EHWUHV AC Transmission Capability

Analvsis J

Zheng Xu, Member, IEEE, Zhi Gao, Changchun Zhou

indiscriminately. Based on the analysis of several main factors

Abstract- Several main factors influencing the transmission
capability of EHV/UHV AC lines have been discussed, including
the synchronous stability, voltage and reactive power control,
series compensation and shunt compensation. The short circuit
ratio for AC transmission system is proposed in this paper, which
accurately describes the influence of the two end systems upon the
transmission capability. From the above analysis, a set of curves
reflecting the relationship between the transmission capability
and the transmission distance has been developed, which can be
used in electric power system planning and design.
influencing the transmission capabilities and distance of
EHV/UHV AC lines, this paper formulates a set of curves
specifically for the design of EHVIUHV AC lines in China.
These curves reflect the relationship between the transmission
capability and transmission distance of typical medium or long
distance AC lines.
II. MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

Index Terms--AC transmission, transmission capability, short The mathematical model of AC transmission system is
circuit ratio illustrated in Fig. 1. Positive-sequence network is used as the
model for the sending end and receiving end. Positive-
1. INTRODUCTION sequence model is also used for the transmission line. Since
the unit length ratio of the resistance to the reactance of the
With the development of the Three Gorges Project and the
EHV/UHV AC lines are relatively small under power
exploitation of the hydroelectricity in the southwestern part of
frequency (less than 0.1) ignoring the resistance would not
China and the fossil-based electricity in the northwestern part
incur significant error in the analysis of the transmission
of China, large capacity (5 - 10 GW and above) and long
capability of the lines.
distance (700 - 1000 km and above) power transmission seem
Assume there is no loss on the transmission line, the
to be imperative. Since the EHV/UHV AC transmission is one
following equations hold true:
of the primary solutions, the analysis of such issue is of
practical significance now.
Much has been done on the AC transmission capability and CT= I’, cos @+ ji,Z, sin pl , (1)
a wealth of knowledge has been accumulated. St. Clair i,v = jr’, --&sin fil+ ir cos fil , (2)
published a set of empirical curves in 1953 based on the work 0
previously done by Clark and Crary [I]. These curves, which where 2, is the surge impedance, /? is the wave number:
are commonly called St. Clair Curves, depict the relationship
between the transmission capability (the ratio of rated 20 = &o/co 3 (3)
transmission power to the natural load for a specific ~=0+0.06%n. (4)
transmission line) and the transmission distance. Edison In (3) and (4) Lo and C,, represents unit length inductance
Electric Institute (EEI) and Electric Power Research Institute and unit length capacitance respectively, 6.) is angular
(EPRI) both referred to these curves later in their transmission
frequency , c is the velocity of light. Because of the
reference handbooks [3,4], however, transmission distance had
following equation
already increased from the original 400 miles to 600 miles at
that time. Although St. Clair Curves had very broad i. = 4. -, .iQ,. , (5)
Y.
applications, they were derived from the empirical models and
solely for 60 Hz power systems. In China, the power frequency substitute i, in (1) with (5) the result is
is 50 Hz rather 60 Hz, and the operating characteristics are P -.iQ
ri, = r’, cos j?l + jZ, sin /?l I_ (6)
quite different, so it would be undesirable to use those curves K .
Let li, be the reference axis, and let 6 be the transmission
Project No. GlWX0203 11 supported by National Key Basic Research
Special Fund of China angle between li and p? , then TV can be expressed as
Project 59707005 supported by National Natural Science Foundation of
China.
Zheng Xu, Zhi Gao, Changchun Zhou are with the Department of
Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 3 10027 P. R. China
(e-mail: hvdc@cee.zju.edu.cn).

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 I- z -1
,@-equivalent potential of sending end; ,+-equivalent potential of receiving end;

X,--equivalent reactance of sending end; X,-equivalent rcactancc of rccciving end;

q-voltage on the bus of sending end; +oltagc on the bus of rccciving end;

i%-line current kom sending end; i7-linc currcnl lo rccciving end;

<+jQ$-power from sending end; e+jQ,-power to receiving end;

F+oltage on the midpoint of line; l--length of line;

Fig. 1. Mathematical model of AC transmission systems

li, = v,ej” = v, cos6 + jvp sin6. (7) In the above equations, u, and u, are the voltages of the
The real part of (6) equals the corresponding real part of sending end and receiving end in per-unit respectively.
(7) and so does the imaginary part. Assume the short circuit capacity of the sending end and the
receiving end are S,, and S,V,respectively, and define the
Vs cos6=V I cosj3li-Z Gsinj31
“v, .
(8) short circuit ratio of these two ends to be

y,sin6 =.&$sinj?l. (9)

r
Combine (8) and (9) together and solve for P, and Qr, (20)

Then in the form of per-unit system, X,Y, which is the

p = VY, sin6
r (10) equivalent inductance of the sending end, and X,. , which is
Z, sin j?l ’
the equivalent inductance of the receiving end, are
Q,. = -5cot j?l+ ‘,‘,fp;; . (11) 1
0 0 x, = - 3 (21)
scrr
And it can be inferred from the above analysis that:
1
x,=-. (24
scl-r
So, the short circuit ratio SC?,and scr, actually are indices
(13) showing the system strength of the sending end and the
receiving end. Obviously, the larger the SCTis, the stronger
If the rated voltage and the natural load of the line are set to the system is. In Fig. 1, assume the phase angle of the voltage
be the base value of the voltage and the base value of the at point r is zero, then the equivalent potential in per-unit and
power respectively, the phase angle of the sending end can be written as
following

(23)

Then the equations of the power transferred in per-unit form 6,Y= 6 + arctan P, . (24)
is u.hi
sin 6 In per-unit system, the equivalent potential and the phase
p = p, = p, = $ = 22 = u,vu,7 (16)
0 PO sin j31 ’ angle of the receiving end are
coF.6
q,y= uQ, = uf cotp1 - u,p, 7 (17) (25)
0
sin fil ’
cos 6
q, = 5 = -u,’ cot p1+ u,p, 7 (18) 6, = -arctan& . (26)
0
sin fil ’ u,2scP-r
Hence the phase angle difference between E, and i,. is
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III. MAINFACTORSINFLUENCINGTRANSMISSIONCAPABILITY
Two conditions should be satisfied to maintain the normal
operation of an EHV/UHV transmission system: (1) Main
synchronous generators within the system are in steady
synchronous operation; (2) The voltages at various points
along the transmission line are maintained at their respective
rated values. The second condition concerns primarily with
the reactive power control. Hence, stability and reactive
power control constitute main factors influencing EHVIUHV
transmission capability. Heat restraint and loss on resistance,
which are consequential factors in medium and low voltage
transmission systems (110 kV and below), are not of
significant importance in EHV/UHV transmission systems. In
EHV/UHV transmission systems, corona, electromagnetic
and environmental effects become the dominant factors in
their design. If a transmission line is built with these factors
in mind, its heat capacity will far exceed the heat capacity
solely decided by its normal power transmission capacity.
Looking from another perspective, heat restraint and loss on
resistance are issues on the selection of conductors for
transmission lines. They are not in the sphere of power
transmission operation.
A. Stability ofpower transmission systems
For the AC transmission system shown in Fig. 1, the power
transferred p in per-unit can be expressed as
e,e, sin 6,v,. (28)
P”
($ + $1~0~ Pl + Cl- * sin Pl
s I
If e,Y and el remain constant, and the length of the line is
known, then p will increase as the 6,Y, increases. While
6,v, = 90’) p reaches its upper limit. At this time, the steady
state stability also reaches its upper limit. Normally, because
of the consideration for the transient stability, p is set at a
value much lower than the upper limit determined by steady
state stability.
The stability restraint of a transmission system is usually
shown by steady state stability margin. It is defined as
K, = Lx - Pro&dx100% ) (29)
Prated
where Pm,, is the maximum power that can be transferred by
the system, and Protedis the rated transmission power.
According to Equation (28) steady state stability margin
is determined by 6sr,roted, which is the difference of the phase
angle between E, (sending end) and ,&, (receiving end). So
Kn=1- ._
sin%,rated
x 100% (30)
The guidelines for power system security and stability in
China stipulate that K, > 15% - 20% . Considering the
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important role EHV/UHV AC transmission lines play in the
whole power system, it is reasonable to assign a large value
toK,,.
B. Voltage and Reactive Power Control in Tmnsmission
Systems
The configuration of various sorts of reactive power
control devices is the main issue of reactive power control in
transmission systems. For short distance transmission (200
km and below), the primary factor limiting the transmission
capability is the lack of sufficient reactive power. In such
cases, the transferable power, which is determined by steady
state stability margin, can be as great as 3 to 4 times the
natural load of the line, and the reactive power consumed by
the line inductance can be as great as 10 times the reactive
power generated by the line capacitance. In order to maintain
the voltage levels of both ends, sufficient reactive power
should be generated. If the systems at both ends cannot
provide enough reactive power, then the only way to deal
with this problem is to reduce the transmission power until
reactive power balance is reached. In this situation, the
reactive power generated by both ends should satisfy its
consumption along the line.
For medium and long distance power transmission systems,
the voltage and reactive power control deal mainly with
following issues:
(1) The reactive power that is consumed by both ends while
the lines are open or at light load.
(2) The voltage at midpoint of the lines should not exceed
the voltage limit while the lines are open or at light load.
In China, the highest voltage that is permitted is 1.l
times the rated voltage of that line.
(3) While all three phases of one end is open, the power
frequency voltage rises at both ends, resulting from the
charging effect of the capacitor, should be kept within a
reasonable limit. Normally, the voltage rise of the open end
should be limited to 1.4 to 1.5 times the rated value, the other
end be 1.25 to 1.3 times its rated value. Since current request
for reducing insulation level is very strong, it is desirable to
limit the power frequency voltage rise of EHV/UHV
transmission systems.
IV. DECIDINGTRANSMISSIONCAPABILFIYACCORDINGTOTHE
STABILITYRESTRAINT
Once the equations and objectives for measuring the
characteristics of transmission systems are set forth, the
curves depicting the relationship between the transmission
capability and transmission distance can be derived. Typical
values for a given system are: (1) Steady state stability
margin K, is 30%) namely, 6sr,roted(the transmission angle
between equivalent potentials of two ends) is 50.3” ; (2) u,
and u, , which are voltages at two end systems, assume their
respective rated values (here is 1). Then the curves depicting
the relationship between the transmission capability and
transmission distance are shown below in Fig. 2.

”
50 300 550 800 ,050 ,300 ,550
1 (II/
Fig. 2. Curves reflecting the relationship between rated active
powerp and transmission distance
When the distance is known, the transmission capability
p is determined by the short circuit ratio SCT of the two
ends. The larger the system strength of these two ends is (the
larger the XT is), the more capable the lines are at transferring
power. The difference is quite obvious when the lines are
relatively short. As the length of the lines increases, the
difference becomes smaller and smaller. When XT is less
than 5 and the transmission distance is above 500 km, the
transmission capability declines to a value below the natural
load of that line. For a relatively large short circuit ratio,
when the transmission lines extend to 600 - 800 km, the
transmission capability also drops below the natural load.
According to the common notion, it will be uneconomical if
the transmission capability is somewhat below the natural
load of that line. So from the stability analysis alone, building
a long transmission line without any compensation would be
impractical. Fig. 2 is drawn under the assumption that the two
ends have the same short circuit ratio. If the short circuit
ratios of these two ends are not the same, the problem can be
resolved by calculating the mean of the two ends as the
equivalent short circuit ratio (‘equivalent’ in the sense of
stability):
2x7-,scr,
stray = (31)
scl-s+ scl-r .
In order to enhance the transmission capability and realize
the goal of long distance transmission of large power, it is
common to compensate the transmission lines and/or divide
them into several sections. The commonly adopted methods
are series compensation and shunt compensation. For long
distance transmission, shunt reactors are main devices for
shunt compensation. Different compensation methods have
different impacts on the transmission capability.
Assume the line is uniformly compensated, and let k,Thand
k,v, be its degree of shunt compensation and degree of series
compensation respectively. Although the line is not always
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uniformly compensated, the error incurred by such
assumption is no more than 5% compared with the real
situation. After the compensation, the power transferred along
the line in per-unit is
11_- %I? u,p, sin 6
P” P’, = P’, = k,v, . (32)
i- sin[&/WI
A. Influence on transmission capability by shunt reactors
With no series capacitor present, adjust shunt reactor so
that the degree of shunt compensation k,v,zvaries from 0% to
75%, and calculate the relationship between transmission
capability and transmission distance under the typical values
of a given transmission line stated above. It is easy to find out
that such relationship is quite insensitive to the variation of
k,v,z.When k~This 75%, the curve is similar to the one when
k,v,zis 0% shown in Figure 2. Finding out this relationship for
different k~Thwhile holding degree of series capacitor
compensation k,, at a constant value, the above conclusion
still holds true. So it is safe to conclude that the compensation
by shunt reactor has no significant influence on transmission
capability. However, it is worth pointing out that shunt
reactors do have great impact on the reactive power on both
ends of the line, and compensation by shunt reactors is one
important means of voltage and reactive power control.
B. Influence on trunsmission capability by series capacitors
Because shunt reactors do not have much influence on
transmission capability, it is desirable to neglect the influence
of it while considering compensation effects of series
capacitors. Assume the degree of shunt compensation by
reactor is 0. When degree of series compensation by
capacitor k,v, is assigned the value 20%, 40%, 60% and 80%
respectively, Fig. 3 can be drawn by the same procedure
indicated above. Fig. 3 shows that series compensation can
greatly enhance the transmission capability of the lines. For
example, for a transmission line of 1000 km and with both
ends having the short circuit ratio of 20, series compensation
with k,, at 60% can double the transmission capability of
that line compared with no series compensation at all.
However, because excessive series compensation can lead to
resonance, k,v, is usually limited to a value below 80%.
v. k%LJDY CASE
Assume that the Southwestern China Network will
dispatch 7000 MW to Central China Network. The
transmission distance is 1100 km. According to the previous
analysis, the transmission capabilities of different voltages
are
 11

10

(kin) 0 1 (km)
50 300 550 800 1050 1300 1550 50 300 550 800 1050 1300 1550
P
P
14
16

12 14

10

I
- ‘(km) 1 (km)
50 300 550 800 1050 1300 155u 50 300 550 800 1050 1300 1550

Fig. 3. Transmission capabilities under different series compensation

Table I Transmission capabilities of different voltages at transmission distance of 1100 kilometer

Transmission capabilit yp under different degrees of series 1
Voltage Level
I SCs SC% Is,, SC?. 6compensation
&A) &A) 0% I 20% ,r 40% 60% 80%
500 kV 25 21.4 40 34.3 0.80 0.94 1.18 1.63 2.81
765 kV 16 9.29 26 15.1 0.74 0.86 1.06 1.40 2.18
1lOOkV 11 3.99 18 6.53 0.62 0.70 0.82 1.02 1.35
15nnlcv 8 7 n8 17 ? 17 n 46 n 5n n 56 n 65 n 76
Note: I,, and I,,,. are the rated current when the three phases of bus at the sending end are assumed to be short-circuited

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 TABLE III The number of transmission circuits for different voltages
Degree of series
compensation 500 kV 765 kV
0% 9 5
20% 8 4
40% 6 3
60% 5 3
80% 3 2
listed in Table 1. Their respective surge impedances and
natural loads are listed in Table 2. Possible choices of power
transmission are listed in Table 3.
From the tables above, if we choose SOOkV for the
transmission and configure the lines to be operated under the
degree of series compensation of 40%, then the number of
transmission circuits should be 6. If we choose 1100 kV for
the transmission, then one issue that should be considered first
is whether this 1100 kV line is the trunk transmission line, or
whether it only functions as the interconnection of two power
systems with lower voltage levels. If 1100 kV is only used as
the interconnection for two 500 kV systems, then its
transmission capacity cannot reach its natural load even the
degree of series compensation is as large as 50%. It is a
universal phenomenon. While an 1100 kV line is used as the
interconnection between two 500 kV systems, the short circuit
ratio of the two end systems could not be larger than
8 =(~x50kAx500kV/5250MPV). This limits the
transmission capability of the line. So it is better to use 6
circuits operating at 500 kV and under the degree of series
compensation of 40%.
VI. CONCLUSION
(1) The short circuit ratio for AC transmission system is
proposed in this paper, which accurately describes the
influence of the two end systems upon the transmission
capability. Two AC transmission systems with different
short circuit ratio differ greatly with respect to their
transmission capabilities. The larger the short circuit ratio
is, the more capable the system is at transferring power.
(2) The primary factor that limits the transmission capability
of the short distance lines is the reactive power that is
provided by their sending and receiving ends. The main
factor that limits the transmission capability of the
medium to long distance lines is the synchronous stability.
While delivering its natural load, the transmission
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1lOOkV 1500 kV
3 2
2 2
2 2
2 1
1 1
distance of a line cannot exceed 600 - 800 km with no
compensation.
(3) Compensation by series capacitors can greatly enhance
the transmission capability of the lines while
compensation by shunt reactors do not have such
significant influence.
VII. REFERENCES
[l] E. Clark, S.B. Crary, “Stability limitations of long distance AC
transmission systems,” AZEE Trunsuc~ions, Vol. 60, pp. 1051 1059,
1941.
[2] St H.P. Clair, “Practical concepts in capability and performance of
transmission lines,” AZEE Trunsuc~ions, Vol. 72, pp. 1152 1157, 1953.
[3] J.G. Anderson, et al, EHV Trunsmission Line &ference Book. Edison
Electric Institute: New York, 1968.
[4] J.G. Anderson, et al, Trunsmission Line Reference Book 345 kV und
ubove. Electric Power Research Institute, 1975.
[5] T.J.E. Miller, Reactive Power Con&o1 in Electric Systems Chapter 2.
VIII. BIOGRAPHIES
Zheng Xu was born in Zhejiang, China, in September 1962.
He received the BS, MS and Ph.D. degrees from Zhejiang
University, China in 1983, 1986 and 1993 respectively, all
in Electrical Engineering. He has been with the Electrical
Engineering Department of Zhejiang University since 1986.
Since 199X he is a professor of Zhejiang University. His
research area includes HVDC, FACTS, power harmonics
and power quality.
Zhi Gao was born in Jiansu, China, in June 1977. He received B.S from
Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China in 1999. He is now a graduate student
in the E. E. Department of Zhejiang University. His main field of interest
includes FACTS and electric power market.
Changchun Zhou was born in Shandong, China, in January 1976. He
received B.S from Southeast University, Nanjing, China in 199X. He received
M.S from Shandong University, Jinan, China in 2000. He is now a Ph.D.
student in the E. E. Department of Zhejiang University. His main field of
interestincludesFACTS,