IEEJ TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING

IEEJ Trans 2019; 14: 730–734

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI:10.1002/tee.22859

Paper

Calculation Method of Corona Loss in EHV/UHV System Based

on Distributed Parameter Characteristic
Wenxia Pan, Non-Member
Yi Lia , Non-Member
Xin Chen, Non-Member

For the calculation of corona loss of extra-/ultra-high voltage (EHV/UHV) transmission lines, especially the estimation of real-
time corona loss, there exists no accurate method. In this paper, a calculation method of corona loss in the EHV/UHV system
based on a distributed parameter characteristic is proposed. Based on the π -shaped equivalent circuit of the long-line distributed
parameter characteristic, and considering the voltage distribution along the line, a formula for calculating the corona loss under a
variety of weather and annual average conditions is derived and the power equation for the corona loss of EHV/UHV system is
established by the method. The example results show that the method is quite accurate. The calculation method of this paper can
consider different weather conditions of the line sections to calculate the corona loss. It is more in line with the actual weather
conditions on the surface of the EHV/UHV transmission lines. And the method can analyze the corona loss and its proportion
to the total loss of the system under the annual average and different weather conditions. It is of great significance to the design
and operation of an EHV/UHV system. © 2018 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Keywords: EHV/UHV; distributed parameter characteristic; voltage distribution; corona loss; power equation

Received 27 July 2018; Revised 23 October 2018

1. Introduction charge simulation method to calculate the corona loss of the con-
ductor in the corona cage [4]. But this type of method could
With the expansion of the power grid, extra/ultra-high voltage
not give the corona loss of an operating power system. Third,
(EHV/UHV) transmission lines have become the main force
based on the empirical formula, the corona loss of the operat-
of China’s power grid. By 2020, China’s UHV power grid
ing system is calculated. Li et al. of Wuhan University introduced
will basically take shape. The UHV and translocation capacity
corona loss into the power flow calculation of the power sys-
of the State Grid will reach 200 million kW, accounting for 25%
tem and treated it as an active load [5], so that the corona loss
of the total installed capacity in the country. The Yuheng-
will be obtained while calculating the system resistance loss. At
Weifang 1000 kV UHV alternating current (AC) transmission and
present, the disadvantage of this method is that the EHV/UHV
transformation project has the longest transmission distance of any
transmission line adopts a lumped parameter π -shaped equivalent
UHV AC project so far in China, with a total length of 1059.3 km.
circuit. In addition, this method does not consider the influence
According to actual measurements and research, the corona loss of
of the voltage distribution along the long line on the corona loss
the 500 kV and above lines is very sensitive to the actual operating
calculation.
voltage of the line and accounts for a large proportion to the total
In view of the above problems, based on the π -shaped equiv-
loss of the line. It is even more severe during rain and snow, so
alent circuit of the long-line distributed parameter characteristic,
it cannot be ignored when calculating the loss of the transmission
and considering the voltage distribution along the line, we derive
line.
in this paper a formula for calculating the corona loss under a
Currently, there are three main directions for the calculation
variety of weather and annual average conditions and obtain the
of corona loss. First, starting from the corona onset model, the
corona loss of the system and its proportion to the total loss by
corona onset electric field of the transmission line is studied. Li
establishing and solving the power equation for the corona loss of
et al., based on the charge simulation method, gave a numeri-
the EHV/UHV system.
cal calculation method of the corona onset voltage for bundle
conductors for the high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmis-
sion line [1]. Lu et al. presented the calculation method of the
corona onset electric field under the influence of space charges
2. Transmission Line Model with Distributed
[2]. The advantage of this type of methods is that an empirical Parameter Characteristic
formula is no longer used to calculate the corona onset elec- 2.1. -shaped equivalent circuit with distributed
tric field and the result is more accurate. Second, based on the parameter characteristic This paper accurately considers
charge simulation method, the corona loss of transmission lines the distributed parameter characteristic of the line. On this basis,
is studied. Zhang et al. calculated the corona loss of the AC con- the π -shaped equivalent circuit containing the distributed param-
ductor using the charge simulation method [3]. Lu et al. used the eter characteristic of EHV/UHV long-distance AC transmission
lines is established, as shown in Fig. 1 [6].
In the figure, the parameter resistance R, the reactance X , the
a Correspondence to: Yi Li. E-mail: 2539347871@qq.com susceptance B , and the conductance G are different from those in
College of Energy and Electrical Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, the general π -shaped equivalent circuit. Based on the distributed
210098, China parameter line model, the formula of these parameters can be

© 2018 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
 CALCULATION OF CORONA BASED ON DISTRIBUTED PARAMETER CHARACTERISTIC

R + jX and energy consumption when the potential gradient of the surface

of a conductor exceeds its critical value. Its size is related to the
(G + jB)/2 (G + jB)/2 electric field strength, air density, and meteorological conditions
on the surface of the conductor [8–10]. The Wuhan High Voltage
Research Institute collected more than 40 sets of comprehensive
Fig. 1. -shaped equivalent circuit of distributed parameter test data for corona loss of 500 to 1100 kV lines at home and
characteristic abroad, including a single conductor and 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12
bundle conductors, fitting the corona loss calculation formula for
(r + jx)dx (r + jx)dx U2 , I2
good days, snow days, and rainy days on unit length of the line [5]:
⎧ 
E

⎪ 8.32 EM −8.8
⎪
⎪ P = req e 0.66 0
(jb/2)dx (jb/2)dx ⎨ f 
EM

0.58 7.6 E0 −6.45 (4)
⎪ P s = r eq e
⎪
⎪  
⎩ EM
6.86 E −4.09
dx x Pr = req 0.52 e 0

Fig. 2. Distributed parameter line model where P f , P s , and P r , respectively, represent the corona loss on
good days, snow days, and rainy days per unit length (kW/km);
r eq represents the equivalent radius of bundle conductor (cm);
derived finally [6] as
E M is the maximum electric field strength of the conductor
⎧
⎪ surface (kV/cm), and E 0 is the corona onset electric field strength
⎨R = |Zc | c1 /2
calculated by Peek’s formula (kV/cm).
X = |Zc |d1 /2 (1)
⎪
⎩ The maximum electric field strength of the surface of the mid-
B = 2(a1 + b1 )/[ |Zc |(c1 2 + d1 2 )] phase transmission lines is
 

⎧
where    r π U
⎪
⎪ a1 = 2− e αl + e −αl cos βl [e αl sin(βl + η) + e −αl sin(βl − η)] EM (z ) = 1 + 2 (n − 1) sin = K1 U (5)
⎪ b = (e αl − e −αl )[e αl cos(βl + η) − e −αl cos(βl − η)] sin βl
⎪ d n nr  ln Dr m
⎨ 1 eq
c1 = e αl cos(βl + η) − e −αl cos(βl − η)
⎪
⎪ αl sin(βl + η) + e −αl sin(βl − η) and the maximum electric field strength of the surface of the side-
⎪
⎪ d1 = e

⎩ phase transmission lines is

|Zc | = 4 (x 2 + r 2 )/b 2 EM (z ) · 1.03

   EM (B ) = = K2 U (6)
1.1
where

α = 4 (x 2 + r 2 )b 2 cos 12 arctan xr + π2 , β=
1     where n is the number of subconductors, r is the subconductor
4
(x 2 + r 2 )b 2 sin 2 arctan xr + π2 , η = 12 arctan xr − π2 , l
radius (cm), d is the bundle spacing (cm), D m is the geometric
is the length of the line, and r, x, and b are the unit length
mean distance (cm), U is the actual operating voltage (kV), and
resistance, reactance, and susceptance, respectively. 
  
When the corona loss is not considered, G is zero. When 
K1 = 1 + 2 (n − 1) rd sin πn / nr ln Dreqm , K2 = 1.03
1.1 K1 .
considering the corona loss, G is the equivalent conductance of
the line corona loss. Peek’s formula is expressed as [11]

E0 = 30.3m1 δ(1 + 0.298/ δr  ) (7)

2.2. Voltage distribution along the long line The
uniformly distributed parameter line model is shown in Fig. 2,
where dx is the length of the microelements, and x is the distance
from any point on the line to the end of the line.
In the distributed parameter line model of the EHV/UHV AC
transmission line, the voltage and current at any point along the
line can be calculated by (2) when voltage and current at the end
of the line are known [6,7]:
where m 1 is the surface roughness coefficient of conductor, and δ
is the relative air density.
If the number of hours of good days in a year is T f , the number
of hours of snow days is T s , the number of hours of rainy days is
T r , and N + 1 points are evenly generated on the line, the voltage
at each point from the head to the end is U 1 , U 2 ,..., U m ,..., U N +1 .
The corona loss of the line is the sum of the corona losses of the N
·

 small segments. The actual operating voltage of the small segment
U cosh γ x Zc sinh γ x U2 · is expressed as the average voltage of the head and the end of
· = sinh γ x (2)
I Zc cosh γ x I2 · the segment. The annual average value of the corona loss per unit
length of the small segment between the two points m and m + 1
· ·
where U and I, respectively, represent the voltage and current at in the line is
 
length x from the end of the line; U2 · and I2 · are the terminal Tf
K (Um +Um+1 )
8.32 1 −8.8
voltage and current respectively; and γ is the line propagation Pcm−m+1 = req 0.66 e 2E0
8760
coefficient.  
K (Um +Um+1 )
According to (2), the voltage expression of each point of the Ts 7.6 1 −6.45
+ 0.58
req e 2E0
long line in EHV/UHV system can be deduced as follows: 8760
 ·   
· U2 − U1 · B K (Um +Um+1 )
6.86 1
U = cosh γ x · U2 · − Zc sinh γ x · + U2 · · j (3) +
Tr 0.52
req e 2E0 −4.09
Z 2 8760
 
where U1 · is the head voltage of the line, and Z is the impedance 2Tf
K (Um +Um+1 )
8.32 2 −8.8
of the line. + 0.66
req e 2E0
8760
 
K (Um +Um+1 )
3. A Variety of Weather and Annual Average 2Ts 7.6 2 −6.45
+ 0.58
req e 2E0
Corona Loss Calculation Formulae 8760
 
K (Um +Um+1 )
Corona is a streamer discharge phenomenon that causes the air 2Tr 6.86 2 −4.09
+ 0.52
req e 2E0
(8)
to dissociate around the conductor and causes light emission 8760

731 IEEJ Trans 14: 730–734 (2019)

 W. PAN, Y. LI, AND X. CHEN

The equation for the corona loss of the small segment between Start
m and m + 1 of the two points in the line on a good day, on a
snow day, and on a rainy day is basically similar. The good day Input raw data
value of the corona loss per unit length on a small segment is
given as follows:
Calculate req and E0
 
K (Um +Um+1 )
8.32 1 −8.8
Pcm−m+1 = req 0.66 e 2E 0
  Calculate the value of each parameter in the π-shaped
K (Um +Um+1 ) equivalent circuit with distributed parameter characteristic
8.32 2 −8.8
+ 2req 0.66 e 2E0
(9)

Then the corona loss on the line unit length is
Pc1−2 + . . . + Pcm−m+1 + . . . + PcN −N +1
Pcij =
N
4. Corona Loss Power Equation and its Solution
The line corona loss P cij l ij is divided into two equal parts. Each
part is considered as ‘active load’ and is suspended at both ends
of the transmission line. Thus, for an M -node system, the power
equation of node i is
Input the initial voltage value, set the
number of iterations K = 1
(10)
Calculate the line voltage distribution according to the voltage
at the two ends of the line, divide the line into N segments,
and calculate the EM of each segment by the voltage at the head
and the end of each segment
Calculate the annual average or various weather corona loss
Pcm–m+1 over the unit length of each segment


M 
M
Pi + jQ i − 0.5 Pcij lij = Ui . Yij ∗ Uj ∗ , (i = 1, 2, · · · , M ) Obtain the Pcij of this line by accumulating and averaging, and
j =1 j =1 substitut it into the corona loss power equation
(11)
where l ij is the length of the line i–j (km), Y ij is the node Calculate node injection power Pi(k), Qi(k) and unbalance
admittance matrix, U i and U j are the voltage values of nodes
i and j , respectively, and P i and Q i are the active and reactive
power of node i , respectively. Is it less than the given Y Calculate active
After calculating the voltage amplitude of each node using accuracy? loss, corona loss
the Newton–Raphson iteration method, the resistance loss of the
N
branch can be calculated as follows: End
Form Jacobian matrix to calculate corrections
Pij = g(Ui + Uj ) − 2gU i Uj cos θij
2 2
(12)

where g is the conductance of the line i–j (S), and θ ij is the Correct the state variable and set K = K + 1
voltage phase angle difference between nodes i and j .
The flowchart of the calculation of this method is shown in Fig. 3. Flowchart of corona loss calculation
Fig. 3.

5. Analysis of Examples
L1 L3
0.0042 + j0.04496 0.0042 + j0.04496
Take the eight-node system shown in Fig. 4 as an example. 1:1.05 1:0.95
j3.956 j3.956 j3.956 j3.956
The system is modified from the Electric Power Research Institute 0.0042 + j0.04496 0.0042 + j0.04496
(EPRI) 7-node system in 12. Node 5 is a balanced node, node 6 is 12 + j3
18 kV
j0.01
j3.956 j3.956 j3.956 j3.956
j0.00467 V = 0.987
230 kV ɵ = 0
a voltage controlled node, and the rest are load nodes. There are 525 kV L2 525 kV L4 525 kV
j0.12 j0.10
five AC transmission lines in the system, of which L1, L2, L3, 1:1 j0.02
and L4 have a length of 400 km, and L5 has a length of 800 km.
The calculation conditions are as follows: T f = 7471 h, 1:1.05 1:1
L5
0.0084 + j0.08992
T s = 56 h, T r = 1233 h, the number of segments N = 20, the
relative air density δ = 1, the surface roughness coefficient of P = 18 j0.00667 j0.02 j7.912 j7.912
V = 1.03 18 kV 3 + j2 525 kV
conductor m 1 = 0.9, the 500 kV line model is 4*LGJ-300, the j0.14
230 kV
subconductor radius r’ = 1.213 cm, and the bundle spacing
d = 45 cm. Three-phase horizontal arrangement is assumed, and Fig. 4. Eight-node system
the phase-to-phase distance is 13 m.
Under the above conditions, the corona loss calculation method
based on the long-line distributed parameter characteristic and the
voltage distribution characteristic along the line is used to obtain According to the calculation data provided in 14, the annual
the voltage results of each node of the system, as listed in Table I, average corona loss is 7.776 MW for a 525 kV line with a length
and the annual average corona loss results of each line are listed of 800 km (the line model is 4*LGJ-300). When using this method,
in Table II. which considers the voltage distribution along the line proposed in
Based on the corona loss data of the EHV experimental base this paper to calculate the corona loss of the distributed parameter
[13], combined with the hourly meteorological records of the line, the average operating voltage of line L5 is 525 kV. At this
US Meteorological Administration in the past 10 years, Ref. 14 time, the annual average corona loss on line L5 is 7.30839 MW,
obtained the curve of corona loss on designated lines in various which shows a difference of only 0.46761 MW from the calculation
climates through computer simulation. The corona loss result data provided in 14, and the calculation results thus are consistent
obtained based on this has high reliability. with each other.

732 IEEJ Trans 14: 730–734 (2019)

 CALCULATION OF CORONA BASED ON DISTRIBUTED PARAMETER CHARACTERISTIC

Table I. Voltage calculation results of each node in the example Table IV. Corona loss calculation results of the example system
system based on the method of this paper
Line L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 Total
Node Node voltage (kV)
Corona loss (MW) 0.75 0.75 0.83 0.83 28.18 31.33
1 508.829∠53.75◦
2 522.474∠46.95◦
3 531.775∠25.91◦
4 537.2∠6.12◦ Table V. Corona loss analysis results of different weather
5 493.5∠0◦ periods in the example system
6 515∠60.32◦
7 522.618∠53.60◦ Annual Good Snow Rainy
8 512.975∠44.28◦ average days days days
Corona loss (MW) 20.93 4.86 23.24 115.18
Resistance loss (MW) 165.6 164.70 165.73 171.03
Table II. Corona loss calculation results in the example system Total loss (MW) 186.53 169.56 188.97 286.21
based on the method of this paper Corona loss as a 11.22 2.87 12.30 40.24
percentage of total
Line Corona loss (MW) loss
L1 3.26206
L2 3.26206
L3 3.54832 calculate corona losses under the various weather conditions of a
L4 3.54832 long line. The calculation results are shown in Table IV.
L5 7.30839
Considering different sections of weather of the line to calculate
Total corona loss 20.93
corona loss is more in line with the actual weather conditions on
the surface of the EHV/UHV transmission lines.

Table III. Voltage calculation results of each node in the example

system without considering the long-line distributed parameter
characteristic
Node Node voltage (kV)
1 490.661∠59.58◦
2 503.256∠52.25◦
3 508.368∠28.23◦
4 529.379∠6.12◦
5 493.5∠0◦
6 515∠66.46◦
7 515.025∠59.64◦
8 497.465∠50.28◦
6. System Corona Loss Analysis
Using the calculation method and program of the corona
loss of EHV/UHV system proposed in this paper, the real-time
and accurate analysis of the corona loss and its proportion to the
total loss of the system under annual average and different weather
conditions (periods) can be realized. The results of the example
analysis are given in Table V.
From the results in Table V, it can be seen that the corona loss
of EHV/UHV system accounts for a considerable proportion to the
total loss. Especially, the high proportion of the system corona loss
under the condition of rainy days needs to be paid much attention
to by the power system operators and planners.

When N is 1, 10, and 40, the calculation results are 6.4073,
7.18429, and 7.35887 MW, respectively. It can be seen that when N
is larger, more accurate result and smaller variations are obtained.
Then, the paper gives the example system voltage results of
each node without considering the long-line distributed parameter
characteristic. The results are listed in Table III.
Comparing the results listed in Tables I and III, it can be
seen that there is a significant difference in the voltage of each
node of the system calculated without considering the distributed
parameter characteristic of the long-distance transmission line
and considering the distributed parameter characteristic of the
long-distance transmission line. In order to make the average
operating voltage of line L5 still 525 kV without considering the
distributed parameter characteristic, the voltage of the balanced
node can be adjusted to 1.008. At this time, the annual average
corona loss on the line L5 is calculated to be 6.2652 MW. The
difference from the calculation data provided in 14 is 1.5108 MW.
It can be seen that the error of corona loss calculation result is
large when not considering the long-line distributed parameter
characteristic and the voltage distribution along the long-distance
line.
Assume that there are three kinds of weather in the section where
line L5 passes: the first 400 km is a good day, the middle 200 km
is a snow day, and the other 200 km is a rainy day. The rest of the
system is good weather. The method of this paper can be used to
7. Conclusions
1. For the first time, the distributed parameter characteristic
of the long-distance AC transmission line and the voltage
distribution along the line are considered in the calculation
of the corona loss of an EHV/UHV system. Using the
calculation method proposed in this paper, one can get more
accurate results of the line corona loss.
2. The calculation method of this paper can consider different
sections of weather of the line to calculate the corona loss.
It is more in line with the actual weather conditions on the
surface of EHV/UHV transmission lines.
3. The corona loss calculation method and program proposed
in this paper can calculate the corona loss and its proportion
to the total loss of the system under the annual average and
different weather conditions. It is of great significance in
the design and operation of the EHV/UHV system.
4. In the case of rainy weather, the corona loss of the system
accounts for 40.24% of the total loss of the system, which
shows that the situation is serious. However, this paper
can only calculate the corona loss during rainy days but
not under different rainfall conditions such as light rain,
moderate rain, and heavy rain. It needs further improvement
to take this into account.

733 IEEJ Trans 14: 730–734 (2019)

 W. PAN, Y. LI, AND X. CHEN
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation
of China (51377047) and the 111 Project (B14022).
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Wenxia Pan (Non-member) was born in Anhui Province, China,
in 1961. She received the Ph.D. degree
from Hohai University, Nanjing, China, in
2004. She is currently a doctoral supervisor
at the College of Energy and Electrical
Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing. Her
current research interests include renewable
energy generation systems and high-voltage
and insulation technology.
Yi Li (Non-member) was born in Jiangsu Province, China, in 1993.
He obtained the B.Sc. degree from Huaiyin
Institute of Technology, Jiangsu Sheng, in
2016. Now he is pursuing the M.Sc. degree
at the College of Energy and Electrical Engi-
neering, Hohai University, Nanjing, China.
His current research interests include high-
voltage technology and external insulation.
Xin Chen (Non-member) was born in Anhui Province, China, in
1995. She obtained the B.Sc. degree from
Anhui University of Technology in 2016.
Now she is pursuing the M.Sc. degree at
the College of Energy and Electrical Engi-
neering, Hohai University, Nanjing, China.
Her current research interests include high-
voltage technology and external insulation.
IEEJ Trans 14: 730–734 (2019)