Power Transmission Lab Manual Lab # 01

OVERHEAD TRANSMISSION LINE CODUCTORS:

Most famous types of Materials used for the overhead line Conductors are:
 Copper conductor:
 Copper is the most famous Material used for Overhead Transmission Line
Conductor.
 It is Hard Material.
 It is low resistance.
 There is no Coating required.
 Conductivity is very high.
 Mechanical or Tensile Strength is very high so very suitable for Long Span.
 Its cost is very high.

 Aluminum conductor:
 Aluminum is the second best Conductor.
 Its conductivity is less as compared to Copper.
 It is not hard, so a soft type Material it is.
 Its Cost is very low as compared to Copper.
 Mechanical or Tensile Strength is very low because of Softness so it is not
suitable for Long Span.

 Steel:
 Steel has a very low Conductivity.
 It is not used as a transmission line conductor.
 It is used to increase the Tensile Strength of Aluminum.
 It can get rusted. So its toughness reduces as the time passes on.
 It is used to strengthen the Aluminum Conductor. To provide hardness to
Aluminum Conductor so that it will be suitable for Long Span.

 Aluminum alloy conductor:

 It is an alloy of Aluminum and steel.
 Steel can get rusted with time.

 Alumo weld conductor (AW):

 The Alumoweld process consists of a continuous application of a pure atomized
aluminum powder to a high strength steel rod, without changing original
proportions of aluminum and steel.
 When compared to solid aluminum wire, Alumoweld offers tremendous savings
because it has the toughness of steel and conductivity of Aluminum.

Hafiz Muhammad Awais 12-EE-67 Section – C1

Power Transmission Lab Manual Lab # 01

 Alumoweld wire has excellent corrosion resistance. Its strength and conductivity
remain unchanged in any atmosphere.
 Its Strength is Comparable to Steel.

 Copper weld conductor (CW):

 Copper weld wire and strand combines the electrical characteristics of copper
with the mechanical properties of high strength and extra high strength steel.
 The combination of conductivity, corrosion resistance and high strength are the
foundation of this protection.

Types According to Construction:

Conductors can also be classified according to the type of their Construction:

 Solid conductors:
 They are not actually used for overhead transmission lines.
 The physical reason is the its Manufacturing, Holding, Transportation, Installation
 Is very difficult and highly expensive.
 The technical Reason is that because of the skin effect, effective resistance
increase due to flow of current only on the surface. But in DC system it is not a
problem.

 Hollow conductors:
 As their name suggests, they are hallow from inside.
 They are very used very less.
 They are suitable at high frequency.
 Generally they have air inside them or often water flows inside.

 Stranded conductors:
 The group of conductors having small diameter with respective solid conductors
are known as stranded conductors.
 Al has the property of conductivity so outside layer is made of it and steel has the
property of high tensile strength so it is at inside layer.
 Disadvantages of Solid Conductor are benefits of Stranded Conductors.
 Stranded and reinforced Conductors:
 Aluminum conductor steel-reinforced (ACSR) is a specific type of high-capacity,
high-strength stranded conductor typically used in overhead power lines.
 The outer strands are high-purity aluminum alloy, chosen for its excellent
conductivity, low weight and low cost. The center strands are of steel for the

Hafiz Muhammad Awais 12-EE-67 Section – C1

Power Transmission Lab Manual Lab # 01

strength required to support the weight without stretching the aluminum due to
its ductility.
 It has three more types:
 Aluminum conductor steel reinforced (ACSR)
 ACSR/AW
 Aluminum Alloy conductor steel reinforced (AACSR)

Homogenous Conductors:
Homogenous Conductors are those in which individual material cannot be seen. There are three
types of Homogenous Conductors. There are odd number of strands used in these.
 Hard Drawn Copper:
 These are the conductors with Pure Copper. There is no mixing in them.

 All Aluminum Conductors:

 There is no mixing of steel in these.

 Aluminum Alloy Conductors :

 There are odd number of strands used in these.
 Number of Strands are multiples of increased by multiples of six.
 Number of strand sequence is 1,7,19,……
 All Strand’s Diameter is same.

Non – Homogenous Conductors:

Homogenous Conductors are those in which individual material can be seen easily. There are
three types of Homogenous Conductors.
There are even number of Strands used. Because central strand is missing due to aluminum
Layer outside. The Steel is at the center.
 ACSR:
 Diameter of Strands of Aluminum and steel may be same or may be different.
Like in Table Horse has same Diameter but Dog has different.

 ACSR/AW:

 ACSR/CW:

TABLES:

Hafiz Muhammad Awais 12-EE-67 Section – C1

Power Transmission Lab Manual Lab # 01

All Aluminum conductors:-

(BS 215:part1)
Code Area Dia. Of Over all Weight Resistance Current
(mm 2) wires(No./mm) Dia.(mm) (Kg/Km) (Ω/Km) Rating(A)
Ant 50 7/3.10 9.30 145 0.5419 175
Fly 60 7/3.40 10.20 174 0.4505 196
Cockroach 250 19/4.22 21.0 731 0.1083 471
Ant 300 19/4.65 23.25 888 0.08916 530

ACSR
Code No. of wires Al. Steel Weight At 200 C Current
(No./mm) (Area) Area (Kg/km) (Ω/Km) Ratting
Al Cu (mm 2) (mm 2) (A)
Rabbit 6/3.35 1/3.35 52.88 8.82 214 0.5426 178
Horse 12/2.79 7/2.79 73.77 42.83 538 0.3936 225
Dog 6/4.72 7/1.51 105 13.5 394 0.2733 271
Zebra 54/3.13 7/3.18 428.9 55.6 1621 0.0674 636

Comparison of conductor material:-

Description Annealed Hard Drawn Hard Drawn Al. Alloy

Copper Copper (Al)

Conductivity 100 97 61 53.5

(%)
Resistance at 200 C(Ω-m 17.241 17.71 28.264 32.2
m 2/km)
Ρ at 200 C (Gram/cm3) 8.89 8.89 2.703 2.703

Weight(Kg/cm3) 11562 11562 3516 3516

Ultimate Tensile 225 420 165 300
Strength

Hafiz Muhammad Awais 12-EE-67 Section – C1