Electric Power Systems Research, 6 (1983) 287 - 300
The Thermal Rating of Overhead-Line Conductors
Part II. A Sensitivity Analysis of the Parameters in the Steady-State Thermal
Model
V. T. MORGAN
CSIRO Division of Applied Physics, Sydney, 2070 (Australia)
(Received June 10, 1983)
SUMMARY
The thermal rating o f an overhead-line
conductor is the current required to produce
a certain maximum permissible temperature
under specified atmospheric and other condi-
tions. The thermal rating is found by solving
the heat equation, which contains a large
number o f parameters. The sensitivity o f the
thermal rating to a variation o f each param-
eter over a practical range is examined, and
the relative importance o f each parameter is
given.
1. INTRODUCTION
The steady-state current carrying capacity
of long overhead transmission lines may be
determined by consideration of system
stability, voltage regulation or economic
power losses. On the other hand, the capacity
of shorter lines may be determined by the
maximum permissible temperature of the
conductor, which determines the maximum
conductor sag, and by the time distribution
of the conductor temperature, which deter-
mines the rate of annealing and the total loss
of tensile strength of the conductor.
The current corresponding to the maxi-
mum permissible temperature of the
conductor under specified atmospheric condi-
tions is known as the thermal rating. In
practice, the maximum temperature for
normal operation varies from 50 to 80 °C in
Europe, up to 100 °C in North America, and
from 65 to 85 °C in Australia. The tempera-
ture of the conductor depends on the load
current, the electrical and thermal character-
0378-7796/83/$3.00
287
istics of the conductor, and the atmospheric
conditions, such as wind and sun. The rela-
tionship between these parameters is known
as the heat equation, and this has been
studied in detail [1], but, so far as is known,
no comprehensive study has been made of the
effect of changes in the parameters on the
thermal rating of the conductor. This paper
presents such a sensitivity analysis.
2. THE HEAT EQUATION
The equation for steady-state heating is
PJ +PM + Ps =Pcon +PR +Pw (1)
where Pj, PM and Ps are the heat gains per
unit length and per unit time by Joule
heating, magnetic heating and solar insolation,
and Pcon, Pa and Pw are the heat losses per
unit length and per unit time by convection,
radiation and evaporation. Conduction heat
loss is neglected, because the conductor is
usually several hundred metres long. The
heating and cooling due to electrical corona
[2] are also neglected, because this phenome-
non is complex and occurs randomly.
Considering each of the terms in eqn. (1)
in turn, we can write for the Joule heat gain:
Pj = I2R0[1 + ~0(Ts + AT/2)] (2)
where I is the current, R 0 is the resistance per
unit length at 0 °C, c~0 is the temperature
coefficient of resistance between 0 °C and the
mean temperature of the conductor, Ts is the
surface temperature of the conductor, and AT
is the radial temperature difference between
the surface and the core of the conductor and
is found from
© Elsevier Sequoia/Printed in The Netherlands
288
AT~ ~ 2 n s 2 - - n c : In
where ~, is the effective thermal conductivity
and D~ and Dc are the diameters of the surface
and the core, respectively. For homogeneous
conductors, D¢ = 0.
The heat gain due to ferromagnetic heating
of the steel core in ACSR conductors is given
by [3]
PM = 4.9 X 106dl/2AeBm l's2 ×
× exp[--2.5 X 10-a(Ts + AT)]
where d is the diameter of the steel wires, A~
is the total cross-sectional area of the steel
core, and Br, is the magnetic induction in the
core, and is a complex function of the magne-
tizing force H a , the temperature T¢, and the
tensile stress o in the steel wires. The magne-
tizing force is f o u n d from
Hm =
=I
X[2(--l)"+~l./l. ] sin ×
where I, is the RMS current and 1,, is the lay
length (pitch) of the wires in layer n of the
non-ferrous wires, the total number of layers
being nt. The magnetic loss angle × is also a
complex f u n c t i o n o f Ill, temperature and
tensile stress.
The solar heat gain is given by [ 1 ]
Ps = a s D s IB sin ~ + -- F sin Hs cos2--
2
+ -- I d ( l + F) cos:
2
where a s is the solar absorptivity of the con-
d u c t o r surface, 77 is the angle between the
solar beam and the axis of the conductor, F
is the albedo (reflectance) of the ground,
H s is the solar altitude, ~ is the inclination of
the conductor to the horizontal, IB is the
intensity of the solar beam, and I d is the
intensity o f diffuse (sky) radiation on a
horizontal surface. The albedo is approxi-
mately 0.2 for soil, grass and crops, 0.3 for
sand, and 0.6 - 0.9 for snow. The direct radia-
tion depends on the turbidity of the atmo-
sphere, and is given by [4]
I B = NslB0[1 + 1.4 × 10 4H(Io/IBo-- 1)] (7)
(3)
where N s is the clearness ratio, and has the
value 0.8 - 1.1 for a clear sky, 0.5 - 0.7 for a
hazy or industrial atmosphere, and less than
0.5 for a cloudy or overcast sky. H is the
height of the conductor above sea level, IB0 is
the intensity of direct solar radiation at sea
level for a clear sky, and I0 is the intensity of
extra-terrestrial solar radiation and has the
mean value 1353 W/m 2. The value of IB0 is
f o u n d from [ 5]
(4) IB0 -- 1280 sin Hs/(sin H s + 0.314) (8)
The intensity of diffuse radiation is given
by [1]
I d = (570 -- 0.47 Is)(sin Hs) 1"2 (9)
The convective heat loss is given by
Pcon= ~TXf(Ts-- Ta)(NU)D, f (10)
where the subscripts D and f denote that the
(5)
values are based on the overall diameter D S
and the film temperature T~, where
Tf = 0.5(Ts + Va) (11)
The Nusselt number is defined as
(NU)D, f = hDs/Xf (12)
where h is the heat transfer coefficient and
~f, the thermal conductivity of the air film at
the surface, is given by
?~f = 2.42 × 10-: + 7.2 × 10-5T~ (13)
The air temperature varies with height H
above sea level according to the relationship
Ta(H ) = Ta(0 ) -- 6.5 × 1 0 - a l l (14)
(6) With still air, i.e. U = 0,
(NU)D, f = A(Gr Pr)~,,f (15)
where A = 0.850 and m = 0.188 for 10:~<
( G r P r ) D ~ < 104; A = 0 . 4 8 0 and m = 0 . 2 5 0
for 10 ~ ( G r P r ) D , f ~ 10 v [6]; and the
Grashof and Prandtl numbers are given by
Gr = D~ag(Ts -- Ta)/(Tf + 273)v~ 2 cos3~" (16)
and
Pr = 0.715 -- 2.5 × 10-aT~ (17)
The Prandtl number is substantially indepen-
dent of pressure, and hence height, but the
kinematic viscosity varies with height in the
manner
 289

TABLE 1 the conductor. When the conductor is wet,

V a l u e s o f c o n s t a n t s in e q n . ( 2 0 ) the evaporative heat loss Pw is given by [1]
Pw - Pcon0~ws - - P w a ) / A w P a ( T ~ - - Ta) (25)
UDsIVf d/2(D s - - d) B n
where
100 - 2650 0 - 0.72 0.641 0.471
2650 - 50000 0 - 0.05 0.178 0.633 logl0Pw~ = 10.23255 -- 1750.286(T~ + 235) -1
2650- 50000 0.05- 0.72 0.048 0.800
(26)
(deg) C D p
Pw, = r(Pwa)sat/100 (27)
0 - 24 0.42 0.68 1.08 and
24 - 9 0 0.42 0.58 0.90
logl0(Pwa)sa t = 10.23255 +
T u (%) E q
- - 1750.286(Ta + 235) -1 (28)
0. 1 - 1 0.144 0.82
1 - 3.5 0.144 0.46 Aw is the psychrometer coefficient and is
3 . 5 - 12 0.107 0.70 equal to 5.8 × 10 -4 K -i, and Pa is the atmo-
spheric pressure. The variation of the atmo-
spheric pressure with elevation above sea
v f ( H ) = vf(0)(1 -- 6.5 × 10-3H/288.16) -s'2ssl level, H, is given by

(18) p a ( H ) = p~(0)(1 -- 6.5 × 10-3H/288.16) s'2861

where
v~(0) = 1.32 × 10 -s + 9.5 × 10-ST~
With moving air, i.e. U > 0 [7, 8], the effec-
tive Nusselt number is given by
(NU)*D, ~ = B [ ( R e ) D , ~] n [C + D(sin ~)P] [1 +
+ E(Tu) q ]
where values for the constants B, C, D, E, n, p
and q are given in Table 1, (Re)D,~ is the
Reynolds number, @ is the angle of attack of
the wind with respect to the axis of the con-
ductor, and Tu is the intensity of turbulence
o f the wind. The Reynolds number is given by
(Re)D, f = U e f f D , / v f
where Ue~f, the effective wind velocity, is
f o u n d from [8]
Ue~t = [(U*) 2 + 2 U * U cos ¢ + U 2] 1/2
where
U* = (NU)*D,,Vt/D ,
and ¢ is the angle between the wind and the
natural convective flow.
The radiative heat loss is given approxi-
mately by
PR ~-- 7rDsoBe[(Ts + 273) 4 -- (Ta + 273) 4] (24)
where oB is the S t e f a n - B o l t z m a n n constant
and e is the total emissivity of the surface of
(29)
(19)
3. T H E S T A N D A R D CONDITIONS
The following values have been selected as
the standard values for the various parameters
(20) in § 2. The conductor chosen is the PAWPAW
ACSR conductor, having the nominal alu-
minium cross-sectional area of 596 mm 2,
which was t h o u g h t to be close to the 593
mm 2 ACSR conductor selected for a recent
international survey of thermal ratings [9]. It
has since been learnt t h a t the latter conductor
was a 54/7/3.52 mm conductor having a t o t a l
cross-sectional area of 593 mm 3, the area of
(21)
the aluminium wires being 525 mm 2. How-
ever, the difference between the two conduc-
tors does not affect the conclusions reached
(22) in this paper. Because of the dominant effect
of evaporative cooling, the surface tempera-
ture of the wet conductor has been taken as
50 °C, compared with 80 °C for the dry
(23)
conductor.
PAWPAW conductor construction: 54 alu-
minium wires, each of diameter d = 3.75 mm,
in three layers o f 12, 18 and 24 wires, having
lay lengths, l, of 286 mm, 315 mm and 345
mm, respectively; 19 galvanized steel wires
each of diameter dc = 2.25 mm.
Conductor tension, o: 36 kN (20% of mini-
m u m breaking load).
290

Overall diameter of conductor, Ds: 33.8 The effective magnetizing current per unit
mm. length is given by
Diameter of steel core, Dc: 11.25 mm.
I/l = (1/54)(12/0.286 - - 18/0.315 + 24/0.345)
Cross-sectional area of steel core, A¢:
75.55 mm 2. (30)
DC resistance at 0 °C, R 0 : 4 3 . 7 p ~ / m .
hence
Temperature coefficient of resistance, a0:
4.4 X 1 0 -3 K -]. I / l = 1.007 1 A/m
Thermal conductivity, h: 2 W/mK.
The magnetic induction for a 2.25 mm
Solar absorptivity, as: 0.5 (dry), 0.56
diameter galvanized steel wire at the tension
(wet).
of 36 kN is given by [1]
Total emissivity, e: 0.5 (dry), 0.96 (wet).
Solar altitude, Hs : 90 °. B m = 1.55(1 -- [1 + e x p ( - - 2 9 . 0 5 8 +
Angle of solar beam to c o n d u c t o r axis, 7:
90 °.
+ 0.01485 Te)(I/l)4] -1} (31)
Clearness factor, Ns: 1.0. where the temperature Tc of the steel core is
Albedo, F: 0.2. found from
Inclination to horizontal, ~': 0 °.
Tc = Ts + AT (32)
Surface temperature, Ts: 80 °C (dry), 50 °C
(wet).
Air temperature, Ta: 35 °C (summer), 10 °C
(winter). 4. S E N S I T I V I T Y ANALYSIS
Air pressure, Pa: 101.3 kPa.
Wind velocity, U: 0.6 m/s. The following parameters are examined in
Angle of wind to c o n d u c t o r axis, ~ : 90 °. turn for their effect on the thermal rating of
Turbulence intensity of wind, Tu: zero. the 596 mm 2 PAWPAW ACSR conductor,
Angle between wind and natural convective both dry and wet. Only the chosen parameter
flow, ¢: 90 °. is varied, all other parameters having the
Relative humidity, r: 80%. standard values given in §3. The relevant
Elevation above sea level, H: 0 m.
I I ] I I I I 1

2 i i i i I I

3
a

0
210 40 60 80 100 i
120 140 160
0 10 210 310 40 ~lo 60 710 8i0 90

Ts (°C) Ts (°C)

Fig. 1. E f f e c t o f the surface temperature on the Fig. 2. E f f e c t o f the surface temperature on the
thermal rating of a d r y P A W P A W c o n d u c t o r . C u r v e a, thermal rating of a w e t P A W P A W c o n d u c t o r . C u r v e a,
n i g h t , T a = 10 °C; b, d a y , T a = 1 0 o C ,oc , n i g h t , T a = n i g h t , T a = 10 °C; b, d a y , T a = 1 0 °C; c, n i g h t , T a =
3 5 o C ,, d, d a y , T a = 3 5 °C. 3 5 °C; d, d a y , T a = 3 5 °C.
 291

sensitivity analyses are shown in the following I I 1 I I

TI-Ta =140 K
Figures.
__ 120
Surface temperature, Ts: Figs. 1 and 2.
Ambient temperature, Ta: Figs. 3 and 4. 100

Temperature rise of surface, Ts--Ta: 80

Fig. 5.
Radial temperature difference, AT: Fig. 6. 60

Solar absorptivity o f c o n d u c t o r surface, 50

as: Fig. 7. 40
Solar altitude, H s : Fig. 8. 30
Angle between solar beam and axis of con-
ductor, ~7: Fig. 9. 2O
Clearness factor of sky, Ns: Fig. 10.
Albedo of Earth's surface, F: Fig. 11. T s -T a =
Inclination of c o n d u c t o r to horizontal, ~:
Fig. 12. I I I I I I I
0
Wind velocity, U: Figs. 13 and 14. -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50

Wind direction, ~: Fig. 15. (a) Ta (oc)

Turbulence intensity of wind, Tu: Fig. 16. 10 I i I i
Angle between forced and natural convec-
tive flows, ¢: Fig. 17.
Emissivity of c o n d u c t o r surface, e: Fig. 18. 8
Air pressure, p~: Fig. 19. T s -T a =9~

Relative humidity, r: Fig. 20. 7

Height above sea level, H: Fig. 21.

6
Radial thermal conductivity, X: Fig. 22.
Relative heat gains and losses: Fig. 23. 5
JJ y
4
JJJ
5. DISCUSSION
3
The results of the analysis of the effects of
the various parameters in the steady-state heat 2

equation on the thermal rating are presented 1

in two forms: the curves in Figs. 1 - 23, and
the percentage variation of the thermal rating 0
-20 -10 O 10 20 30 40 50
T a (°C)
(h)
3
Fig. 4. Effect of the air temperature on the thermal
rating of a PAWPAW conductor in daytime at various
surface temperatures. (a) Dry conductor; (b) wet
conductor.
2

over a selected practical range of each param-

B
eter, given in Table 2. The parameters will be
1
grouped into those associated with the atmo-
sphere, the Sun and the conductor. The
relative importance o f each parameter is
determined by the percentage variation in the
0_ I I 110 210 I I thermal rating over the practical range of the
--20 -10 0 30 40 50
Ta(°C) parameter. Less than 1% variation is denoted
Fig. 3. Effect of the air temperature on the thermal
as very weak, 1% - 4.9% as weak, 5% - 19.9%
rating of dry and wet PAWPAW conductors. T s ; as moderate, 20% - 50% as strong and greater
80 °C (dry) and 50 °C (wet). Curve a, wet, night; than 50% as very strong. The parameters are
b, wet, day; c, dry, night; d, dry, day. graded into these groupings in Table 3.
 292

4 I I --~ --V- -T -- 3 i i

3 l A
27_~

0 k I J I I I L
J
v~J
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0

oS

k I I I I I Fig. 7. Effect o f the solar a b s o r p t i v i t y o n the t h e r m a l

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 rating o f w e t and d r y PAWPAW conductors. T s =
T s - T a (K) 80 °C ( d r y ) a n d 50 °C (wet). Curve a, wet, T a = 10 °C;
b, wet, T a = 35 °C; c, dry, T a = 10 °C; d, dry, T a =
Fig. 5. Effect of the temperature rise of the surface 35 °C.
on the thermal rating of wet and dry PAWPAW con-
ductors. Curve a, wet, night, T a = 35 °C; b, wet, day, 3~ ~ ~ [
T a = 35 °C; c, wet, night, T a = 10 °C; d, wet, day, E ~ .... T ~ -
T a = 10 °C; e, dry, night, T a = 10 °C and 35 °C; f, dry,
day, T a = 10 °C and 35 °C. a

20 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 0

HslO I

Fig. 8. Effect of the solar altitude on the thermal

rating of wet and dry PAWPAW conductors. T s =
80 °C (dry) and 50 °C (wet). Curve a, wet, T a = 10 °C;
lo b,
35 wet,
°C. T a = 35 °C; c, dry, T a = 10 °C; d, dry, T a =
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

U(m/$)
Fig. 6. Variation of the radial temperature difference
AT within wet and dry PAWPAW conductors with
wind velocity, k = 2 W/InK. Curve a, wet, night, T a =
10 °C; b, wet, day, T a = 10 °C; c, wet, night, T a =
35 °C; d, wet, day, T a = 3 5 °C; e, dry, night, T a =
10 °C; f, dry, day, T a = 10 °C; g, dry, night, T a =
35 °C; h, dry, day, T a = 35 °C.
5.1. Atmosphere
Rain
In otherwise identical conditions,
t h e r m a l r a t i n g o f t h e w e t c o n d u c t o r is a l w a y s
higher than that of the dry conductor,
because of the large additional effect of
e v a p o r a t i v e cooling. H e n c e , rain has a m a j o r
effect on the thermal rating of a conductor.
T h i s c a n b e s e e n in m a n y o f t h e F i g u r e s .
Air temperature
I n t h e r a n g e o f air t e m p e r a t u r e f r o m 0 t o
4 0 °C, a n d w i t h t h e c o n d u c t o r s u r f a c e t e m p e r -
a t u r e a t 8 0 °C ( d r y ) o r 5 0 °C ( w e t ) , t h e
thermal ratings of the wet and dry conductors
d e c r e a s e b y 2 8 . 0 % t o 3 7 . 7 % ; h e n c e ai r t e m -
the p e r a t u r e has a s t r o n g e f f e c t on t h e t h e r m a l
rating. H o w e v e r , w h e n t h e t e m p e r a t u r e rise o f
t h e d r y c o n d u c t o r s u r f a c e is c o n s t a n t ( s e e
 293

I 1 I I ] r

L a

2-
• b

A
<

m c J

L l l l I I I h I L I , I J . 1
0 10 20 30 40 SO 60 70 80 90 o 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

n(°) F

Fig. 9. Effect of the angle between the solar beam
and the axis of the conductor on the thermal rating
of wet and dry PAWPAW conductors. T s = 80 °C
(dry) and 50 °C (wet). Curve a, wet, T a = 10 °C; b,
wet, T a = 35 °C;c, dry, T a = 10 °C; d, dry, T a = 35 °C.
Fig. 11. Effect of the albedo on the thermal rating of
wet and dry PAWPAW conductors. Ts = 80 °C (dry)
and 50 °C (wet). Curve a, wet, T a = 10 °C; b, wet,
T a = 35 °C;c, dry, T a = I 0 °C;d, dry, T a = 35 °C.
H

1 I ~ I I

2
b

~,,.,

f ~
0 i I .~ l l , I
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2

NS

Fig. 10. Effect of the clearness ratio of the sky on the 0 20 40 60 80

thermal rating of wet and dry PAWPAW conductors. ~; (°)
T s = 80 ~C (dry) and 50 °C (wet). Curve a, wet, T a = Fig. 12. Effect of the inclination to the horizontal on
10 °C,• b, wet, T a = 35 °C; c, dry, T a = 10 °C; d, dry, the thermal rating of wet and dry PAWPAW conduc-
T a = 35 °C. tors. T s = 80 °C (dry) and 50 °C (wet). Curve a, wet,
day, T a = 10 °C; b, wet, night, T a = 35 °C;c, wet, day,
F i g . 4 ( a ) ) , t h e v a r i a t i o n in t h e t h e r m a l r a t i n g T a = 35 °C; d, dry, day, T a = 10 °C; e, dry, night, T a =
35 °C; f, dry, day, T a = 35 °C.
is less t h a n 5%, i.e. w e a k , w h e r e a s w i t h t h e
wet conductor (see Fig. 4(b)) the thermal
with increasing convective loss, increasing
r a t i n g i n c r e a s e s b y 7 2 % t o 2 3 0 % , i.e. t h e
power inputs are required to maintain the
e f f e c t is v e r y s t r o n g .
surface temperature constant.
Wind velocity
In" t h e r a n g e o f w i n d v e l o c i t y f r o m z e r o t o Wind direction
10 m/s, the thermal rating of both the wet I t is s e e n f r o m F i g . 1 5 t h a t t h e t h e r m a l
and dry conductors increases by 185% to r a t i n g i n c r e a s e s as t h e a n g l e o f a t t a c k o f t h e
346%; hence wind velocity has a very strong wind increases from zero to 90 degrees with
e f f e c t . I t is s e e n f r o m F i g . 6 t h a t t h e w i n d respect to the axis of the conductor. The
velocity also has a very marked effect on the i n c r e a s e is 1 8 . 5 % t o 3 2 . 6 % f o r t h e d r y c o n -
r a d i a l t e m p e r a t u r e d i f f e r e n c e . T h i s is b e c a u s e ductor and 31.6% to 57.1% for the wet
294

conductor, so that the effect of wind direc-
tion is strong.
Turbulence intensity of the wind
Over the range from zero to 10%, increas-
ing turbulence intensity causes the thermal
rating to increase by 18.5% to 27.7%, hence
its effect can be considered as strong.
Angle between forced and natural flows
When the forced flow is in the same direc-
tion as the natural flow, usually vertically
upwards, the angle ¢ is zero. When the forced
flow opposes the natural flow, ¢ = 180 °. Over
the usual range of ¢, 45 °- 135 °, the thermal
rating decreases by 5.9% to 11.5%, so that the
effect of variation in ¢ is moderate.

5 I T-" I I I I I ..... ~ • T ~ ~ I
I

4~
! 2

~ g
f h

I I I I [ I I I
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
q~ (o)

Fig. 15. E f f e c t o f t h e angle o f a t t a c k o f t h e w i n d o n

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 t h e t h e r m a l rating o f w e t and dry PAWPAW c o n d u c -
u (m/s) tors. T s = 80 °C (dry) and 50 °C (wet). Curve a, wet,
night, T a = 1 0 °C; b, wet, day, T a = 1 0 °C; c, wet,
Fig. 13. Effect o f the v e l o c i t y o f the w i n d on the
night, T a = 3 5 °C; d, w e t , day, T a = 35 °C; e, dry,
t h e r m a l rating o f a dry PAWPAW c o n d u c t o r . T s =
night, T a = 10 °C; f, dry, day, T a = 10 °C; g, dry,
80 °C. Curve a, night, T a = 10 °C; b, day, T a = 10 °C;
night, T a = 35 °C; h, dry, day, T a = 35 °C.
c, night, T a = 35 °C; d, day, T a = 35 °C.

10

I a
3~ i j :

6
b i
A

i
i
G

i
I _ i I I I _ _ 112 14- 116 ll8 0 2 4 6 8 I0 12 14 16 18 20
0 2 4 6 8 10 20
U (m/s) Tu (%)

Fig. 14. Effect o f the v e l o c i t y o f the w i n d on the Fig. 16. E f f e c t o f t h e t u r b u l e n c e i n t e n s i t y o f t h e

t h e r m a l rating o f a w e t PAWPAW conductor. Curve a, w i n d o n t h e t h e r m a l rating o f w e t a n d dry PAWPAW
o o .
day and night, T a = 1 0 C, T s = 8 0 C, b, day and c o n d u c t o r s . T s = 80 °C ( d r y ) a n d 50 °C (wet). Curve
night, T a = 3 5 °C, T s = 80 °C; c, night, T a = 10 °C, a, w e t , day, T a = 10 °C; b, w e t , day, T a = 35 °C; c,
T s = 50 °C; d, day, T a -- 10 °C, T s = 50 °C; e, night, dry, night, T a = 10 o C,, d, dry, day, T a = 10 °C; e, dry,
o o . = night, T a = 35 o C ,. f , dry, day, T a = 3 5 ° C .
T a = 35 C, T s = 50 C, f, day, T a 35 °C, T s = 50 °C.
 295

A tmospheric pressure I I i

It is seen from eqn. (25) that the atmo-

spheric pressure only affects the thermal
rating of the wet conductor. Over the pressure
range from 90 to 110 kPa (900 to 1100 mbar)
the thermal rating decreases by 7.9% to 9.8%,
so that the effect of variations in atmospheric
pressure is moderate.

3 I I ~ [ I I I I

80 90 100 110 120

Pa(kPa)
2
Fig. 19. E f f e c t o f a t m o s p h e r i c pressure o n the
thermal rating o f a w e t PAWPAW c o n d u c t o r . T s =
4¢ c
d 50 °C. Curve a, night, T a = 10 °C; b, day, T a = 10 °C;
Q c, night, T a = 35 °C; d, day, T a = 35 °C.
f
1
[ I I I r ] I [

L
I / J . 1 710 I
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 80 90
q~ (o)

Fig. 17. E f f e c t o f t h e angle b e t w e e n the f o r c e d and

natural flows o n the thermal rating o f w e t and dry
PAWPAW conductors. Curve a, w e t , day, T a = 10 °C;
1,
b, wet, day, T a = 35 °C; c, dry, night, T a --- 10 °C; d,
dry, day, T a = 10 °C; e, dry, night, T a = 35 °C; f, dry,
d a y , T a : 35 °C. T s = 80 °C (dry), 50 °C (wet).

0 . I J. L J I I 1 I
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
r (~o)

Fig. 20. E f f e c t o f the relative h u m i d i t y on the

J thermal rating o f a w e t PAWPAW c o n d u c t o r . T s =
a
50 °C. Curve a, night, T a = 10 °C; b, day, Ta = 10 °C;
b i c, night, T a = 35 °C; d, day, T a = 35 °C.
c
A
J¢ d
v Relative humidity
Again, the relative humidity only affects
the wet conductor. For the relative humidity
range from 20% to 100%, the thermal rating
decreases by 3.4% to 3.7% for the ambient
temperature of 10 °C and by 21.2% to 23.3%
for the ambient temperature of 35 °C. Hence,
the effect o f the relative humidity on the
0 l I I f f l . J t . thermal rating is weak at lower ambient tem-
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
¢
peratures and moderate at upper ambient
temperatures.
Fig. 18. E f f e c t o f the emissivity o f the surface on the
thermal rating o f a dry PAWPAW c o n d u c t o r . T s ffi
80 °C. 0ls = e ( d a y ) a n d a s = 0 (night). Curve a, night, 5.2. The Sun
T a = 10 °C; b, day, T a = 10 °C; c, night, T a = 35 °C; It is obvious from many of the Figures that
d, day, T a = 35 °C. there is a marked difference between the
 296

100 • T T- r E 7 T T T [ -]
thermal rating in the day and that at night, i P=Pcon
when there is no solar radiation, especially 90
/
with the dry conductor. Other factors to be ///
J
PJ
80
considered are: the altitude of the Sun; the
clearness of the sky; the azimuth and eleva- 70

tion of the conductor, and hence the angle of

A 60
incidence of the solar beam with respect to
the axis of the conductor; and the albedo so

{reflectance of the ground). o

40
30

3 -- I f I r 20

a 10 PM
b PR

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

U (m/s)
A
e
Fig. 23. Variation o f the percentage heat gains and
v heat losses w i t h the wind v e l o c i t y for a dry P A W P A W
f
c o n d u c t o r . T a = 35 °C, T s = 80 °C. P = Pcon, PJ, PM,
1 i h PR or PS; PT = total heat gain or heat loss.

Altitude of the Sun

I __ I
0 1 2 3 4 Over the full range of solar altitudes, from
H (kin)
zero to 90 degrees and with a clear sky, the
thermal rating decreases by 3.4% to 13.8%,
Fig. 21. E f f e c t o f the height a b o v e sea level o n the
thermal rating o f w e t and dry P A W P A W c o n d u c t o r s . which is a moderate variation.
T s = 80 °C ( d r y ) a n d 50 °C (wet). Curve a, w e t , night,
T a = 10 °C; b, wet, day, T a = 10 °C; c, wet, night, Clearness ratio o f the sky
T a = 3 5 °C; d, wet, day, T a = 3 5 °C; e, dry, night, As the sky becomes more overcast, the
T a = 10 °C; f, dry, day, T a = 10 °C;g, dry, n i g h t , T a = intensity of the direct solar beam decreases,
35 °C; h, dry, day, T a = 35 °C.
whereas the diffuse radiation increases. For
3 -- i l i i i i I i i
the range of clearness ratios between 0.1 and
1.2, the thermal rating decreases by 1.2% to
a
5.1%, hence the effect of the clearness ratio
b
is weak. The ratio of 1.2 only occurs on
c exceptionally clear days, which are usually
d very rare.
A
<[
e
m f Incidence o f the solar beam to the
conductor axis
The angle between the solar beam and the
axis of the conductor can vary from zero to
90 degrees. Over this range, the thermal rating
I I _ I J I I I i I 1 decreases by 0.5% to 4.3%, so that the effect
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 is weak.
h (W/mK)

Fig. 22. E f f e c t o f the radial thermal c o n d u c t i v i t y o n A lbedo

the thermal rating o f w e t and dry P A W P A W c o n d u c - For albedos in the range from 0.1 to 0.8,
tors. T s = 80 °C ( d r y ) a n d 50 °C (wet). Curve a, wet, the thermal rating decreases by 3.3% to 5.7%
night, T a = 10 °C; b, wet, d a y , T a = 1 0 °C; c, wet,
night, T a = 3 5 °C; d, wet, day, T a = 3 5 °C; e, dry,
when the conductor is wet, which is a weak
night, T a = 1 0 °C; f, dry, day, T a = 1 0 °C; g, dry, effect, and by 8.8% to 14.4% with the con-
night, T a = 35 °C; h, dry, day, T a = 35 °C. ductor dry, which is a moderate change.
 297

TABLE 2
Variation of the thermal rating with the chosen parameter

Parameter Conditions Range Change in rating (%)

Air temperature T a (°C) dry, day 0 - 40 --33.5

dry, night --28.0
wet, day --37.7
wet, night --34.7

T a = 10 °C T a = 35°C

Wind velocity U (m/s) dry, day 0 - 10 237 242

dry, night 198 185
wet, day 261 346
wet, night 239 294
Attack angle of wind ~ (deg) dry, day 0 - 90 23.1 32.6
dry, night 18.6 16.0
wet, day 35.4 57.1
r
wet, night 31.6 46.8
Turbulence intensity of the dry, day 0 - 10 24.1 23.5
wind Tu (%) dry, night 20.7 18.5
wet, day 25.4 27.7
wet, night 23.7 24.8
Angle between forced and dry, day 45 - 135 --11.5 --9.4
natural flows ¢ (deg) dry, night --9.9 --7.1
wet, day --10.3 --6.7
wet, night --9.5 --5.9
Atmospheric pressure Pa (kPa) wet, day 90 - 110 --8.5 --9.8
wet, night --7.9 --8.8
Relative humidity r (%) wet, day 20 - 100 --3.7 --23.3
wet, night --3.4 --21.2
Solar altitude H s (deg) dry, day 0 - 90 --9.5 --13.8
wet, day --3.4 --6.1
Clearness ratio of the sky Ns dry, day 0.1 - 1.2 --3.3 --5.1
wet, day --1.2 --2.1
Incidence of solar beam to dry, day 0 - 90 --0.5 --0.5
axis of conductor 17 (deg) wet, day --2.6 --4.3
Albedo F dry, day 0.1 - 0.8 --8.8 --14.4
wet, day --3.3 --5.7
Surface temperature of dry, day 60 - 120 91.5 119
conductor T s (°C) dry, night 42.0 69.3
wet, day 40 - 95 219 464
wet, night 195 375
Temperature rise o f conductor dry, day 20 - 100 128 179
surface T s -- T a (K) dry, night 95.4 102
wet, day 20 - 60 190 153
wet, night 158 144
Radial temperature difference dry, day 5 - 20 100 97.1
in conductor AT (K) dry, night 81.1 97.1
wet, day 94.4 101.7
wet, night 91.9 94.4
Radial thermal conductivity dry, day 0.5 - 10 1.2 0.8
of conductor ~ (W/inK) dry, night 1.3 1.0
wet, day 1.8 3.0
wet, night 0.3 2.0

(continued overleaf)
298

TABLE 2 (continued)

Parameter Conditions Range Change in rating (%)

Ta = 10°C Ta = 35°C

Absorptivity of conductor dry, day 0.2 - 1.0 --16.5 --26.8

surface 0~s w e t , day --5.5 --9.2
Emissivity o f c o n d u c t o r dry, day 0.2 - 1.0 20.0 23.2
surface c w e t , day 17.0 17.1
Emissivity = a b s o r p t i v i t y , dry, day 0.2 - 1.0 1.5 --5.0
~=0t S
Inclination of conductor dry, day 0 - 60 10.2 7.9
t o h o r i z o n t a l ~ (deg) dry, night 8.0 5.0
wet, day 7.5 3.8
wet, night 6.6 2.8
Height o f c o n d u c t o r a b o v e dry, day 0 - 3000 4.2 9.6
sea level H (m) dry, night 3.8 7.7
wet, day --0.5 16.6
wet, night --0.3 15.1

TABLE 3
E f f e c t o f various p a r a m e t e r s o n t h e t h e r m a l rating o f w e t and dry PAWPAW c o n d u c t o r s

Degree o f e f f e c t R a n g e (%) Parameters

Very strong > 50 U, T~, % - - T,, A T

Strong 20 - 50 T a, ~ , Tu, r ( T a = 35 °C), e ( w e t )
Moderate 5 - 19.9 ¢, Pa, HS, F, ~S, e ( d r y ) , ~, H ( T a = 35 °C)
Weak 1 - 4.9 r ( T a = 10 °C), NS, ~7(wet), k, a s = ~,
H ( d r y , T a = 10 °C)
V e r y weak < 1 r~(dry), H ( w e t , T a = 10 °C)

5.3. The conductor rating of the dry conductor is 42.0% to 91.5%

The conductor contributes to the thermal
rating in a n u m b e r of ways. We have seen
t h a t the azimuth of the conductor affects the
solar heating: the inclination of the c o n d u c t o r
to the horizontal and its height above sea level
affect both the solar heating and the convec-
tive cooling. The nature of the surface of the
outer wires of the conductor affects the solar
absorptivity and the emissivity, and the con-
dition of the wires and the inter-layer com-
pressive stresses determine the radial thermal
conductivity and, hence, the radial tempera-
ture difference. Finally, the convective, radia-
tive and evaporative heat losses are dependent
on the temperature rise of the surface of the
conductor, and, hence, on the surface tem-
perature and the ambient temperature.
Surface temperature
For the range of surface temperature from
60 to 120 °C, the increase in the thermal
for the ambient temperature of 10 °C, and
69.3% to 119% for the ambient temperature
of 35 °C. In the case of the wet conductor,
the effect is even greater. In the surface
temperature range from 40 to 95 °C, the
thermal rating increases by 195% to 219%
when the ambient temperature is 10 °C, and
by 375% to 464% when the ambient tempera-
ture is 35 °C. It is clear that the surface
temperature has a very strong effect on the
thermal rating.
Temperature rise of the surface of the
conductor
In the case of the dry conductor, and in the
range of temperature rise from 20 to 100 K,
the thermal rating increases by 95.4% to
197%. In the case of the wet conductor, and
in the range of temperature rise from 20 to
60 K, the thermal rating increases by 144% to
190%. Thus, the temperature rise of the

surface o f the c o n d u c t o r also has a very
strong effect on the thermal rating.
Radial temperature gradient in the
conductor
Even at constant surface temperature, the
thermal rating of the c o n d u c t o r still depends
on the radial temperature difference between
the core and the surface, because this affects
the resistance and the magnetic heating. In
the range of temperature difference from 5 to
20 K the thermal rating increases by 81.1% to
100%. This is clearly a very strong effect.
Radial thermal conductivity
In the range of thermal conductivity from
0.5 to 10 W/mK, the thermal rating increases
by 0.3% to 3.0%, so that the effect of thermal
conductivity is weak. In the range from 1 to
10 W/mK, the effect is very weak (see
Fig. 22).
Solar absorptivity o f the conductor surface
When the absorptivity of the surface in-
creases from 0.2 to 1.0, with the emissivity
constant at 0.5, the thermal rating decreases
by 5.5% to 26.8%, so that the effect of
change of emissivity is moderate.
Emissivity o f the surface o f the conductor
When the emissivity of the surface increases
from 0.2 to 1.0, with the absorptivity
constant at 0.5, the thermal rating of the
c o n d u c t o r increases by 17.0% to 23.2%, so
that the effect of emissivity on the rating is
also moderate.
Absorptivity and "emissivity
Since the state of the surface determines
both absorptivity and emissivity, it is more
appropriate to couple them. An approxima-
tion is to make them equal. In this case, as
their values increase from 0.2 to 1.0, the
thermal rating of the c o n d u c t o r remains
almost constant, with only +1.5% to --5.0%
variation.
Inclination o f the conductor to the
horizontal
As the inclination of the c o n d u c t o r is in-
creased from zero to 60 degrees, the thermal
rating of the conductor increases by 2.8% to
10.2%, so that the effect of inclination is
weak to moderate.
299
Height o f the conductor above sea level
When the height of the conductor above
sea level increases from zero to 3000 m, the
thermal rating changes by --0.3% to +4.2%
when the ambient temperature at sea level is
10 °C; and b y +7.7% to +16.6% when the
ambient temperature at sea level is 35 °C.
Hence, the effect of the altitude of the con-
ductor on the thermal rating varies from very
weak to moderate.
6. CONCLUSIONS
The relative importance of a wide range of
parameters in the heat equation for an over-
head line carrying a current has been exam-
ined. The gross effect of solar radiation is
shown in the difference between day and
night ratings for otherwise similar conditions.
This has been recognized by some p o w e r
authorities, b u t none appears to take advan-
tage of the large increase in rating which can
be achieved in w e t weather: perhaps the un-
predictability of the occurrence and distribu-
tion of rain explains this fact.
It is seen from Table 3 that, for the dry
c o n d u c t o r with a fixed surface temperature,
the important parameters are: the velocity,
direction and intensity of turbulence of the
wind, and the air temperature. The elevation
of the wind, the altitude of the Sun, the
albedo (usually neglected) and the inclination
and the altitude of the c o n d u c t o r are of lesser
importance. In the case of the wet conductor,
the relative humidity at higher air tempera-
tures and the emissivity of the c o n d u c t o r are
also of importance.
The relative unimportance of the degree of
clearness of the sky, the angle between the
solar beam and the axis of the conductor, the
absorptivity and emissivity of the c o n d u c t o r
(when equal), the radial thermal conductivity,
and the relative humidity at lower air temper-
atures should be noted. This study has been
made for a 596 mm 2 ACSR conductor. It is
possible that some of the above conclusions
would not apply to conductors of other sizes
far removed from that of this conductor.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to thank Dr. H o y Lee
and Mr. R. Thompson for their assistance
with the c o m p u t e r programming.
300

NOMENCLATURE OB Stefan-Boltzmann constant

angle of forced flow relative to
A cross-sectional area, m 2 natural flow, deg
Aw psychrometer coefficient, K- 1 x magnetic loss angle
A,B,C, angle of attack, deg
D,E constants
B magnetic induction, T Subscripts
d dianmter of a wire, m a ambient
D diameter of circle circumscribing c core
conductor, m con convection
F albedo (reflectance) of surface eff effective
g acceleration due to gravity, m/s: f film at surface
Gr Grashof number J Joule
h heat transfer coefficient, W / m 2 K m maximum
H height above sea level, m M magnetic
Hm magnetizing force, A/m n layer number
Hs solar altitude, deg R radiation
I effective current, A s surface
IB intensity of direct solar beam, S solar
W/m 2 sat saturation
Id intensity of diffuse solar radiation w evaporation
on horizontal surface, W/m 2 0 value at 0 °C
I0 intensity of extra-terrestrial solar
radiation, W/m E
l length, m REFERENCES
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m o d e l , Electr. Power Syst. Res., 5 (1982) 119 -
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W/m c y l i n d e r in still air by electrical c o r o n a , Inst. Eng.
Pr Prandtl number Aust. Electr. Eng. Trans., E E l 6 (1980) 1 - 5.
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Transfer, 11 ( 1 9 7 5 ) 199 - 264.
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?~ thermal conductivity, W/mK c a p a c i t y o f o v e r h e a d lines, Electra, 74 (1981)
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