 its outer radius.
Outersheath
The formula given above for the capacitance of the insulation of single-core cables is also the formula
for the capacitance of cables outersheaths, mutatis mutandis, i.e. considering the permittivity and
conductivity of the outersheath and its inner and outer radii.
The steel armour of the three core cables with separate screens is considered ad a steel pipe, so that the
modelling of these cables is the same as the modelling of pipe-type cables. Although not completely
correct, this assumption is usually considered as an acceptable simplification.
Some elementary impedances (namely z1 to z5, zos and zg) involved in the model are the same as for
single core cables.
Additional elementary impedances are introduced :
z6 : pipe filling medium impedance
zpin : armour inner surface impedance
zpmut : armour mutual impedance
zpout : armour outer surface impedance
zjk : mutual impedance between cores j and k
rj is the radius of conductor j; dj is the distance of the centre of the conductor j to the cable centre
djk is the distance between the centres of conductors j and k; r p1 is the inner radius of the armour or
pipe.
µr is the relative magnetic permeability of the steel.
In and Kn are the modified Bessel functions of order n, respectively of the first and second kind.
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Vcj z c z cs z ap I cj x jk x jk z ap I ck
Vsj z cs zs z ap . I sj xik x jk z ap . I sk
z
Va z ap z ap z33 I a
k j
z ap
z ap 0 I a
2
j.. 0 r p1 d j
z6 Q jj Ln . 1
r r
.Q jj
2. j
p1
K x
j.. 0 Cn
z pin . r . 0 1 2. r .
2. x1.K1 x1 K n 1 x1
1 n.1 r x1 .
K n x1
1
z pmut
2. .g a .r p1.r p 2 .
j.. 0
z jk .Q jk
2.
rp1
r p1 C n
rp2 2.rj
Q jk Ln
d jk 1
n
jk
I1 x 2 .K1 x1 K1 x 2 .I1 x1 dj
2.rk
n
d j .d k
Cn
r2
.Cos n.
jk
p1
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There are no general accurate formulae for the capacitances between the cores and the armour or the
pipe and between the cores.
These capacitances may be derived from potential coefficients since the capacitance matrix is readily
obtained through inversion of the potential coefficient matrix.
Potential coefficients may be determined by solving the Laplace’s equation for the potential, with
appropriate boundary conditions, using the method of images and superposition principle, and
assuming the medium between the cores and the screen is homogeneous.
The potential coefficient jk between cores j and k with respect to the pipe inner surface is given by:
1
jk .Q jk
2. .
is the dielectric permittivity of the insulations; expressions for Qjk are given in Figure 18.
For cables with separate screens, simple formulae may be derived, owing to the symmetry of the core
arrangement.
.
Armour Matrix[C] Matrix []
of capacitances of potential coefficients
C p Cm Cm
C Cm Cp Cm
C m Cm C p
Screen
C0
1 C 0 2.C k C p
. 2.
Ck
C 1
2 3
C k C m
. 2.
assuming r R
2r
a
R 2
a
.Ln .1
1
2. . r R
R R 4 a 4 a 2 .R 2
.Ln
1
2. . a.R. 3
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4.2.2.1 General
This modelling is quite correct for single-core cables, consisting of coaxial cylinders, for instance
unarmoured cables where the core is solid and the screen is a lead sheath, and, in addition, where the
spacing between cables is large compared to their diameter (so that proximity effects, i.e. the
disturbance in the field distribution within a cable due to the magnetic field from neighbouring cables,
may be neglected).
When applying this model to actual cables, some concerns have to be dealt with:
The electrical properties of some materials are not constant with respect to frequency.
Semi-conductive layers are not included in the model.
Conductor designs are various and may not be considered as solid conductors, without care.
Use of an equivalent sheath (same DC resistance, same mean radius) for some screen designs such
as bundle of wires or tapes or combination is not fully correct.
Armours involving steel wires or tapes may not be regarded as non-magnetic sheaths
Moreover, the modelling of the cables’surrounding raises some questions which are discussed in
§ 4.2.2.8.
The real part of the impedance of the conductor is the a.c. resistance of the conductor Ra, which may
be derived from the DC resistance, taking into account skin effect and proximity effect :
Ra R'. 1 Ys Y p
R’ is the DC resistance of conductor at operating temperature (the maximum permissible operating
temperature being determined by the type of insulation).
Ys and Yp are respectively the skin effect factor and the proximity effect factor, depending on the core
design
The DC resistance per unit length of the conductor at its operating temperature is given by :
where :
R0 is the DC resistance of the conductor at 20 °C
20 is the constant mass temperature coefficient at 20 °C per Kelvin
DC resistance
An important feature is that the DC resistance (p.u. length) should not be calculated, using the
classical formula, as the ratio of the resistivity to the cross-section.
This formula does not hold, using standard value of the electrical resistivity, as given in IEC 60287-1-
1 [22], one reason being the stranding of the wires.
Use of this formula may lead to significant errors in the derivation of cables losses or overvolatges
damping estimates.
For cables according to IEC standards, the DC resistance per unit length of the conductor at 20 °C
should be as stated in IEC 60 228[23].
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Rdc K S .
S
where is the standard electrical resistivity and K(S) depends on the nominal cross section S, ranging
between 1,02 and 1,13.
.
Alternatively, a corrected value of the resistivity may be used, leading to a better estimate of the
resistance from the nominal cross-section. [24]
The relationship between the nominal cross-section and the geometric radius of the conductor suitable
for solid conductors has to be corrected for other conductor types to account for stranding and
compacting effects.
S K c . . r12 r02
r1 being the outer radius of the conductor
r0 being the inner radius of hollow conductors, being 0 for others.
The corrective factor Kc depends on manufacturing process.
Typical values for conductors manufactured to fit IEC 60 228 requirements range between 0.85 and
0.93 with extreme values of 0,76 to 1.02 .
When modelling the core, the cross-section may be based on an equivalent radius deduced from the
DC resistance according to (if the conductor is not hollow) :
20
r
.RDC20
Alternatively, if the conductor radius is known, a conductor “corrected” resistivity may be used, as:
20 .r 2 .RDC20
For solid conductors, the skin effect may be described precisely and a close estimate of proximity
effect may be derived.
They involve Bessel’s functions, with argument :
.
x
.R'
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For other conductor designs, corrective factors have been introduced to fit experimental results.
A study from CIGRE [25] concluded that the recommendations in IEC 60 287 –1 –1 are not suitable
for segmental conductors in extruded cables. The following table presents the new values of skin and
proximity coefficients under consideration within IEC.
b
The coefficients for these designs can be influenced by the detail of the conductor design. Subject to
agreement between the manufacturer and user measured values of ac r esistance may be used. A common
measurement method is under consideration. Cigre (TB272) discusses three measurement methods.
Milliken conductor: stranded conductor comprising an assembly of shaped stranded conductors, with each
segment lightly insulated from each other. The individual strands may be either
insulated (e.g. enamelled or oxidised) or bare.
Extruded insulation: insulation consisting generally of one layer of a polymeric material and applied by an
extrusion process.
Mineral insulation: insulation consisting of compressed mineral powder. Generally only used on specific
types of LV cable.
Paper insulation: lapped insulation consisting of paper impregnated with an insulating material
Fluid insulation: insulation system consisting of lapped paper and an insulating fluid which is designed to
maintain free movement of the fluid within the cable.
PPL insulation: fluid filled cable where a polypropylene/paper laminate is used in place of lapped paper.
Table 5 : Proposed Values for the coefficient ks and kp according to IEC 60 287 - 1 – 1 (future issue)
Expressions given hereafter for the skin and proximity effect factors (as stated in IEC 60287) are
suitable for power frequency concerns.
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.
xs k
.R' s
xs4
xs 2.8 ys
192 0.8 xs4
xs 2.8 y s 0.136 0.0177.xs 0.0563.xs2
where:
is the angular frequency of the system
µ is the relative magnetic permeability
ks is a skin effect coefficient, which is equal to 1 for solid conductors and is linked to the conductivity
between wires for other conductor designs
For three-core cables and three single-core cables, the proximity factor is given by:
x 4p 2.r1
2 2
2.r1 1,18 .
Yp . . 0,312. xp .k p
192 0,8.x 4p S S x 4p .R'
0,27
4
192 0,8.x p
Where the spacing between adjacent phases is not equal, the distance may be taken as the geometric
mean distance.
A multiplying coefficient equal to 1,5 for pipe-type cables has to be introduced for pipe-type cables.
This formula is derived assuming a balanced condition, and, therefore, is not suitable for the zero
sequence.
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The dielectric permittivity i of the insulation and its electrical conductivity gi are linked through the
power dissipation factor Tan().
g i i ..Tan
The Table 6 reports the values of the relative permittivity r of the insulation, given by IEC and EPRI
and the values of the power dissipation factor according to IEC (at power frequency).
For XLPE insulated HV cables, the relative dielectric permittivity may be suggested around 2,3. A
constant value is generally assumed up to 100 MHz.
Breien and Johansen [26] fitted a Debye model to the measured frequency response of insulation
samples of a low-pressure fluid-filled cable, in the frequency range 10 kHz – 100 MHz.
0,94
r 2,5
0,315
1 j..6.10 9
For other paper insulations, a multiplying factor is often considered, to get a power frequency value as
in IEC.
Values of the power dissipation factor Tan() as given in IEC 60 287-1-1 are unlikely to be actual
ones (a footnote in the Table 3 states they are safe values - for the purpose of ampacity calculations ),
specially for EHV extruded cables. The standard value for XLPE is much larger than values
determined through testing. Measured values should be considered when available.
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Works from Weeks [27], Ametani [28], Gustavsen [29] provide solutions to integrate the semi-
conductive layers.
The impedance of the equivalent conductor, modelling the conductor itself and the semiconducting
layers, is increased, compared to the impedance of the conductor isolated, and thus, the attenuation
constant is increased, whereas the propagation velocity and the characteristic impedance are decreased
for a coaxial mode, but the inter-phase mode of propagation is not affected. A transient voltage is
attenuated more and its oscillating period becomes greater than those on a cable with no
semiconducting layer.
The effect of semiconducting layers on the propagation constants is rather minor; it is dominated by its
admittance but not by the impedance when the layer thickness is small and the resistivity is high.
Thus, a semiconducting layer can be treated as an admittance in such cases. When the thickness is
large and the resistivity is low, the impedance has to be considered.
Semi-conductive layers may be modelled as admittances in series with the admittance of the
insulation.
They can be taken into account by replacing the semiconductors with the insulating material of the
main insulation, and increasing the permittivity of the total insulation so that the electric capacitance
between the core and the sheath remains unchanged. The validity of this approach has been verified by
measurements up to at least 1 MHz [30]
Many cables involve beddings between the outer semi-conductive layers and the metal screen, which
may be modelled the same way.
The measurements of the electrical resistivity and dielectric permittivity performed on different
materials agree more or less with the following results from [30]:
Carbon-polyethylene compound
The resistivity is about 0.06 Ohm.m and the permittivity decreaes from 104 (at power frequency) to
103 (around 20 MHz)
Generally values in the range 0,01 to 10 Ohm.m are reported [28]. These values are far below the
maximum values required in IEC standards for HV extruded cables (1000 Ohm.m and 500 Ohm.m
respectively for the conductor and the insulation screen).
In addition, some variations of these values may be expected with temperature and ageing.
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Metal screens are generally modelled through an equivalent smooth sheath with same mean diameter
and cross-section (to get the same DC resistance).
Wires’ bundles
In the case of wires’ bundles, the lay length has to be taken into account
1
Rs
d2
g s .N . . w .Cos
4
is the laying angle, N is the number of wires, gs is the wires’conductivity and dw the wires’diameter.
As a matter of fact, this modelling is not fully correct. The reason is that wires are not laid straight but
are helical. As the inter-wires conductivity is much smaller than the wires’ conductivity, induced
currents trend to flow within the wires.
The current flowing in the wires may be split into a component parallel to the cable axis and a
component perpendicular.
This latter component produces in the insulation a magnetic field parallel to the cable axis.
This is called the solenoid effect, as the magnetic field may be expressed using the classical formula
established for solenoids :
H z N .I
where N is the number of turns per unit length and I is the circulating current.
L .N 2 .I 2 . . r22 r12
r1 and r2 being the inner and outer radii of the insulation.
Which may be taken into account, using a corrected magnetic permeability of the insulation :
' .1
2.N 2 . 2 . r22 r12
r
Ln 2
r1
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Composite screens
Component 1
carrying Icp1
Component 2
carrying Icp2
conductor
Single equivalent
component
carrying Icp1+ Icp2
Ic+Icp1
z 42
Z 3 z3
z5 z 6 z 7
Ic Ic
z 4 .z8
Zm
z5 z 6 z 7
Ic+Icp1+I cp2 Ic+Icp1+I cp2
z82
Z 5 z9
z5 z 6 z 7
Surface impedances Z3 Z5
z3 z 5 z7 z9
z4 z8 Zm
Mutual impedances
z6
The formulae are derived assuming that the voltage drop between the 2 components is constant.
The formulae still hold if there is no insulation between the 2 conductors (with z6 = 0), e.g. outer
semi-conductive layer and metal screen in contact.
It is shown in detail in [17] how the composite metal screen can be modelled with an impedance
equivalent in a delta connection, by using the fact that the two conducting layers are connected at each
cable junction and cable end. When modelling the screen layer more precisely, the impedance matrix
becomes more accurate, compared to the normal method of simplifying the screen to only a single
coaxial conducting layer. By including the layered screen, the difference in the impedance matrix will
lead to a correct damping, because of a larger series impedance.
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For single-core cables, on a lay length, all the wires present the same mean distance to influencing
external currents so that the eddy currents are evenly distributed, which is not the case in a sheath.
This leads to an overestimate of proximity effects [31]
Material characteristics
The electrical resitivities and temperature coefficients of metals used according to IEC 60287-1-1 are
reported in the : 7 below
The considerations developed above apply to armours using non magnetic materials.
Steel wires or tapes are generally considered as an equivalent steel pipe, which is not satisfactory.
The relative magnetic permeability µr of the steel is assumed to be constant. A standard value of 300
may be considered.[22]
Modelling of the steel pipe of pipe-type cables (and armourings, using steel tapes or wires) is difficult;
some difficulty arises due to the nonlinear magnetic characteristics of the steel.
Because of this difficulty, impedances of pipe-type cables or armoured cables are usually estimated
from semi-empirical equations derived from measurements (particularly those performed by Neher
[32] on pipe-type cables in 1964 and Arnold [33] on armoured cables in 1939).
Useful information may be found on pipe cables in references [20][21][34][35] and on armours in
reference [36] .
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4.2.2.8 Cables’surrounding
If the surroundings of the cables is homogeneous within a cylinder whose radius is much larger than
the surrounding skin depth, it may be considered as infinite.
In this case, the surrounding impedance and the mutual impedances may be approximated by :
whereb is the Bessel’s constant () linked to the Euler’s constant e by b e e
This is probably true over the entire frequency range of interest for submarine cables [36], where the
sea resistivity is typically 0.2 Ohm.m, whereas for underground cables it would only be true above a
few MHz.
For buried cables, the assumption of infinite surrounding does not hold since the depth of burial is
small compared to earth skin depth.
The earth modelling is briefly discussed in Appendix B.4, introducing alternative formulae to
Wedepohl-Wilcox’s one, given above.
For power frequency concerns, simpler formulae may be used, as explained in § 4.2.3.3.
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4.2.3.1 General
As far as power frequency only is considered, huge simplifications may be achieved, leading to easy-
to-handle formulae.
This paragraph gives some comments on the modelling of the earth and formulae for the impedances
of single-core cables at power frequency.
Table 8 : Symbols
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The currents flowing in the phase conductors return to their sources through the earth which can be
modelled as a conductor. Provided that the soil is uniform and homogeneous, the resistance per unit
length of this equivalent conductor and its depth can be determined as follows:
with:
R’E Equivalent resistance p.u.l. of earth return path (4,93 10-5 Ohm/m for f = 50 Hz)
DE Equivalent depth of earth return path (about 930 m for f = 50 Hz- E = 100 Ohm.m)
Angular frequency ( = 2 f)
µ0 Permeability of soil (µ = 410-7 Vs/Am)
E Electric resistivity of soil
b Bessel’s constant () linked to the Euler’s constant e by b e e
A fictitious cylinder free of any current is supposed covering all the conductors which are connected to
this cylinder to form loops. This is the approach reported in CIGRE Technical Brochures.
This equivalent conductor carries the return currents, which leads to a voltage drop along its route, due
to its resistance.
An alternative modelling is to consider a current return path with zero impedance (which thus is the
voltage reference). The earth equivalent conductor resistance has then to be added to self impedances
of all conductors and mutual impedances between conductors to get same values for voltage drops
along the conductors. This is the approach used by EPRI reference book to derive formulae for
impedances integrating the earth return path.
For submarine cables, the equivalent depth of the “earth” return path is slightly different (see §
4.2.2.8.)
. DE
Z a R' E Ra j. X a Xa .Ln GMRa .r1
2. GMRa
where :
Ra is the a.c. resistance of the phase conductor (see § 4.2.2.2)
GMRa is the geometric mean radius of the phase conductor, linked to the outer radius r1 through
coefficient given in Table 9.
. DE
Z s R' E Rs j. X s Xs .Ln
2. rs
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Rs is the resistance of the sheath equivalent to the actual metal screen (see § 4.2.2.5); for power
frequency application, skin effect may be ignored and the DC resistance may be used.
rs is the mean radius of the metal screen.
Table 9 : coefficient
. DE
Z m R' E j. X s Xs .Ln
2. rs
This is the mutual impedance between the phase conductor or the metal screen of cable i and the phase
conductor or the metal screen of cable j, with dij as the axial distance between these cables
. DE
Z ij R' E j. X ij X ij .Ln
2. d ij
This simple expression holds in practical situations where the axial distance between cables is less
than 0,135 times the equivalent depth of earth return path DE.
Where the cables are in trefoil formation, the mutual impedances between the cables are equal.
That is not true with other laying conditions. In this case, the symmetry hypothesis required by the
symmetrical components circuit analysis methodology is not fulfilled.
To overcome this difficulty, it is usual practice to consider that these configurations behave like a
trefoil formation with a spacing equal to the geometric mean distance between cables.
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d12 d13
GMD 3 d12 .d13 .d 23
d23 d23
Trefoil formation
GMD S
d12 d13
d23
Flat formation
d13
Triangle formation
GMD 6 2 .S
. DE
Z c R' E j. X c Xc .Ln
2. S
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. DE
Z L R' E j. X L XL .Ln
2. 2.S
2.Zc Z L . DE
Zx R'E j. X ap X ap .Ln
3 2. GMD
This impedance is also the exact impedance if the cables are in trefoil or regularly transposed in other
configurations.
D
Z ct RE' Rct j. .Ln
2. rct
Rct is the DC resistance of the conductor; rct is the geometric mean radius of the conductor
D
Z mt _ i RE' j. .Ln
2. d ct _ i
dct_i is the axial distance between the earth continuity conductor and cable i.
The mutual impedance between the earth continuity conductor and any cable is :
D
Z mt RE' j. .Ln
2. GMDt
Where the cables are transposed, GMDt is the geometric mean distance between the ecc and the 3
cables of the link, as illustrated in Figure 21.
Where the cables are not transposed, in flat formation, the ecc is generally transposed with a distance
to the middle cable equal to 0,7 times the cables’ spacing as shown in Figure 22. GMDt is then equal
to the spacing between the ecc and the middle cable.
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L/3
GMDt 3 d at .d bt .d ct 2.S
L/3
L/3
Earth continuity
conductor
dct
S dat
dbt
Figure 21: GMD of the earth continuity conductor where cables are transposed
0,7 . S
d ecc _ R 0,7.S
GMDt 0,7.S
0,7 . S
S
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The determination of screen currents as a function of the currents flowing in the phase conductors,
taking into account the screen bonding technique, may be achieved using for instance Complex
Impedance Matrix (see Appendix B.6).
This step is not easy to perform since the screen connections to the ground at least at link ends have to
be considered.
Positive-sequence impedance is the ratio of the normal power frequency voltages (equal in magnitude
and 120 out of phase) across power system components to the currents flowing through the
components.
The negative-sequence impedance is calculated the same way as the positive sequence, except that the
phase sequence is reversed. The negative-sequence impedance is equal to the positive-sequence.
The zero-sequence system assumes equal currents (magnitude and phase) flow in the phase
conductors, which leads to difficulties linked to the return path through metal screens, earth continuity
conductor, ground resistances.
As mentioned above, Fortescue method is applicable provided that symmetrical conditions are
fulfilled : in fact, mutual impedances between conductors have to be equal …
This condition is not fulfilled if the cables are laid in flat formation without cables transposition since
the mutual between outer cables is different from the mutual between the middle cable and the outer
cables.
One way to overcome this issue is to consider mean values of the impedances instead of real values.
Where the phase currents are components of a balanced system (normal operation, three-phase short-
circuit), the current flowing back in the ground may be assumed to be negligible (it is zero where
cables are transposed)
If the currents are components of a zero-sequence system (such a system occurring in case of phase-to-
earth fault), the return current partly flows in the screens and/or earth continuity conductors, if any,
and the earth through grounding resistances.
The following figure illustrates the situation for a single-point bonded link.
The return current may partly enter the earth continuity conductor (ecc) at the faulted end and partly
flow to the earth through end grounding resistance. Similarly, at the feeding end, the return current
may come from the earth continuity conductor and from the earth.
The overall return current shares itself between the ecc and the ground.
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The return current in the ecc may be split into two components
An “induced” current ie0 due to the induction by phase currents, causing a voltage drop which
compensates the induction (the overall voltage drop between the ends is null). This current
depends only on the coupling between ecc and the phases. The coupling factor is introduced as the
ratio of the mutual with phase conductors Zm to the self impedance of the ecc Zp.
A “conduction” current ie1, which results from the sharing, between the ecc and the ground, of the
overall return current diminished by the induced current in the ecc, considering a passive network.
µ : coupling
Phase conductors
iai
factor
i
Zm
ie0 . ai
ie0 ie0 ie0
Zp
Zm 0 ecc 0
Zp
igl igr
The return current sharing is discussed in the following example, relating to a single phase to earth
fault on a siphon system, fed by two substations at right and left sides of the link, the underground link
being solidly bonded or cross-bonded.
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G1
G2
A parameter Xh which translates the screen bonding conditions at link ends may be introduced to take
into account this concern.
I gr I gl
X h Rr .1 Rl .1
3.I 0 3.I 0
Where the grounding resistances are small e.g. for a link between 2 substations, and/or where the
return current injected in the earth at the fault location is large e.g. in the case of an overhead line
without skywire, this parameter may be neglected.
At a transition OHL/UGL, the grounding resistance to consider is the resistance of the transition tower
in parallel with the impedance of the skywire.
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where Zsw is the self-impedance of the sky wire and Rf is the per-span tower footing impedance and
Ls is the span length.
Single-core cables
Single-core
POSITIVE-SEQUENCE ZERO-SEQUENCE
cables
Z m Z x 2 Z m 2.Z x 3. X h L
SOLID
Z d Z a Z x Z h Z a 2.Z x Z m 2.Z x
BONDING Zs Zx Z s 2.Z x 3. R
L
SINGLE Z mt X h L
POINT Z d Z a Z x Z h Z a 2.Z x 3.Z mt .
BONDING Z ct R / L
Z m 2.Z x 3. X h L
CROSS-
Z d Z a Z x Z h Z a 2.Z x Z m 2.Z x
BONDING Z s 2.Z x 3. R
L
Type of Link R Xh
Link connecting 2 substations R 0 Xh R
Link between a substation and a overhead R grounding resistance at transition in parallel Xh R
line with skywire with the skywire impedance
Siphon - overhead line with skywire R sum of the grounding resistances at transition Xh R
in parallel with the skywire impedance
Link between a substation and a overhead R grounding resistance at transition Xh 0
line without skywire
Siphon - overhead line without skywire R sum of the grounding resistances at transition Xh 0
Trefoil
Formulae for single-point bonding are fully correct only if the cables are transposed or if the earth
continuity conductor is located at the trefoil center.
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Otherwise, use of the geometric mean distance between the earth continuity conductor and the cables
in the formula for the mutual impedance between the earth continuity conductor and the cables leads
to some error, generally quite small for the positive sequence.
Flat formation
For solid bonding and single point bonding, the formulae are fully correct only where the cables are
transposed. Otherwise, use of the impedance ZX which is the impedance between cables on a
transposition length is not appropriate. This means that, where the cables are not transposed, use of the
geometric mean distance between the cables in the formula for the mutual impedance between cables
leads to some error.
For cross-bonded systems, the formula is not fully correct. The given approximate does not introduce
significant error (less than 0.01%), by comparison to the exact (but not simple) formula which may be
found where the cables are transposed.
These formulae are readily obtained, applying Kirchoff’s law for voltage to the loops metal
screens/earth or ecc/earth. This is the approach followed in [42] assuming Xh is equal to R.
The table 11 shows that the positive sequence impedance, determined using the GMD, may be
considered as a mean value of the actual impedances of the three cables in the case they are installed in
flat formation without transposition (in this example,0,2m spacing and solid bonding are assumed).
Formulae are given in Table 12 for submarine armoured three-core cables, with individual separate
metal screens.
POSITIVE-SEQUENCE ZERO-SEQUENCE
Z m Z x 2 Z m 2.Z x 2
Z d Z a Z x Ra . 2 Z h R'.1 Ys j. X a 2.Z x
Zs Zx Z s 2.Z x
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The 3 screens are assumed solidly bonded to the armour at least at both ends. The formula for the
zero-sequence impedance assumes that the return current flows mainly in the screens and the sea, the
current in the armour being neglected.
Pipe-type cables
The impedances of this type of cable are generally determined using semi-empirical formulae based on
laboratory measurements, performed by Neher [32] in 1964. The theoretical approach is very difficult
because of the non linear permeability and losses in the steel pipe.
The accuracy of these formulae is quite questionable : in his paper, Neher points out a difference
between the calculated and measured results within 19 % and 35 % for the zero-sequence resistance
and reactance, respectively, on an example.
Positive sequence
. 0 S
Z d R'. 1 Ys Y p 1 2 j. X d X d 1,15.
2.
.Ln
GMRa
The coefficient 1,15 which translates the influence of the pipe has been developed from tests data.
S is the geometric mean spacing between conductors.
For cables in a close triangular configuration, S is equal to Ds, the core diameter, including skid wires.
For the usual case, where the cables may be presumed to lie in a cradled configuration :
2
Ds
S 1,26.6 1
D p Ds
1 and 2 are, respectively, the screen and armour loss factors (as per IEC 60287-1-1)
Zero sequence
The zero sequence impedance of a circuit, consisting of three shielded conductors contained within a
pipe with current return over the pipe and over the shields bonded to the pipe at both ends, may be
expressed in the form:
. 0 3
rp
Z h R'.1 Ys j. X cp 3. R 'p j. X 'p X cp .Ln
2. 2
GMRa .S
This impedance includes the return paths of the conductors’ currents, assuming that all of the return
current flows in the pipe and the metal screens.
The impedances R’p and X’p represent the resistance and reactance of the pipe, adjusted for the
diversion of some of the return current by the shields. They are determined from curves, based upon
experimental results.
An iterative process has to be performed since these impedances depend on the magnitude of the zero-
sequence current.
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Double circuits
As the use of double circuits is becoming more and more frequent, it is worth giving guidance on the
calculation of the sequence impedances of such links.
The sequence impedances are not strictly equal to half the sequence impedances of a link involving
only one circuit, because of the mutual influences between the circuits.
Details on the derivation of the sequence impedances of double circuits are given in Appendix B.7..
Here come the main conclusions.
The leading parameter is the ratio S/D of the cables’spacing to the distance between circuits
Even if the circuits are close one to another, the sequence impedances are nearly equal to half the
sequence impedances of a link involving only one circuit
Moreover, it may be useful to remind that, among the 6 possible arrangements, symmetrical ones have
to be preferred to get a balanced sharing of the currents between the 2 cables in parallel.
Symmetrical R1 S1 T1 T2 S2 R2
arrangement
Circuit 1 Circuit 2
Unsymmetrical T1 R2
R1 S1 S2 T2
arrangement
S S
D
Zero sequence
The leading parameter is the magnitude of the return currents flowing in the screens (should this
current be close to the phase current, the influence between circuits would be negligible).
If the grounding resistances are considered nil (R=0 - Xh=0) or the return current in the ground is
assumed negligible (R=Xh), then the sequence impedance is nearly equal to half the sequence
impedance of a link involving only one circuit, as for the positive and negative sequences.
Where a close estimate is required, the zero-sequence impedance may be derived as half the
impedance calculated according to Table 10 for one circuit, with corrected values of impedances Za,
Zm, Zs which have to be increased by a term Zbc translating the mutual influences between circuits. A
simple (but good) estimate of Zbc is (see appendix B.7)
. DE
Z bc RE' j. .Ln
2. D
If the return path for the currents is mainly the earth, (siphon without any skywire), the situation is
quite different.
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The characteristic impedance and the propagation constant of the coaxial direct mode are given by the
classical formulae:
zd
z surge surge z d . y d
yd
with:
z d z1 z 2 z3 yd ycs
where expressions of z1, z2 and z3 are given in Appendix B and § 4.2.1. (Figure 15).
Using these parameters, a rough estimate of overvoltages likely to occur may be derived.
For a single-core cable, neglecting resistive components, the characteristic impedance of the coaxial
mode reduces to :
1 0 r 60 r
z surge . .Ln 2 .Ln 2
r 0 r1 r r1
where r1 and r2 are the inner and outer radius of the insulation; and is the insulation dielectric
constant.
The magnitude of the voltage which initially enters the cable from an overhead line is given by:
2.z surge
Ve V0 .
z surge z surge_ ohl
where V0 is the magnitude of the overvoltage traveling in the overhead line; Zsurge_ohl is the surge
impedance of the overhead line.
If the characteristic impedance of the overhead line is 10 times that of the cable, the overvoltage which
travels into the cable is about 18 % of the overvoltage from the line.
The overvoltage may reach higher levels, due to reflected waves traveling back and forth along the
cable.
The magnitude of the voltage at an open circuit, is likely to double. That is the reason why surge
arresters are generally connected to both ends of a cable circuit.
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As regards transients studies, useful information are displayed, based on an analytical approach or
using Finite Element Method.
The method of subdivision of conductors is also a way to cope with this question.
The current practice is to consider a bundle of wires or layers of tapes wound on the insulation more or
less as an equivalent sheath, and to consider phase conductors as straight when dealing with three-core
cables. This approximation may lead to significant errors when calculating the series impedance of the
cable system.
Recently, this problem has been addressed using Finite Element Method [31].
The main conclusions of a study on the influence of the proximity effect and helical winding of the
screen wires for a system of 3 single core cables buried underground in a trefoil configuration, are:
The proximity effect has a significant influence on the occurring sheath voltages. The proximity
effect increases the attenuation, velocity and surge admittance of the intersheath modes.
The solenoid effect has a noticeable influence on the sheath voltages when the sheaths are
grounded at the energized end. The solenoid effect causes a small reduction of the velocity of the
coaxial and intersheath modes.
Such problems are quite difficult to solve since, on one hand, a “simple” 2 dimensions approach is not
sufficient, and, on the other hand, a “true” 3 dimensions study needs powerful computers, due to the
different mesh sizes in transversal and longitudinal directions (linked to wires diameter compared to
lay length).
Available formulae are based on a theoretical approach but introduce semi-empirical coefficients to fit
the calculations to test results where magnetic materials are concerned (e.g. steel wires or tapes).
The main issue is that armour wires are assumed to be laid straight as well as the conductors. Where
the conductors are twisted, the losses in the armour are probably over-estimated.
The calculation of armours electrical characteristics is presently addressed within CIGRE and IEC, as
new evidence of their inaccuracy has been brought [45]. [46]
A thin semi-conductive layer is more and more often extruded on cable polymeric outersheaths. The
modelling of such a coating is still to be addressed.
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5.1 General
Chapter 3 described the parameters that can have an influence on electrical parameters of a cable
system. This chapter describes the different sources of information where data can be collected for
modelling purpose :
Parameters related to cable design, as described in section 3.1 : this information comes from cable
manufacturer and normative reference. At the design stage of a link, available data comes mostly
from cable data sheets and cable manufacturer tables (see section 5.3). After production of the
actual cable, some measurements may also be available to confirm the design data (see section
5.4)
Parameters related to configuration of installation and screen bonding , as described in sections 3.2
and 3.3 : Information for these parameters mainly comes from the engineering group responsible
for the link design. Information is available from drawing covering cable installation, cable
routing, cable layout, and screen bonding. After the installation, some measurements may be
available to confirm some parameters, mainly sequence impedance measurements (see section
5.3).
System data should be as close as possible to the actual values. To simplify calculations, many
assumptions are made in some preliminary design stages. Usually, at those stages, only manufacturers
data sheet are available (no measurements).
These assumptions should be re-examined before commissioning the new cable system. It should be
borne in mind that the accuracy of the calculation results will depend on the accuracy of any
assumptions made in the values chosen for different parameters.
WG C4.502 has addressed this particular issue in their technical brochure by performing a sensitivity
analysis to highlight the more important cable parameters and their influence on the modelling and
calculation of various cable system electrical parameters, for all types of studies, including power
frequency and transient analysis.
The importance of three parameters is stressed : the conductor radius, the permittivity and the
thickness of the insulation.
Physical data
Cable data sheets usually include all physical dimensions required for cable modelling purpose.
Usually, all dimensions are either nominal value or guaranteed value and are subject to manufacturing
tolerances, which means that the actual cable value may be different than the values stated in the data
sheet.
Electrical data
Electrical data found in cable data sheets should be DC and AC resistance of conductor and sometimes
screen and armour, capacitance, inductance and sequence impedances. Resistance values stated in the
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data sheet are usually nominal or maximum values. Most other value are obtained by calculations
using nominal dimensional data as a basis. Formulae used for calculations can be found in normative
references, but calculation hypothesis are usually not clearly indicated.
Careful consideration should be taken when using information coming from cable data sheets
especially when using values resulting from calculations.
For example, sequence impedance presented in the data sheet may not be representative of the actual
installation under study unless all the cable installation layout screen bonding drawing have been
submitted to the manufacturer for performing the calculations.
The different parameters needed for modelling are typically required at the early design stage and are
therefore calculated nominal values from the cable supplier as described in the previous section.
When the cable has been manufactured, some of these parameters are measured and can be updated in
the models for improved accuracy.
However, according to the relevant cable standards, not all parameters relevant to cable modelling are
required to be measured. Some parameters are only required to be measured on a sample representing
a batch, and some are only required measured during type testing.
Production test and routine tests are done on individual cable reels, or batches, before packing and
shipping at the cable manufactures facility. The IEC standards, as well as country or customer specific
specifications, requires a number of electrical, mechanical and material/physical test to be performed
on the cables, and the materials making up the cable.
The relevant cable parameters for cable modelling are listed in the table below. The table shows the
test requirements according to IEC 60840 [47] and 62067 [48] and US standard AEIC CS9 for
extruded cables, as well as the suggested minimum requirements for calculation and modelling
purposes recommended by the WG.
One has to keep in mind that the frequency of the various tests stated in the standards may come from
other considerations than electrical modelling, such as thermal rating.
Clearly, the D.C. resistance of the conductor is the leading parameter when deriving the cable current-
carrying capacity.
Generally speaking, IEC present requirements seem appropriate, for standard electrical modelling
needs, except that :
A construction check, associated with dimensional measurements, is advisable on each
shipping length.
An assessment of the a.c. resistance of the conductor should be introduced for constructions
designed to get a reduced skin effect.
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Table 13 : Tests
Measurement of Capacitance
As significant variations of the dielectric permittivity are not expected, the capacitance may be derived
from the measured inner and outer diameters of the insulation, so that a capacitance measurement per
manufacturing batch, as IEC standards require, may be recommended.
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Dimensional measurements
The IEC standards require sample measurements only.
Due to the possible variation of each cable length, it is beneficial to check the cable construction and
measure dimensions for each shipping length, as required in AEIC standard.
This way, the measurement of the metal screen DC resistance or the insulation capacitance may be
avoided.
Test reports
Measured values in test reports can be a significant input for cable modelling purposes. Test reports
should be written in such a way to clearly state the measured value instead of only successful
fulfillment of a requirement. For example, for Tan delta measurements, the measured value can be
significantly lower than the requirement, 10 x 10-4. A test report stating only a result “less than 10 x
10-4” would be relevant to fulfillment of the requirement, but of no added value for cable modelling.
While most dimensional parameters of a cable system (for example cable spacing) are not measured
on site, it may be useful to verify construction records to identify if there have been significant
changes between the design drawings and as-built drawings. Area of particular interest for cable
electrical parameters would be the special bonding of the screen and installation of earth continuity
conductor.
Another particular area of interest for on-site measurement is certainly the measurement of sequence
impedance. IEC 60909-4 [49] provide general considerations on the measurement of the positive and
zero-sequence of cables (see § 2.1).
On site measurement of impedance can be a useful practice to confirm the calculations parameters.
On-site measurements can lead to a different result than calculations, taking into account nearby
buried installation that were not part of the cable system original modelling. The best time to do these
measurements is usually during commissioning of the new link.
Even if the new link is not energised yet, safety precautions must be taken against induced voltages on
the line to protect both the personnel and the testing equipment.
Also, if the measurements are done at power frequency, induced voltages may influence the results of
measurements. Measurements methods at power frequency should therefore include provision for
measurements of induced voltages to eliminate their influence.
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Another solution is to make measurements at a frequency range near power frequency and use
interpolation to determine the value of impedance at power frequency.
Three examples of impedances measurement procedures as part of commissioning test are shown in
appendix C.
Measurement of the wave velocity, using an impulse generator, is recommended as the result may be
used later for fault localization.
Additionally, useful data on the tests which may be carried out to check the surge impedances, are
given in references [54] [55]
6 Case studies
Appendix D includes three case studies to illustrate some of the difficulties involved in the calculation
and measurement of cable system electrical characteristics.
Case study #1
The first case study is a theoretical case study showing the calculation of impedances using EMTP.
The study describes the calculation of impedances for external and internal faults, showing the
influence of cable system parameters such as screen bonding, the influence of proximity of a metallic
object of a second circuit,
Case study #2
The second case study describes a 150 kV double circuit system in Belgium. Field measurements of
sequence impedance were performed and are compared with EMTP calculations. The influence of
earth resistance at the grounding substation is examined.
Case study #3
The fist example describes a new 100 km long AC cable system at 150 kV installed in Denmark.
Fields measurements of impedance were performed on this system before commissioning and are
compared with results from calculations
Two other examples deal with 132 kV cable systems in Denmark. Both systems include land cable and
submarine cables. Part of one system runs in parallel with an existing line and the influence of the
existing line is examined. For both systems, calculation were made and are compared to field
measurements.
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7 Conclusion
This Technical Brochure provides a state of the art in cable electrical modelling.
Common cable systems types are described, for land and submarine AC applications, with a nominal
voltage above 45 kV, using paper cables (MI, SCFF and HPFF) as well as extruded cables.
The Brochure focuses on the derivation of the basic impedances of cable systems from cables
characteristics and links arrangements (including laying conditions and screen bonding techniques).
Basic impedances are those impedances which are required in the telegrapher’s equations which link
the voltages and currents at any location along the cable system. These impedances are the background
of every modelling.
The Brochure displays formulae rigidly derived through solving Maxwell’s equations which describe
the electro-magnetic fields involved in a cable system; these formulae have been obtained with a
limited number of assumptions which are fulfilled by most of the cable designs; also approximate
formulae are given, suitable in a wide range of frequency. The applicability of these formulae is
discussed.
For power frequency applications, quite simple expressions may be found, leading to the expressions
for the sequence impedances which are displayed.
Nevertheless, some areas are not fully covered and improvements are needed, specially regarding the
modelling of magnetic armours.
In addition, the Brochure gives some information and recommendations regarding possible
measurements which can be carried out as a check of the electrical characteristics.
8 References
[1]. C.L. Fortescue - Method of symmetrical co-ordinates applied to the solution of polyphase
networks A.IE.E. Trans Vol. 37 Part II - 1918
[2]. J.P. Noualy - G. Leroy Wave propagation modes on high-voltage cables. IEEE Trans. Power
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[8]. L. Marti, “Simulation of transients in underground cables with frequency dependent modal
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Germany: Pirelli. ISBN: 3-89578-118-5 - 1999
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shields, Bell system technical journal 1934, N° 13.
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einfachtleitung – Elektrische Nachrichten Technik – Vol. 3 n°9 - 1926.
[16]. L.M. Wedepohl and D.J. Wilcox - Transient analysis of under-ground power-transmission
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transmission lines and cables. PhD. Thesis, University of Manitoba,Winnipeg, Canada, 2008.
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[25]. CIGRE Technical Brochure 272 Large cross-sections and composite screens design, 2005
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[43]. A.H.M. Arnold - The theory of sheath losses in single conductor lead - covered cables. Journal
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[47]. IEC 60 840 Power cables with extruded insulation and their accessories for rated voltages
above 30 kV (Um=36 kV) up to 150 kV (Um=170 kV) – Test methods and requirements
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above 150 kV (Um=170 kV) up to 500 kV (Um=550kV) – Test methods and requirements.
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[51]. R. Benato - Multiconductor cell analysis of power cable steady state, Proc. of JICABLE 2007,
Paper N° C.5.2.9., pp. 707-712, Versailles, France, June 24-28.
[53]. R. Benato - Multiconductor cell analysis of shunt compensated cable lines, Proc. of JICABLE
2011, Paper N° E.7.2.14., Versailles, France, June 19-23.
[55]. U.S. Gudmundsdottir, C.L. Bak, T. Wiechowski, Phd Seminar on Detailed Modeling and
Validation of electrical components and systems Fredericia (Denmark) – 2010
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FRANCE
HV and VHV grids involve four nominal voltages : 63 - 90 - 225 and 400 kV
Lead sheathed Mass Impregnated paper cables have been widely used in the High Voltage grid.
In the VHV range, single core self contained oil filled cables and high pressure oil filled pipe cables
(mainly used for power supply in large cities) count for a significant part.
The mean age of these cables is now over 30 years.
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Installation methods.
For about 10 years, installation in ducts has been the standard practice.
PVC ducts are generally used, embedded in lean concrete.
There is one cable only per duct, the ratio of the duct inner diameter to the cable diameter being 1.5 at
least.
Telecommunication cables and the earth continuity conductor, if any, are laid in ducts, as well.
Trefoil formation is generally preferred. Flat formation may be found in substations or in particular
locations such as railway crossing.
The cables are transposed at every joint chamber in solid or single-point bonded system. For cross-
bonding systems, they are transposed at every cross-bonding location.
Native soil
C1000 mm
Concrete
Telecommunication
E=40 mm
Installation of cables in troughs has been the standard practice for a very long time.
The troughs, made of reinforced concrete were laid 1.4 m deep and were filled with sand and sealed.
The cables were installed in touching trefoil formation.
Screen grounding
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BELGIUM
Cable design
The extruded single-core cable, insulated with XLPE , is the preferred HV cable type ; the conductor
material is aluminium or copper ; the HV cables are provided with a metallic screen (copper or
aluminium wires or foil) ; the external oversheath consists of HDPE
Older cables are either paper insulated (single-core or three-core, up to and included 70kV) or single-
core self contained oil filled cables (150kV) with lead screen.
Installation
Ground level
Warning grid
Optical fiber in a Pe
duct
Protective Pe sheets
Plastic tape
Special backfill
Screen grounding
The metallic screens of the HV cables are earthed at both ends or at one end or are cross-bonded.
Earth continuity conductors (ECC) are cables with a minimum cross-section of 150mm2 copper , a
synthetic insulation and a black PE oversheath. They are laid in parallel to the HV cables.
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DENMARK
Cable design:
Transmission network in Denmark contains 132, 150, 220 and 400 kV lines.
Elder cable lines are Mass Impregnated paper cables, whereas all new AC transmission cables are
XLPE. Typical cables are shown below.
The conductor can be either copper or aluminium and it can be solid, compact stranded, or Milliken
for larger capacity.
The Insulation is XLPE in all cases of new AC transmission cables.
The swelling tape is for longditudal water tightening.
The metallic tape is used for radial water tightening.
Installation:
Most transmission cables in Denmark are installed in tight trefoil or flat formation, in trenches.
This is except for cables in densely populated areas, where directional drillings or troughs is used.
Screen grounding:
Longer cable lines are crossbonded with screen grounding at either every 3rd joint. For very long cable
lines, the screens are only grounded at every 6thjoint. If grounding is only placed at every 6th joint, then
the screens at joint between crossbondings are shorted, but not grounded.
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For some shorter cable lines, the screen grounding can be a combination of a crossbounded and a
single point bounded section with ECC.
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FINLAND
L1 L2 L3
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GREECE
For submarine application, an example is the single-core SCOF 400 mm² Cu 150 kV lead sheath with
reinforcing copper tapes and polyethylene sheath as corrosion protection, galvanized steel wires
polypropylene outerservving
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ITALY
XLPE insulated
single-core
land cable
Serving PP yarn
Mass-Impregnated Steel wire armour
Bedding
paper-insulated
PE sheath
single-core armoured Steel reinforcement
cable Lead-alloy sheath
Semiconducting screen
MI-paper insulation
Semiconducting screen
Copper core conductor
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roadway roadway
Binder
Warning tapes
Inert material
P.V.C. grid
Additional
Mechanical protection
350 mm pipes
Pipe for fiber optics
Mortar
Power cables
Standard cable laying in trench for three single-core flat type HV cables (a.c. UN=130 kV )
Backfill
Concrete Compacted
slabs sand
500
100
Standard cable laying in trench for three single-core flat type cables (a.c. UN=380 kV )
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USA
1.730
2.920"
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LLDPE jacket
9
with semi-conductive layer
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Formulae for the series and shunt impedances may be derived from Maxwell’s equations, following
Schelkunoff who deeply investigated the transmission theory of coaxial lines.[14]
A solid conductor
An insulation
A metal sheath
An outersheath
All the materials are ideal ones, with constant conductivity g, permittivity and magnetic
permeability µ.
The insulation and the outersheath use good insulating materials, so that the longitudinal
currents in the insulation and the outersheath are negligible by comparison with the
longitudinal conduction current in the core,
Maxwell’s equations
for sinusoidal forcing conditions
Conductor assuming ideal materials
carrrying current Ic
r2
r1
r3
xH g j. . .E (1)
Insulation
Ic r4
xE j.. .H (2)
Metal sheath
carrrying current Is Is
.E 0 (3)
The electrical field E and the magnetic field H within the cable components may be derived from
Maxwell’s equations.
In this configuration, the derivatives with respect to the angular coordinate vanish, so that the general
solution for the field components may be readily found (through method of separation of variables).
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H H 0 .e .z
H0 being solution of:
2 H 0 1 H 0 1
2 H 0 m 2 H 0 0
2
m k2 2 k 2 j...g j..
Taking into account the fourth assumption, applying Ampere’s theorem (integral form of one of
Maxwell’s equation)
Ic
H 0
2. .
2 j...g j..
where g and are the conductivity and the permittivity of the insulation
The electromagnetic field in the insulation is quasi TEM (the electric field is nearly radial, and the
magnetic field tangential) and the propagation constant is nearly purely imaginary.
H
E Propagation velocity
c
Ic v
r
Is
where g is the metal conductivity, I0 and K0 are modified Bessel’s functions of first and second kind,
of order 0
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The difference of potential between core and sheath is obtained as the integral of the radial electrical
field:
r
1
Vc Vs E .d
r
2
Integration of the second Maxwell’s equation along the integration paths as on the figure below gives
an expression of the longitudinal voltage drops :
E dl j... H ds
(c ) (s)
dz
Ez(r1)
(C1) Ez(r2)
Ez(r3) (C2)
Sol Ez(r4)
Ez(r4)
r2
Vc Vs
z
E z (r1 ) E z (r2 ) j 2 . .H ( ) d
r1
Expressing the magnetic field :
Vc Vs 2 r2
E z (r1 ) E z (r2 ) j .Ln .I c
z 2. r1
Vs 2 r
E z (r3 ) E z (r4 ) j .Ln 4 .I c I s
z 2. r3
Finally, Shelkunoff’s model is obtained as summarized hereafter, where surface impedances z1, z3, z5
and the coupling impedance z4 are introduced, linking the electrical field at the surfaces of conductors
and currents.
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SCHELKUNOFF’S MODEL
E z r1 z1.I c
E z r2 z3 .I c z 4 .I c I s
E z r3 z 4 .I c z5 .I c I s
r2 r2
r1 r1
r3 r3
E z (r4 ) z g .(I c I s )r r4
4
zint z1 z 2 z3 zext z5 z os z g
1 m1 I (m r ) j r2
z1 0 11 z2 Ln
2 r1 ( g1 j 1 ) I1 (m1r1 ) 2 r1
m3 K (m r ) I (m r ) I1 (m3 r3 ) K 0 (m3 r2 )
z3 1 33 0 32
2r2 ( g 3 j 3 ) K1 (m3 r2 ) I1 (m3 r3 ) I1 (m3 r2 ) K1 (m3 r3 )
1 1
z4 .
2r2 r3. ( g 3 j 3 ) K1 (m3 r2 ) I1 (m3 r3 ) I1 (m3 r2 ) K1 (m3 r3 )
m3 K (m r ) I (m r ) I1 (m3 r2 ) K 0 (m3 r3 )
z5 1 32 0 33
2r3 ( g 3 j 3 ) K1 (m3 r2 ) I1 (m3 r3 ) I1 (m3 r2 ) K1 (m3 r3 )
j r4 ms K (m r )
z os Ln zg 0 s 4
2 r3 2 ( g s j s )r4 K1 (ms r4 )
In and Kn are the modified Bessel functions of order n, respectively of the first and second kind.
mi j.g i .. i
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m1 K (m r ) I (m r ) I1(m1r0 ) K0 (m1r1)
z1 1 1 0 0 11
2r1( g1 j1) K1(m1r0 ) I1(m1r1) I1(m1r0 ) K1(m1r1)
Bessel functions may be evaluated through polynomial approximations of Kelvin functions, defined
according to:
j n .I n j .x bern x j.bei n x j n .K n j .x kern x j.kei n x
The shunt impedances (or admittances) are easily deduced from the radial electric field component
within the insulants:
H
g j.. .E
z
Expressing the tangential magnetic field and integrating this equation leads to:
I c y1 y1 Vc
z I s y1 y1 y 2 Vs
2 ( g 2 j 2 ) 2 ( g 4 j 4 )
y1 y2
Ln(r2 / r1 ) Ln(r4 / r3 )
Note
When dealing with proximity effects, the derivatives with respect to the angular coordinate do not
vanish. In that case, solving Maxwell’s equations is generally performed using the potentials.
The electro-magnetic field may be derived from 2 potentials, a scalar potential V and a vector potential
A (in the direction of the propagation) :
1
E V j.. A H .xA
The non-zero component of the vector potential is ruled by the following equation
2 Az 1 Az 2 Az 2 Az
m 2 Az 0
2 2 z 2
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In this section, the Schelkunoff’s theory is applied to a single-core armoured submarine cable.
(considering the armour as a metal sheath, above the metallic screen).
For the system of Figure B.2.1, it allows computing the longitudinal series impedance matrix of the
loop circuits shown in Figure B.2.2:
The voltages (uL1, uL2 and uL3) and currents (iL1, iL2 and iL3) of these loops are clearly shown in Figure
B.2.2. It considers the loop currents as flowing in the xth conductor and returning into the (x+1)th
conductor (if x=armour, x+1 is the sea water).
Figure B.2.2 also shows the electrical quantities (currents and voltages) pertaining to the classical,
usual phase-to-ground voltages (uc, us and ua) and currents injected into the conductor (ic, is and ia).
sheath
insulation
core/sheath
core
WATER
insulation
armour/sea (if any)
insulation armour
x sheath/armour
Figure B.2.1 Composition of the three-layered single-core cable: core, sheath, armour and insulating
materials
In this example, the single-core cable has three conductors (four if considering the sea water), three
insulations and three loops.
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ic CORE c
is SHEATH s
uL2 us Insulation s/a iL2 LOOP 2
ia ARMOUR a
SEA WATER
Figure B.2.2 Specification of the loop (grey) and "usual" (black) currents and voltages for the three-
conductor cable
For generality purpose, the exposition is referred to n loops (and n+1 conductors included the sea
return path).
The longitudinal series impedance matrix of the loops ZL (order nn) has a tridiagonal structure with
the self impedances of the loops laying in its main diagonal and the mutual impedances between the
loops located in the off-diagonal elements as shown in Figure B.2.3.
Lx Lx+1 . . . Ln-1
Ln
Lx zLx,Lx zLx,Lx+1 0 0 0
Ln
0 0 0 zLn,Ln-1 zLn,Ln
Figure B.2.3 The tridiagonal loop matrix ZL
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where n+1 conductor is the sea water. The definitions of the above mentioned impedances are:
zc-out,x = per unit length internal impedance of the xth coaxial conductor (subscript c-) with the current
returning in the (x+1)th conductor (outer conductor whence the subscript out);
zins,x/x+1 = per unit length impedance of the insulation (subscript ins) between the conductor xth and
(x+1)th;
zc-in,x+1 = per unit length internal impedance of the (x+1)th coaxial conductor (subscript c-) with the
current returning in the xth conductor (inner conductor whence the subscript in);
zc-in,n+1 = zself_sea = per unit length self sea-return impedance of the nth conductor.
As is well known, the skin effect is considered by means of the expression of zc-out,x whose real part is
the a.c. conductor resistance.
For the off-diagonal mutual impedances between the loop Lx and the Lx-1 one of the matrix ZL the
following relations are valid:
where the minus sign takes into account the opposing directions of the loop currents (e.g. iL2 is
negative in the loop L1).
Between Lx and Lx+2 loops there are no common branches so that the coupling mutual impedance is
zero.
In order to particularize this general exposition, the single-core cable of figure B.2.2 can be considered
so that x=c, s, a where c=core, s=sheath and a=armour. It has:
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The impedance zc-out (i.e. z1, z5 and z9 in (4)(6)) can be computed as:
zc out I0 ( rext ) K1( rin ) K0 ( rext ) I1( rin ) ; (7)
2 rext H
zc in I0 ( rin ) K1( rext ) K0 ( rin ) I1( rext ) ; (8)
2 rin H
where:
H = I1(rext)K1(rin) - I1(rin)K1(rext).
I0 ( rext )
z1 .
2 rext I1( rext )
The impedances of insulating layers zins (z2, z6 and z10) are computed by:
It is worth reminding that the armour is in contact with the sea water so that z10=0.
With regard to the off-diagonal elements of the matrix ZL, the per unit length mutual impedance
between L1 and L2 is given by;
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where:
z c m ,x . (10)
2 rinrextH
As afore-mentioned zL1,L3=zL3,L1=0.
The computation of the self-impedance taking into account the sea water as return (z11) would be
rather complex also because the cables are usually laid in the sea-bed having a resistivity different
from that of the sea itself. It is worth remembering that exact formulae of the self earth-return
impedance have been first derived from Pollaczek [15] in the hypothesis of cable buried in a semi-
infinite earth. As in [36], the hypothesis of "Infinite Sea Model" (or Infinite Earth Model) can be
assumed. It has been demonstrated also with the comparison of FEM that it is a really strong
assumption [50].
Attention must be paid, since the cable can be considered as surrounded by an infinite sea in all
directions around it, when the penetration depth is much less than the burial depth (measured by the
sea surface):
2 sea( m )
dsea 503 burial depth [ m ]
sea f( Hz )
This approximation could not be valid when the cable is installed in very swallow water.
sea water
rin
rext
The impedance z11 can be inferred by (12) under the hypothesis that the sea is a tubular conductor with
infinite radius (rext) and that the inner radius is equal to the cable external one (see fig. 4). If the
armour is in contact with the water, the cable outer radius coincides with the armour external radius
(rout_cable=re_armor).
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Since
Finally, the series impedance of the three loops of the single-core cable of Figure B.2.2 is given by:
z L ,L z L1,L2 0 z1 z 2 z 3 z4 0
1 1
Z L z L2 ,L1 z L2 ,L2 z L2 ,L3 z4 z5 z6 z7 z8 . (12)
0 z L3 ,L2
z L3 ,L3 0 z8 z9 z10 z11
The longitudinal series impedance matrix Z of the single-core cable of Figure B.2.2. is given by:
z c ,c z c ,s z c ,a
Z z s ,c z s ,s z s ,a . (13)
z a ,c z a ,s z a ,a
In the scientific literature, there are cumbersome algebraic formulations in order to express the
elements of series impedance matrix Z starting from those of the loop matrix ZL i.e.
zc ,c z1 z2 z3 2 z4 z5 z6 z7 2 z8 z9 z10 z11 ;
zs ,s z5 z6 z7 2 z8 z9 z10 z11 ;
zc ,s zs ,c z4 z5 z6 z7 2 z8 z9 z10 z11 ;
zc ,a za,c zs ,a za,s z8 z9 z10 z11 ;
za,a z9 z10 z11 .
In references [11] and [50], a novel and elegant matrix algorithm is presented so avoiding the
abovementioned cumbersome algebraic expressions.
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E dl B dS A dl
t t
(c ) (s) (c ) (e)
(i)
dz
d2 rp1
r1
d1
Ez(r1)
(C) Ez(rp1) 12
(a)
V11
z
E z( a ) (r1 ) E z(e) ( I1 , r p1 , ) j.. Az(i ) ( I1 , d1 ,0) Az(i ) ( I1 , r p1 , ) Z11.I1
V12
z
E z(e) ( I 2 , r p1 , ) j.. Az(i ) ( I 2 , d1 ,0) Az(i ) ( I 2 , r p1 , ) Z12 .I 2
The electric fields at the surface of the conductor and in the pipe are given by :
g.m I 0 m.r1 j..
E z r1 .
2. .r1 I1 m.r1
.I z1 .I E z I , ,
m
.I . B .I
0
n n m. C n .K n m. .Cosn.
The vector potential A created by the current flowing in a conductor inside the pipe (which reduces to
component Az - see the note at the end of appendix B.1) is split into 2 components : the first one is due
to the current in the conductor, the second one is due to the eddy currents in the pipe (generated by the
current in the conductor).
0 .I i d
A' I i , , .Ln d d i2 2 2.d i . .Cos i
2. Rc
, inside conductor i d ri
, inside conductor j d j j
n n
.I
A' ' I i , , 0 L0 0 i .
r '
m
. B
n .I n m.r p1
C '
n .Kn m.r p1
1 d1
.
2.n r p1
. .Cosn.
r p1
1
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Integration constants are determined using continuity relationships for the tangential magnetic field
and the normal magnetic induction, which are readily obtained from the vector potential.
Armoured core
3-core cables core core
Ic1 z1 z1
z1
z2 z2 z2
z3 z3 z3
screen z4 screen z4 screen z4
Is1
z5 z5 z5
z6 z6 z6
Pipe-type cables zpin
armour or pipe zpmut
Ia
Zos zpout
zg
earth
3
Ia I cj I sj
Vcj z c z cs z ap I cj x jk x jk z ap I ck
V sj z cs zs z ap . I sj x ik x jk z ap . I sk
z
V a z ap z ap z 33 I a
k j
z ap
z ap 0 I a
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The longitudinal electric field produced in the ground at location (x,y) may be evaluated.
Air
Ground surface
X axis y x Ground
Laying depth h
r
2
+ exp - (y + h) + m s
2
j..
E z x, y
2.
.I . K 0 ms R K 0 ms R'
-
s
2 + m s2
exp( j. .x) d
a
Assuming equal magnetic permeabilities for air and ground, the earth return impedance of a cable with
radius r4 buried at a laying depth h, is approximated by:
+ exp - 2.h. 2 + m 2
j.. s
zg .I . K 0 m s .r4 K 0 m s . r4 4.h
exp( j. .r4 ) d
2 2
2. 2 + m s2
-
m s2 j.g s .. s
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+ exp - 2.h 2 + m 2
s
j..
exp( j. .x ) d
ij
2
zg .I . K 0 m s .d ij K 0 m s . xij 4.hij
2
2. ij
- 2 + m s2
hi h j
hij
2
where:
hi and hj are the laying depths of cables i and j
xij is the horizontal spacing between cables i and j
dij is the distance between cables i and j
The integral term does not posses an analytic closed form solution..
Wedepohl gives an infinite series. Srivallipuranandan performed numerical integration (which is
difficult since the function under the integral is highly oscillatory) and found agreement within 0.1 %
as long as |m.r4| < 0.25
ms2
K 0 ms .r4
2 2.ms .h
zg .e
2. .g s 4 ms2 .r42
Ametani recognized that the integral term becomes identical with Carson ‘s earth return impedance for
overhead lines if the numerator ms² is negligible compared to ² . Accepting this approximation,
Carson’s infinite series may be used.
This gives accurate results for frequencies up to 10 kHz.
For power frequency concerns, the earth return impedance reduces to the impedance of an equivalent
conductor with a resistance p.u.l R’E located at a depth DE (often referred to as Carson-Clem ‘s depth,
as explained in § 4.2.3.3.
It has been demonstrated in the literature [51,52,53] that at power frequency, the Carson-Clem's
formulae are a very powerful and effective tool due to their elegant simplicity.
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From the fundamental paper of Fortescue [1] it is possible to write any asymmetric three voltage
phasors UR, US, UT as the sum of three sets of phasors: the positive sequence phasors (subscript 1), the
negative sequence phasors (subscript 2) and the zero sequence phasors (subscript 0) so that:
U R U R 0 U R1 U R 2 U R 0 U R1 U R 2
U S U S0 U S1 U S 2 U R 0 U R1 U R 2
2
(x)
U T U T 0 U T 1 U T 2 U R 0 U R1 U R 2
2
Where the operator =ej120° has been introduced. By mathematically arranging equations (x), it is
possible to form the following algebraic relations:
U R U S UT
U R U S UT 3U R0 U R0
3
U U S 2 UT
U R U S 2 UT 3U R1 U R1 R ;
3
U 2
U S UT
U R 2 U S UT 3U R 2 U R 2 R
3
UR US UT
U R 0 3
U R U S 2 UT
U R1 . (y)
3
U U S UT
2
U R 2 R
3
The relations in (x) and (y) have a more compact and elegant matrix formulation. Once the Fortescue
matrix F has been defined as:
1 1 1
1
F= 3 1 2
1 2
1 1 1
F-1= 1 2
1
2
.
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UR UR0
UT UR2
the relations (x) and (y) can be written in the following matrix form:
US= F Uph
Uph = F-1US (z)
By using the matrix relations (z) and by writing the same also for current vectors iph and iS:
iR iR0
iT iR2
If a passive symmetric tripole is considered the following diagonal matrix relations can be formed:
UR0 Z0 iR0
= iR1 (xx)
UR1 Z1
UR2 Z2 iR2
US ZS iS
By using eqs. (v) and (w) and by arranging eq. (xx), it is possible to compute the phase impedance
matrix from the sequence impedance matrix (as in eq. (yy)):
F Uph=ZS iS
Uph= F-1 ZS iS
Uph= F-1 ZS F iph = Zph iph
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From eq. (yy) the following matrix relation can be easily achieved:
As application example of eq. (zz) [11] it can be useful to the reader to infer the sequence impedance
matrix ZS of a symmetric tripole whose phase impedance matriz Zph has the following structure (self
impedances all equal to Za and mutual impedances all equal to Zm):
Za Zm Zm
Zph= Zm Za Zm
Zm Zm Za
1 1 1 Za Zm Zm 1 1 1 Za+2Zm 0 0
1
ZS= 3 1 2 Zm Za Zm 1 2 = 0 Za-Zm 0
2
1 Zm Zm Za 1 0 0 Za-Zm
2
F Zph F-1
U R 0 Z a 2 Z m I R 0
U R1 Z a Z m I R1 .
U Z Z I
R2 a m R2
They show very clearly that the three sequence networks are decoupled (the mutual impedances
between sequences do not exist) and can be correctly studied by means of three single-phase circuits.
Moreover the positive sequence is equal to negative one.
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The term “conductor” in this paragraph refers to the phase conductors as well as to metal screens or
earth continuity conductors
For power frequency applications, complex numbers are used to represent the magnitude and the phase
of the voltages, currents and impedances. The relation between voltages and currents in such a system
of parallel conductors is described by the following complex matrix equation:
V Z I
with (V) - Vector of voltages along conductors
(I) - Vector of currents through conductors
(Z) - Matrix of self and mutual impedances of conductors
The complex impedance matrix (Z) is built up using the following rules:
Z mn Z mn L Rmn
' '
j X mn
'
L
with :
Zmn - self or mutual impedance between conductors m and n
Z’mn - self or mutual impedance per unit length between conductors m and n
R’mn - self or mutual resistance per unit length between conductors m and n
X’mn - self or mutual reactance per unit length between conductors m and n
L - length of the section to be calculated
Calculation of Voltages and Currents Using Complex Impedance Matrix (CIM) Method
0 Z I V
The variables of this equation system are the vectors (V) and (I), the number of unknowns is twice the
number of conductors. In order to get a particular solution it is necessary to add equations describing
the boundary conditions for every conductor.
Im given= Im
0 = Im
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0 = Vm - Veprl - Veprr
Veprl and Veprr being the earth potential rise at the connection points of conductor m to grounding
resistances at the ends of the section, which may be expressed as the product of the grounding
resistance with the current flowing to the earth.
0 Z 11 Z 1m Z 1n 1 0 0 I1
0 Z Z mm Z mn 0 1 0 Im
m1
0 Z
n1 Z nm Z nn 0 0 1 I n
BC1 BCI11 BCI1m BCI1n BCV11 BCV1m BCV1n V 1
BC m BCI m1 BCI mm BCI mn BCVm1 BCVmm BCVmn V m
BC BCI 1 BCI nm BCVnm BCVnn V n
n n BCI nn BCVn1
The BC terms on the left side are set to the appropriate value depending on the type of boundary
condition (i.e. equal to injected current, if the boundary condition is in accordance with (a) or zero, if
the boundary condition is in accordance with (b) or (c)).
Several operational cases can be set up, adjusting the boundary conditions in the equation system
accordingly. The system is solved using commonly known algorithms (i.e. Gauss algorithm). The
solution vector then contains all relevant currents and voltages.
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The sequence impedances of a link involving several circuits may be determined with the Complex
Impedance Matrix calculation method presented in Appendix B.6
IR IS IT
VR1 VR2
VT2
IR1 IS1 IT1 IR2 IS2 IT2
IR IS IT
Circuit 1 Circuit 2
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The sharing of the phase current IR, IS and IT between the conductors of the 2 circuits and the voltage
drops in the various conductors are ruled by the following relationships :
I R1 I R 2 I R I S1 I S 2 I S I T1 I T 2 I T
where VRi and IRi are the voltage drop and current in the conductor connected to phase R in circuit i
The voltage drops are linked to the currents through a matrix of impedances Z’.
V R1 I R1
V I
S1 S1
VT 1 IT1
Z '.
V R 2 I R2
VS 2 I S 2
VT 2 I T 2
The impedances z’ij in the matrix Z’ are readily derived from the resistance and the radius of the
conductors and the distances between conductors.
For 2 circuits in flat formation, at the same laying depth, the unsymmetrical arrangement (see figure
B.7.2) R1 – S1 – T1 – T2 – S2 – R2 leads to:
r S 2.S D
D S D 2S
S r S
D S D D S
2.S S r
D 2.S D S D
Z '
D D S D 2.S r S 2.S
D S D D S S r S
D 2.S D S D 2.S S r
. DE
X RE' Rc j. .Ln
2. X
R’E is the equivalent resistance of the earth return path; DE is the equivalent depth of earth return path.
Rc is nil, except for the self impedance of the conductors (being, in this case, the conductor’s
resistance).
r is the geometric mean radius of the conductor; S is the cables spacing and D is the distance between
the axes of the middle cables in the 2 circuits.
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Circuit 1 Circuit 2
Unsymmetrical R1 S1 T1 R2 S2 T2
arrangement
Symmetrical R1 S1 T1 T2 S2 R2
arrangement
S S
Locations 1 2 3 4 5 6
The table B.7.1 shows the uneven sharing of the currents for the unsymmetrical arrangement (which
has to be taken into account in the cable thermal rating).
r S 2.S D 2 S D S D
S r S D S D D S
2.S S r D D S D 2.S
Z '
D 2.S D S D r S 2.S
D S D D S S r S
D D S D 2.S 2.S S r
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Comparing lines 1 and 4, it is clear that the voltage drop in phases R1 and R2 is the same if the
currents in phases R1 and R2, in phases S1 and S2, and in phases T1 and T2 are equal.
It is the same situation for voltage drops in phases S1 and S2 on one hand, and T1 and T2, on the
other.
Reciprocally, connecting in parallel conductors R1 and R2, S1 and S2, T1 and T2, i.e. imposing a
same voltage drop, leads to equal currents in these conductors.
Transposed cables
The impedance matrix refers to a major section (consisting in the 3 elementary sections between
transpositions).
A global matrix has to be deduced from the 3 matrices written for every elementary length.
V R V1 I R I1
V M .V I M . I
S 2 S 2
VT V3 I T I 3
Vi and Ii being the voltage drop and the current in the conductor in location i (see figure B.7.2) in
the considered elementary length.
V1 I1
V Z . I
2 2
V3 I 3
The impedances zij in the matrix Z are readily derived from the resistance and the radius of the
conductors and the distances between conductors.
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0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1
T 0 0 1 T ² T 1 1 0 0 Id T T ² 1 1 1
1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1
L1, L2, L3 being the lengths of the 3 elementary sections, the matrix Z’ corresponding to a major
section is given by:
Z ' L1.Z L2 .T .Z .T 1. L3 .T 1.Z .T
Taking metal screens into account
To take into account the currents flowing in the screens, the same approach may be used.
A matrix is introduced to relate the screens locations and the screens circuits.
This matrix is equal to the matrix linking conductors locations and phases if the screens are not cross-
bonded, whereas, for cross-bonding systems, these matrices are different, depending on the minor
section.
Examples
TRANSPOSITION
Id 0 0 0 T 0 0 0 T 2 0 0 0
0
0 0
P.T 2
M3
P 0 P.T 0 0 0
M1 M2 0 0
0 0 Id 0 0 0 T 0 0 0 T2 0
0 0 0 P 0 0 0 P.T 0 0 0 P.T 2
CROSS BONDING
Id 0 0 0 T 0 0 0 T 2 0 0 0
0
0 0 0 2
M3
P 0 P.T 0 0
M1 M2
0 P.T 0
0 0 Id 0 0 0 Id 0 0 0 Id 0
0 0 0 P 0 0 0 P 0 0 0 P
0 0 1
P 0 1 0 1st section : RST T SR - 2nd section : T RS RT S - 3rd section : ST R SRT
1 0 0
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Looking at the terms in the impedance matrix, clearly, if the cables’ spacing S is small compared to
the distance between circuits, the impedances expressing the coupling between a conductor in one
circuit and the conductors in the other circuit are nearly equal.
Consequently, in the positive and negative sequences, where the sum of the currents is nil, the
coupling between circuits vanishes as expected.
So that the sequence impedance is close to half the impedance of a single circuit.
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Zero sequence
If the cables’ spacing S is small compared to the distance between circuits, every conductor is
influenced nearly the same way by the conductors of the other circuit.
The zero-sequence impedance may be derived as half the impedance calculated for one circuit, with
corrected values of impedances Za, Zm, Ze which have to be increased by a term Zbc translating the
mutual influences between circuits. A simple (but good) estimate of Zbc is :
. DE
Z bc RE' j. .Ln
2. D
If the cables are transposed, in flat formation (at the same laying depth), Zbc may be rigidly determined
replacing D by:
Table B.7.4.and Figure B.7.3 make it possible to compare the impedance of a single and a double
circuit (the link’s characteristics are as for positive sequence studies).
If the return currents flow mainly through the screens (R=0 or Xh=R) the sequence impedance of a
double circuit is nearly half the impedance of a single circuit.
(*) The impedance of the double circuit link is half the cables’ impedance
For a siphon system involving an overhead line without skywire, the situation is very different: as the
currents return mainly through the earth, the magnitude of the currents in the metal screens are small,
and so is their screening effect.
As a consequence, even for large spacings of the circuits, there exists a significant coupling between
circuits.
And the sequence impedance of a double circuit is not close to half the impedance of a single circuit.
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mod Z
(Ohm/km)
2.5E-04
1 circuit
2.0E-04 2 circuits
1.5E-04
1.0E-04
5.0E-05
0.0E+00
0 1 2 3 4
R/L (Ohm/km)
Figure B.7.3 : Zero sequence impedance of single and double circuits – general case
1.6E-03
1.4E-03
1.2E-03
1.0E-03
1 circuit
8.0E-04 2 circuits - 1,2 m
2 circuits - 2,4 m
6.0E-04 2 circuits - 12 m
4.0E-04
2.0E-04
0.0E+00
0 1 2 3 4
R/L (Ohm/km)
Figure B.7.4 : Zero sequence impedance of single and double circuits – siphon system without skywire
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Measurement of positive phase and zero sequence impedance will necessitate three-phase and single-
phase current injection tests, preferably in the range 25-100 A, together with measurements of current,
voltage and power or alternatively current, voltage and phase angle.
All sheath bonding and earthing connections shall be as for normal circuit operation.
Where there is more than one cable per phase, the conductors and sheaths shall be connected as for
normal operation and the tests detailed below carried out on the total circuit.
Particular care shall be taken to ensure that contact resistances are small compared with the resistance
of the conductor. At the time of the tests, an estimate shall be made of cable temperature so that
allowance can be made for the temperature dependence of resistance.
For measurements of positive sequence impedance, it is preferable that the cable conductor should be
bonded together and earthed at the end remote from the test. A three-phase star connected supply with
the star point unearthed is required for this test. If the supply is not so isolated, the three cable
conductors at the remote end should be bonded together to form an unearthed star point.
For measurements of zero sequence impedance, it is necessary that the conductors are shorted together
at the test end. At the remote end, the conductors shall be bonded together and to the cable sheaths and
to cables.
A single-phase supply is applied between the shorted conductors and the earthed cable sheaths. One
phase of the transformer used for the measurement of positive sequence impedance may be used for
this purpose.
Three-phase currents should be injected, equalising the magnitudes of the currents so far as possible.
Measurements of current, voltage and either power or phase angle should be made on each of the
single core cables. From these arrangements, the following are calculated:
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And:
Z R X
Z1 = ohms/phase R1 = ohms/phase X1 = ohms/phase
3 3 3
Single-phase currents should be injected into the cables connected in parallel, with the test current
returning through the sheaths and earth.
Measurements of current, voltage and either power or phase angle shall be made, from which the
following are calculated, giving Zo, Ro, Xo in ohms/phase:
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SL TP TP SL
R4 L4
POSTE POSTE
R8 L8
A B
R12 L12
SAT TV
SAT
RE LE
POSTE = Substation
SL = Feeder Disconnector
SAT = Earthing Switch
TV = Temporary Earthing
R = Resistance
L = Inductance
C = Capacitance
E = Earth
I = Current
V= Voltage
Z = Impedance
f = frequency
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SL TP TP SL
R4 L4
POSTE POSTE
R8 L8
A B
R12 L12
SAT TV
SAT
1 Step 1 I4 RE LE
Source + Mesures
SL TP TP SL
R4 L4
POSTE POSTE
R8 L8
A B
R12 L12
SAT TV
SAT
I8 RE LE
2 Step
2
Source + Mesures
SL TP TP SL
R4 L4
POSTE POSTE
R8 L8
A B
I12
R12 L12
SAT TV
SAT
RE LE
3 Ste
p3
Source + Mesures
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SL TP I4 TP SL
R4 L4
I8
POSTE POSTE
R8 L8
A B
I12
R12 L12
SAT TV
Itot SAT
RE LE
Step 4
Source + Mesures
V 04 Z 1 Z d4
04 ZE ZE
I 4 I 8 I 12 3 1 1 1 3
Z d4 Z d8 Z d12
V 08 Z 1 Z d8 Z 04 Z 08 Z 012
08 ZE ZE Z0
I 4 I 8 I 12 3 1 1 1 3 3
Z d4 Z d8 Z d12
V 012 Z 1 Z d 12
012 ZE ZE
I 4 I 8 I 12 3 1 1 1 3
Z d4 Z d8 Z d 12
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SL TP I4 TP SL
R4 L4
POSTE POSTE
R8 L8
A B
R12 L12
SAT TV
SAT
Step 5
RE LE
Source + Mesures
SL TP TP SL
R4 L4
I8
POSTE POSTE
R8 L8
A B
R12 L12
SAT TV
SAT
Step 6 RE LE
Source + Mesures
SL TP TP SL
R4 L4
POSTE POSTE
R8 L8
A B
I12
R12 L12
Step 7
SAT TV
SAT
RE LE
Source + Mesures
V4 V8 V 12
Verification of the measurements
Z m4 Z d 4 Z E Z m8 Z d8 Z E Z m12 Z d12 Z E
I4 I8 I 12
It is interesting to check whether the measurements are correct.
Z Z m8 Z m12
As the measurements are redundant, it is possible to calculate theZsingle-phase
m4 impedance.
m
3
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Comparing these values to measured values, it is possible to make a calculation error to check the
accuracy of measurements.
Z 04 Z d 4 Z 04 2 Z d 4
Z m 4 calculé Z d 4 Z E Z d 4
3 3
Z Z d 8 Z 08 2 Z d 8
Z m8 calculé Z d 8 Z E Z d 8 08
3 3
Z Z d12 Z 012 2 Z d12
Z m12 calculé Z d12 Z E Z d12 012
3 3
SL TP TP SL
R4 L4
POSTE POSTE
R8 L8
A B
R12 L12
SAT SAT
RE LE
I C4
C4
2 * * f *V C 4
I C8
C8 C4 C8 C12
2 * * f *V C 8 C
3
I C12
C12
2 * * f *V C12
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If there is a circuit in operation in the vicinity of the circuit under study, the induction from the circuit
in operation may disturb the impedance measurements to be carried out.
Induced voltage
IL
Citcuit x in operation
POSTE POSTE
A B
Induced current
IL
Circuit x in operation
POSTE POSTE
A B
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Iinjection + Iinduit
SL TP TP SL
R4 L4
POSTE POSTE
R8 L8
A B
R12 L12
SAT TV
SAT
RE LE
Source + Mesures
Iinjection - Iinduit
SL TP TP SL
R4 L4
POSTE POSTE
R8 L8
A B
R12 L12
SAT TV
SAT
RE LE
Source + Mesures
Two estimates of the impedance are readily derived from the applied voltage and the measured
currents.
A third estimate is obtained from the applied voltage, considering a current equal to half the sum of
the measured currents.
The chosen value of the impedance is the estimate which is the closest to the value of the impedance
resulting from the measurements of the induced voltage and current.
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The procedures and techniques used for measuring impedance in Spain are applied during the final
tests, after installation and before starting. They involve the measurement of the conductors and
screens DC electrical resistance and measurement of the AC Impedance.
This test is only possible in the case both ends of the cable are outdoor sealing ends (no GIS).
Two of the phases are connected together (for example “0”+”4”), and in the other end, between the
same phases, at least 10 Amperes are applied . With an appropriate equipment that can measure mΏ, it
can be obtained the measure “A”.
The measure will have to be repeated twice, connecting “4” +”8” and “8” +”0”.(Measures “B” and
“C”, respectively)
The final measurement/result of the core’s resistance can be obtained by the following calculation:
1. The temperature is not uniform along the cable (depending on the soil, trench or gallery, etc). So,
the ambient temperature is assumed (if there is no temperature sensing system for the cable).
2. The connection between cables has to be made using a cable with a section as big as possible. We
have to measure the electrical resistance of this link, and to rest this measure to the calculated result.
3. The difference between the measured value and the information provided by the manufacturer of
the cable has to be less than 10%.
It is the same case than in the previous one, but connecting the screen of the phases, instead of the
conductor of the cable.
All the measurements have to be taken using an alternating current source with different frequencies
next to 50 Hz ( 30-70 Hz, etc) to, finally, extrapolate the result to 50 Hz.
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PHASE L1
PHASE L2
PHASE L3
1. L1-L2 (ZL1+ZL2)
2. L2-L3 (ZL2+ZL3)
GROUND
3. L1-L3 (ZL1+ZL3)
PHASE L1
PHASE L2
PHASE L3
GROUND
4. L1-T (ZL1+ZT)
5. L2-T (ZL2+ZT)
6. L3-T (ZL3+ZT)
PHASE L1
PHASE L2
PHASE L3
GROUND
7. L1+L2+L3-T (ZL1//ZL2//ZL3+ZT)
Z 0 3.MeanL1 L2 L3 T
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1. Introduction
The configuration of the connections of the cable screens may have a significant impact on the zero
sequence impedance of the link. As an illustration, the impedance for single-phase faults is calculated.
Both internal and external faults are considered. EMTP is used for the calculations. Four case studies
are presented.
ecc
0,1 0,1
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The cable link has one major section that is 1200 m long. Two configurations are considered: screens
are either cross bonded or single point earthed with an ecc (earth continuity conductor). The three
phases are located in a duct bank in a vertical position. The ecc is placed on top of the duct bank; it is
not used with the cross bonded configuration.
The impedance for internal faults is calculated both for single point earthed and cross bonded
configurations.
In case of an internal fault on a cable with a single point earthed screen, the return current path
depends on the location of the source relative to the earthed point. If the source and the earthed end
are on the same side, the current returns through the screen of the faulted cable (see Figure 2).
If the source and the earth point are located on opposite ends of the cable, the current circulates in the
sheath between the fault and the earth point and then returns through the ecc in parallel with the earth.
Ifault
Isheath = Ifault
ecc
Ifault
Isheath = Ifault
Iecc
ecc
Graphs in Figure 3 present the calculated impedances. If the source is located on the floating end of
the screen, the impedance is almost independent of the fault location and is equal to the impedance for
an external fault. If the source is located on the earthed end of the screen, the impedance increases
linearly with distance and, for a fault at the end of the cable, it is four times lower than the one for an
external fault
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Phase R
0,6
Source on the floating end of the screen
0,5
Impedance (ohm)
0,4
0,3
0,2
Source on the earthed end of the screen
0,1
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Distance between the source and the fault (m)
Phase S
0,6
0,5
Impedance (ohm)
0,4
Source on the floating end of the screen
0,3
0,2
Source on the earthed end of the screen
0,1
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Distance between the source and the fault (m)
Phase T
0,6
0,5
Impedance (ohm)
0,4
0,3 Source on the floating end of the screen
0,2
Source on the earthed end of the screen
0,1
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Distance between the source and the fault (m)
Figure 3 Impedance for an internal fault on a cable with a single-point earthed screen
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In case of an internal fault on a cable with cross bonded screens, the return current path depends on the
location of the fault along the cable. Figure 4 gives an example. The fault occurs at the end of the
first minor section on either side of the joint. The current distribution is approximate and refers to the
cable parameters of this example.
If the fault is located before the joint, almost all the current returns through the screen of the faulted
cable. If the fault is located after the joint, two-thirds of the fault current returns directly to the source
and one-third reaches the end of the major section and the returns to the source via the screen of the
faulted cable (first minor section). This behaviour is related to the strong magnetic coupling between
the phase and screen conductors of the faulted cable.
Ifault
Ifault
Ifault
Ifault /3 Ifault /3
Ifault /3 Ifault /3
2Ifault /3 Ifault /3
Figure 4 Approximate return path for an internal fault on the cross bonded system considered
Graphs in Figure 5 present the calculated impedances. As expected, the impedance increases
significantly at joint locations. If the impedance at a given location on the major section is estimated
to increase linearly, a significant error may occur.
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0,20
Phases R and T
0,18
0,16
0,14
Impedance (ohm) 0,12
0,10
0,08
0,06
Estimated from the external
0,04 fault impedance
0,02
0,00
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Distance between the source and the fault (m)
0,20
Central phase (S)
0,18
0,16
Impedance (ohm)
0,14
0,12
0,10
0,08
0,06
0,04
Estimated from the external
0,02 fault impedance
0,00
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Distance between the source and the fault (m)
Figure 5 Impedance for an internal fault on a cable with cross bonded screens
It was shown in the previous section that the impedance (per unit length) for internal and external
faults can be quite different. In practice, this difference may have a small impact on the overall
impedance of links that include several major sections.
Figure 6 gives an example. A fault occurs on the fourth major section of a link. For the first three
sections, the fault is seen as an external fault. Therefore, the error that can be introduced by
calculating the impedance of the fourth section using the impedance for an external fault is mitigated
by the fact that this section represents only one-fourth of the total length of the link.
Figure 6 Impedance for an internal fault on a link comprising several major sections
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The Table 1 presents the calculated impedances for single-phase external faults. The impedance for
the single point earthed configuration is more than double the one for the cross bonded configuration
mainly because the impedance of the ecc is higher than that of the three screens in parallel.
For the single point earthed configuration, the impedance increases with the distance between the
faulted phase and the ecc. For the cross bonded configuration, the impedance is slightly lower for the
central phase; the impedance would be the same if the phases were transposed or if a trefoil
configuration was used.
Note : Values obtained using the -model; slightly different values are obtained when using the FD model.
For this type of fault, the impedance is given by: Zfault = (2.Zp+Z0)/3
Applying formulae given in this Brochure for the sequence impedances (using GMD, which is an
approximation since the arrangement is not fully symmetrical), the impedances are found to be
0,43 and 0respectively for the single-point bonding and the cross-bonding case.
For external faults on single point earthed screens, the impedance is the same whether the source is
located on the earthed or the floating side of the link (see Figure 7). In both cases the fault current
returns through the ecc in parallel with the earth.
Ifault
Iecc
Ifault
Iecc
Figure 7 Path of the return current for external faults on single point earthed screens
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In urban areas, metallic structures such as water pipes may run in parallel with the cable on the same
street. If they are connected to the cable earthing system, they contribute to reduce the zero sequence
impedance of the cable. The impedance of the single-point connection configuration is more sensitive
to the contribution of external parallel metallic structures because the impedance of the ecc is typically
higher than that of the screens. The single-point connection configuration is therefore used as an
example (see Figure 8).
50 Hz ecc
optional water pipe
Re Re
A water pipe is located 2 m from the cables (see Figure 9). The impact of the pipe on the impedance
for a single phase fault is evaluated. Cable parameters are identical to those given in the previous
sections (see Figure 1). The earth resistance (Re) at both ends of the line varies.
20 cm
ecc
23 cm 20 cm
R
1m
S water pipe :
Resistance : 0,017 /km)
23 cm
T R 15 cm
2m
Figure 10 presents the results. As seen in Table 1, the impedance increases with the distance between
the faulted phase and the ecc. The contribution of the pipe to the reduction of the impedance increases
with the earth resistances. For Re = 0 , the impedance calculated without taking the pipe into account
is 15 to 20 % above the actual value. For earth resistances exceeding 2 , the error can exceed 40 %.
The reduction of the impedance increases for smaller distances between the pipe and the duct bank.
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1,50
1,45
1,40
Z (without pipe)
Z (with pipe)
1,35
1,30
1,25
1,20 lower phase
middle phase
1,15
upper phase
1,10
0 1 2 3 4 5
Re ()
Earth resistance at both ends ()
Figure 10 Impact of the pipe on the cable impedance (Z) for a single-phase fault as a function of
the earth resistance at both ends
Cables have typically a much lower zero sequence impedance than overhead lines due to the proximity
and the low resistance of the metallic return. If a line includes both an underground and an overhead
section, a significant fraction of the fault current circulates in the earth electrode at the transition point.
Figure 11 gives an example of the current return for a mixed circuit. A single phase fault occurs on
the overhead section. The earth resistances along the line are assumed to be zero. Due to the magnetic
coupling between the faulted phase and the skywire, a fraction of the fault current ( OH) returns
through the skywire. Similarly, a fraction of the fault current (UG) returns through the screens (or
ecc) of the underground section of the line. The difference (UG -OH) circulates in the earth
connection at the transition point.
UG cable OH line
If
If
OHIf
The earth resistances along the line contribute to modify the current distribution between the metallic
return and earth. The calculation of the zero sequence impedance of lines usually assumes the earth
resistances to be zero. The mixed circuit presented in Figure 12 is used to illustrate the impact of earth
resistances on the impedance of the line during a single phase fault. The cable parameters are identical
to those given in Figure 1.
Table 1 presents the impedances of the underground and overhead sections of the line for zero ohm
earth impedances. The impedance of the cable is four times lower than that of the overhead line.
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OH line
(4 km)
UG line
(1,2 km)
Re Re Re Re Re Re Zeq
0.1
250 m
skywire
circuit 1 circuit 2
6m
20 cm
Ifault 400 m 400 m 400 m phase R
5,5 m
phase S
4,3 m Faulted phase
5,5 m
Re
phase T
4,1 m
Phase conductors :
diam. : 2.4 cm
15 m
R =0.1 /km
Re : earth resistance at the foot of towers Skywire (steel) :
Zeq : equivalent earth impedance of the diam. : 1 cm
line on the load side R = 3 /km
Zs
Z eq Re Z s Note : only circuit 1
2 is modelled
where Zs is the skywire impedance over one span
Figure 12 Parameters of the mixed circuit (UG/OH line)
Figure 13 shows the total line impedance as a function of the distance between the substation and the
fault. As expected, the actual impedance for Re = 10 is higher than the one calculated assuming a
perfect earth connection (Re = 0 ). The difference that is negligible for a fault located at the UG/OH
transition increases to 1 approximately at 3 km from the substation. From that point, the difference
stops to increase because the global earth impedance seen at the fault location is small compared to the
impedance of the line. For higher values of earth resistances, both the line impedance difference and
the distance at which the maximum difference is reached would increase. Reducing the resistance of
the skywire would reduce the difference.
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Line impedance calculations for load flow or relay protection typically assume a perfect earth
connection (Re = 0 ). In the example of Figure 13, an impedance relay measuring an impedance of
2.5 would locate the fault close to 5 km while it is actually located at 3 km from the substation. On
long lines, a 2 km difference would not have any practical impact.
4
3,5 Re = 0 ohm
3 Re = 10 ohms
2,5
Z (/km)
2
1,5
1
0,5
0
1 2 3 4 5
Distance between the fault and the substation (km)
Figure 13 Total line impedance for a single phase fault as a function of the distance between the
substation and the fault
Figure 14 presents the results of Figure 13 in a different format. It shows the ratio of the actual line
impedance (Re = 10 ) over the impedance calculated assuming a perfect earth connection (Re = 0 ).
The maximum value of the relative error (more than 200 %) is reached at around 2 km. The relative
error becomes negligible at large distances from the substation.
2,50
2,00
Z (Re = 10 )
Z (Re = 0 )
1,50
1,00
1 2 3 4 5
Distance between the fault and the substation (km)
Figure 14 Ratio of the actual line impedance (for Re = 10 ) over the impedance calculated
assuming a perfect earth connection (Re = 0 )
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50 % higher than half that of one circuit. This result is due to the fact that both circuits share the same
ecc.
Table 3 Impedances for a single-phase external fault (phase T) in case of one or two cables with
identical screen configurations in the duct bank
Screen configuration
Number of circuits in the duct bank
Cross bonded Single-point earthed
1 circuit only in the duct bank 0.17 0.48
2 circuits in parallel in the duct bank 0.085 0.37
Table 4 presents the case where the two circuits have different screen configurations. The two circuits
are present in the duct bank. The fault is applied on one circuit only or on the two circuits in parallel.
Table 4 Impedances for a single-phase external fault (phase T) in case of two cables with
different screen configurations in the duct bank
The impedance of the cross bonded circuit is not reduced by the presence of the ecc of the other
circuit. The resistance of the three screens in parallel of the cross bonded circuit is very low and the
ecc of the other circuit has a negligible contribution to the reduction of the impedance.
The impedance of the single-point earthed circuit is reduced by 30 % (0.30 from 0.48 ) if a cross-
bonded circuit is located in the duct bank. The three screens of the cross-bonded circuit in parallel
with the ecc contribute to reduce significantly the impedance of the metallic return of the single-point
earthed circuit.
The impedance of both circuits in parallel is 0.12 . It results from the impedances calculated for the
two circuits when they are alone in the duct bank (0.17 and 0.48 ) and not for the condition where
both are present (0.17 and 0.30 ).
In conclusion, when two or more underground links are located in close proximity, the calculation of
the zero sequence impedance of one circuit or of circuits in parallel should take into account the
presence of all circuits. The impedance of circuits with low resistance cross-bonded screens is less
sensitive to the presence of the other circuits.
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This appendix presents a comparison between EMTP-RV simulations and on-field measurements
performed on a 150 kV line in Belgium.
The HV link consists of two parallel underground circuits 150 kV (see Figure D.2.1 Electrical Layout)
There are three single-core 2000 mm² Al -150kV cables in touching trefoil per circuit. The screens of
the cables are solidly bonded with cross-bonding
Two Earth Conductive Conductor (ECC) are installed per circuit. The two ECC’s are earthed at the
ends and are connected to the screens of the 150kV cables at each major section (joint J3 and J6).
The 150kV cables are placed in a special thermal backfill (dolomite). The depth of the axis of the
trefoil is 1,2 m
Above the PE protection plates an optical fibre cable is installed in a duct. In the upper part of the
trench are the plastic warning tapes and lattice. The two ECC’s are on opposite sides of the trefoil.
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Cable Model
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EMTP-RV Simulation
EMTP-Model
FDQ1
+ FDQ
core
screen
core
screen
core
screen
ground continuity conductor
ground continuity conductor
core
screen
core
screen
core
screen
ground continuity conductor
ground continuity conductor
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CABLE DATA CABLE DATA CABLE DATA CABLE DATA CABLE DATA CABLE DATA CABLE DATA CABLE DATA CABLE DATA
model in: carsid_rv.pun model in: carsid_j1_rv.pun model in: j1_j2_rv.pun
CABLE DATA CABLE DATA
model in: j2_j3_rv.pun model in: j3_j4_rv.pun model in: j4_j5_rv.pun model in: j5_j6_rv.pun model in: j6_j7_rv.pun model in: j7_j8_rv.pun
model in: j8_monceau_rv.pun model in: monceau_rv.pun
AC1
+
86602 /_0
AC2
+
86602 /_120
AC3
+
86602 /_240
+
+
0.4 R1 0.4 R2
In the above diagram, each box contains the data of the cable for each minor section
Source_12 FDQ10 FDQ1 FDQ2 FDQ3 FDQ9 FDQ4 FDQ5 FDQ6 FDQ7 FDQ8 FDQ11
Source_8 + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ
Source_4
AC1
+
86602 /_0
AC2
+
86602 /_120
AC3
+
86602 /_240
+
+
0.4 R1 0.4 R2
Rdirect Xdirect
Bdirect/2 Bdirect/2
Knowing the applied voltage and the calculated current and his angle, it is possible to calculate the
impedance. The values are given for each phase as well as the mean value at 20°C.
Impedances 12 4 8 average
R (20 °C) Ohm/km 0,012 0,009 0,010 0,010
X Ohm/km 0,051 0,050 0,053 0,051
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To permit the zero sequence current to flow, a return path for the current must exist.
Source_0 FDQ10 FDQ1 FDQ2 FDQ3 FDQ9 FDQ4 FDQ5 FDQ6 FDQ7 FDQ8 FDQ11
+ FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ
AC1
+
86602 /_0
+
+
0.4 R1 0.4 R2
Source_0 FDQ10 FDQ1 FDQ2 FDQ3 FDQ9 FDQ4 FDQ5 FDQ6 FDQ7 FDQ8 FDQ11
+ FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ + FDQ
AC1
+
86602 /_0
+
+
0.4 R1 0.4 R2
Impedances 12 4 8 average
R (20 °C) Ohm/km 0,049 0,049 0,039 0,046
X Ohm/km 0,037 0,037 0,036 0,036
The measurements were executed according to Appendix 5 : Impedance measurement – Elia example
Table D.2.3 : Calculated and Measured Direct and Zero Sequence Impedances (Mean Values)
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Source_12
Source_8
Source_4
+
icc
FDQ +
FDQ12
FDQ
FDQ10
86602 /_0
AC4
+
86602 /_120
AC6
+
86602 /_240
+
+
0.4 R1 0.4 R4
Rsubs1 Rsubs2
Table D.2.6 : Synthesis of Calculated Direct and Zero Sequence Impedances (Mean Values)
The influence of the resistance is very low even no effect on the cable impedance for this case study.
All the return current comes back through the screen wires due to the size of the section of the screen.
The actual dimension of the screen is 291 mm² Aluminium. If the dimension of the screen will
decrease, more current will return through the earth and the influence of earth resistance at the
substation will be higher.
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The offshore Horns Rev 2 wind farm in Western Denmark is connected to the Danish transmission
system via a long 150 kV cable line. The cable line is a combination of an approximately 58 km long
underground cable and a 42 km long submarine cable, connected with one junction and with a
compensating shunt reactor between them, creating a 100 km long HV AC cable line that is operated
as a single element. Before the commissioning of the cable line in 2009, it was possible to perform
field test measurements separately on the underground part and submarine part of the cable line. For
illustrative purposes and comparison to sequence impedance calculations, this section describes the
results from field measurements of sequence impedances of the underground cable part.
Figure D.3.1 Geographical placement of the Horns Rev 2 150 kV cable system
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The cable line consists of three cables, one for each phase, with 150 kV single core 1200 mm2 XLPE
cables. The cables are laid in a tight trefoil with the bottom cables at 1.3 m depth. The cable line is
cross6bonded with 11 major sections and is of total length 57.7 km.
Figure D.3.2 Cross sectional layout Figure D.3.3 Cross section of the 150 kV
for the 150 kV cable system underground cable opf the HR2 cable system
in
Western Denmark
A cross sectional picture of the cable is shown in Figure D.3.3. From this picture, spacing between
strands of the metal screen should be noticed. The necessary data of the cable is given in table D.3.1.
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Sequence measurements
The sequence measurements are performed using the Omicron unit CPC 100. The positive sequence
impedance Z1 and zero sequence impedance are measured and calculated after the principles shown in
D.3.4.
The Omicron PCP 100 is a device which has been developed for measuring the positive and zero
sequence impedance of a transmission line. The unit works with the CP CU1 which is a
Multifunctional coupling unit for the CPC 100. Together they measure the line impedance at different
frequencies and then by data treatment the power frequency component is calculated.
The impedances are determined based on a seven step measurement run where the following are
measured (where mi denotes measurement number i):
For measuring the zero sequence impedance using measurement 7, the three conductors are short
circuited and the voltage source is applied between the short circuited cores and the screens connected
to ground.
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The most correct measurements method for the zero-sequence impedance is the first mentioned. The
last mentioned can be used if the Omicron is overloaded during the measurement.
The calculations, compared to measurement results, are performed according to Table 7 in chapter 4 of
the main report of this TB.
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The Danish 132 kV Rødsand 2 cable rated 230 MVA (connecting the 207 MW Rødsand 2 wind farm
to the grid in Radsted) with a length of approximately 35 km and the 132 kV connection Vestlolland-
Stigsnæs cable system rated 270 MW with a length of approximately 48 km to enforce the
transmission north and transfer the wind power to the load areas from the islands Lolland and Falster
with a large amount of wind generation.
Figure D.3.5: Overview of she South eastern part of Denmark, with main 132 kV transmission grid
Figure D.3.5. shows the two cable connections which both have been commissioned 2010.
As a routine, the cables are measured for adjusting the protection settings, by measuring the
synchronous and asynchronous impedance.
These measurements have been compared with calculated values.
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The Rødsand 2 cables system consist of 27.6 km land cable with 3 single core 1600 mm2 XLPE-AL-
CU cables laid in close-trefoil formation, like it is custom to do with all cable systems up to 132 kV in
eastern Denmark and a 7.9 km 3x800 mm2 XLPE CU sea cable. The screen for the land cables are
cross bonded and single point bonded (see Figure D.3.6.) The distance between the cross bounding is
4.35 km.
Rail
Rail
Figure D.3.6: Cable route, Sea cable, Laying and cross bounding configuration
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The Rødsand 2 cable also named as N120 is running in Parallel with another 132 kV cable J120
Rødby with index “rby” some 17.6 km (see Figure D.3.6) and in parallel with a third cable K120 some
1,1 km (not shown) which connects the 165 MW Nysted off shore wind farm to the grid.
Due to proximity with the rail over a distance of 10,6 km the cable structure at this part have been
extended with two ecc Sl1 and Sl2 placed in parallel with the cable system to limit the induced voltage
in the rail systems.
To verify and to settle the protection parameters, the positive sequence and zero sequence impedances
are measured, with an Omicron measuring system and calculated after the principles shown in Figure
D.3.4 above.
The results are presented in the Table D.3.3, where the manufacturers calculations/information is
compared with measured values. The measurement of the impedance has some 10% deviation on the
synchronous impedance and up to 23 % deviation on the zero sequence.
The larger deviation in the zero sequence is likely to the influence and cable systems contributing to
increase the return path as illustrated in the following.
A 1 kA current is injected in one phase and the currents induced in the screens, and ecc are
summarised in the table below. Table D.3.4.shows the current distribution for three different cable
configurations along the route for the land cables. The Case 1 for the land cables describes the current
distribution similar to the case the manufacture uses and which is valid for approximately 12 km of the
route, the case 2 valid for approximately 7 km of the route describes how the current is distributed if
the configuration were with a parallel system (“rby circuit” 6m apart), the case 3 describes the current
distribution for approximately 10 km of the route.
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Table D.3.4: Calculated currents when injecting a one phase fundamental current of 1 kA
A fault current of 11.5 kA with the earth return path results introduces an induced voltage in the signal
cables of the nearby rail, see Figure D.3.6, in the size of approximately 650 V
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The Vest Lolland Stignæs cable system is two parallel cable systems with
19.4 km land cable with 3 single core 887 mm2 XLPE-AL-CU cables at close-
trefoil formation and 28.1 km 3x800 mm2 XLPE AL sea cable. The distance
between the two systems is 700 mm and the distance between the bounding is
1.6 km and 3.2 km
Figure D.3.8 : Cable route, Sea cable, Laying and cross bonding configuration
The results are presented in Table D.3.5 where the manufacturer’s calculations/information is
compared with measured values. The measurement of the impedance has some 5% deviation on the
synchronous impedance and zero sequence. The reason for the very good agreement with the
measured and calculated values is due to the cable is the only installation in the vicinity.
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ISBN : 978-2-85873-225-3
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