Line Capacitance

 Capacitance is the ability or capacity to store electric charges in conductors.

 Transmission line conductors exhibit capacitance with respect to each other due to the
potential difference between them.
 The amount of capacitance between conductor is a function of conductor size spacing and
height above ground.
 By definition the capacitance C is the ratio of charge q to the voltage V, given by “C=q/V”

 Consider a long round conductor with radius r, carrying a charge

of q coulombs per meter length as shown in figure.
 The charge on the conductor gives rise to an electric field with
radial flux lines
 The total electric flux is numerically equal to the value of charge
on the conductor.
 The intensity of the field at any point is defined as the force per
unit charge is termed electric field intensity showed as “E”.
Line Capacitance
 From Gauss’s law, for one meter length of the conductor, the
electric flux density at a cylinder of radius “x” is given by;
 Capacitance of Single Phase Line
 Consider 1 m length of a single phase line consisting of two long solid
round conductors each having a radius r as shown in figure.
 The two conductors are separated by a distance D. Conductor 1 carries
a charge of q1 coulombs/meter and Conductor 2 carries a charge of q2
coulombs/meter.

Fig. Single phase 2-wire line  The presence of the second conductor and ground disturbs the field of
the first conductor.
 The distance of the separation of wires D is great with respect to r and
the height of conductors is much large larger compared with D.
 So, distortion effect is small, If charge is uniformly distributed on the surface of the
conductors.
 Assuming; Conductor 1 have a charge of q1, then voltage b/w conductor 1 and 2 is
Capacitance of Single Phase Line
 Now assuming; only conductor 2 have a charge of q2 the voltage
between conductors 2 and 1 is

Since V12(q2) = -V21(q2) , so

Capacitance of Single Phase Line
 For transmission line modelling, it is convenient to define a
capacitance C between each conductor (line to line ) and a
neutral as illustrated in figure.

Since the voltage to neutral is half of V12, the questions

to neutral, C=2C12 or,

As and converting to per kilometer, then

 Potential difference in a Multi-conductor Configuration

Consider n parallel long conductors with charge q1,q2,…..qn

coulombs/meter as shown in figure

Assuming that the distortion effect is negligible and the charge is uniformly
distributed around the conductor, with the following constraint;

Fig. Multi-conductor Config.

Using superposition and
equation potential difference between conductors i and j due to the
presence of all charges is