TRANSMISSION LINES

CONDUCTORS
 General Considerations
Electrical Considerations for T.L.
• Low voltage drop
• Minimum power loss
• As a result high efficiency of power
transmission.
• The line should have sufficient current carrying
capacity so that the power can be transmitted
without excessive voltage drop or overheating.
• Conductivity of Conductor:
R = ρ.L/A , or
R = L/Ϭ. A
Where:
L: Conductor length.
A: Conductor cross sectional area.
ρ: resistivity
Ϭ: Conductivity (Ϭ= 1/ρ)
• The conductor conductivity must be very high
to reduce
 Conductor resistance R and
 hence reduce losses

PL= 3 I2 .R
• Heat expansion coefficient must be very small.

Rt = R0. (1 + α0 .t)

αt = α0/(1+ α0.t)

α t is the heat expansion coefficient at t.

 Mechanical Considerations for T.L.
• The conductors and line supports should have
sufficient mechanical strength:
- to withstand conductor weight, Conductor
Tension and weather conditions (wind, ice).
- The Spans between the towers can be long.
- Sag will be small.
- Reducing the number and height of towers and
the number of insulators.
- As a result reduce the cost of the materials
SAG AND TENSION
 Sag of Transmission Lines
Sag of T.L depends on:
- Conductor weight.
- Span length,
- Tension in the conductor, T
- Weather conditions (wind , ice).
- Temperature.
Minimum Clearance between the
ground and the conductor
kV C (m)
0.4 5.5
11 5.5
33 6.0
66 6.2
132 6.2
220 7.0
400 8.4
 Conductor Spacing

Spacing = (S )0.5 + V/150

Where:
S: Sag in meters.
V: Line voltage in kV.
 Transmission lines in terms of
construction
1. Underground transmission line:
• Rarely used due to two main reasons
i. Installation cost is very high due to long distance
transmission of power
ii. electric power has to be transmitted at high voltages for
economic reasons. So it is Very difficult to provide
proper insulation to the cables to withstand the high
voltage.
• it has limited use for distribution in congested areas
where safety and good appearances are the main
considerations
 Con’d
2.Over head transmission line
• Transmission lines are projected above the
surface of the earth
• Very economical for transmission of power over
long distance
• bare conductors are used and air acts as the
insulation.
• The necessary insulation between the
conductors can be provided by adjusting the
spacing between them.
 Main components of Overhead
lines:
i. Conductors: carry electric power from the sending
end station to the receiving end Station.
ii. Supports: poles or towers and keep the conductors
at a suitable level above the ground.
iii. Insulators: which are attached to supports and
insulate the conductors from the ground.
iv. Cross arms: provide support to the insulators
v. Miscellaneous : such as phase plates, danger
plates, lightning arrestors, anti-climbing wires etc.
CONDUCTOR MATERIALS
Properties :-
(i) High electrical conductivity.
(ii) High tensile strength in order to withstand mechanical
stresses.
(iii) Low cost so that it can be used for long distances
(iv) Low specific gravity so that weight per unit volume is small.
Commonly used conductor materials:-
a)Copper
b) Aluminium
c)Steel-cored aluminium
d) Galvanised steel
e)Cadmium copper
Conductors are preferably stranded to increase flexibility.
 Con’d

The choice of a particular material will depend up on

• The cost

• Its electrical properties

• Its mechanical properties

• The local conditions

 Con’d
• All conductors used for overhead lines are preferably
stranded in order to increase the flexibility.
• In stranded conductors, there is generally one central
wire and round this, successive layers of wires
containing 6, 12, 18, 24 ...... wires. Thus, if there are n
layers, the total number of individual wires is 3n(n +
1) + 1.
• In the manufacture of stranded conductors, the
consecutive layers of wires are twisted or spiralled in
opposite directions so that layers are bound together.
(a) Copper
• High electrical conductivity
• Greater tensile strength
• Hard drawn copper used as stranded conductor
• Although hard drawing decreases the electrical conductivity slightly yet it
increases the tensile strength considerably
• High current density i.e
• the current carrying capacity of copper per unit X-sectional area is quite
large. due to this
• Smaller cross-sectional area required
• the area offered by the conductor to wind loads is reduced
• There fore: copper is an ideal material for transmission and distribution of
electric power due to
– High cost & non availability
All Aluminum Conductors (AAC)
(b) Aluminium
• Cheaper & light in weight, for small span
• Small conductivity & tensile strength (60% of copper)
• Cross-sectional area of conductor larger than
copper(Aluminium diameter= 1.26 times of copper),for the
same resistance.
– Higher tower with greater sag
• Specific gravity lower than copper, liable to swings
– Larger cross-arms required
• Not suitable for long distance transmission
• Due to lower tensile strength and higher co-efficient of linear
expansion of aluminium,
– sag is greater in aluminium conductors.
 2- Aluminum Conductor Steel
Reinforced (ACSR)

1- Steel strands
2- Aluminum strands
ACSR (26/7)
(c) Steel cored aluminium:
• To increase strength of aluminum conductors
reinforced with a core of galvanized steel
wires
• Abbreviated as ACSR(Aluminium condutor
steel reinforced)
 Advantages of ACSR
• High mechanical strength can be utilized by
using spans of larger lengths.
• Tower of smaller height can be used
• A reduction in the number of supports also
include reduction in insulators and the risk of
lines outage due to flash over or faults is
reduced.
• losses are reduced due to larger diameter of
conductor.
• High current carrying capacity.
(d) Galvanised steel
• Very high tensile strength
– Used for Long spans
• Used in Rural areas where cheapness is the
main consideration
• Due to Poor conductivity & high resistance
– Not suitable for transmitting large power over a
long distance
(e) Cadmium Copper
• Addition of 1% or 2% cadmium to copper
• Increased tensile strength by 50% than pure
copper
• Conductivity reduced by 15% below that of
pure copper
• Economical for lines of small cross-section
due to high cost of cadmium
LINE SUPPORTS
Properties:
• High mechanical strength to withstand
weight of conductor
•Light in weight
•Cheap in cost
•Longer life
•Easy accessibility of conductor for
maintenance
 TYPES OF LINE SUPPORTS:-
• Wooden poles
• Steel poles
• RCC poles
• Lattice steel towers
Wooden poles
• Shorter span,upto 50 m
• cheap, easily available, provide insulating properties and,
therefore, are widely used for distirbutionpurposes in rural
areas as an economical proposition.
• Pesticides required e.g creosote oil
• Used for voltage upto 20 kv
• Smaller life(20-25 years)
• Less mechanical strength

• Moderate cross-sectional area

 Con’d
Main objection to wooden poles
• tendency to rot below the ground level
– Foundation failure, so, Pesticides required e.g
creosote oil
• comparatively smaller life (20-25 years)
• cannot be used for voltages higher than 20 kV
• less mechanical strength
• require periodical inspection
Wooden Poles
Steel Poles
•Greater mechanical strength
•Larger spans
•Longer life
•Used for distribution purpose in cities
• Three types:
• Rail poles
• Tubular poles
• Rolled steel joints
Steel Poles
RCC(Reinforced concrete poles):-
• Greater mechanical strength
•Longer life
•Longer spans
•Good outlook
•Little maintenance
•Good insulating properties
Two Types:-
Single pole
Double poles
Reinforced Concrete Poles
Steel towers :-
• Longer life
•Longer span
•Greater mechanical strength
•For long distance at high voltage
•Tower footings are usually grounded by
driving rods into the earth .This minimizes
lightning troubles as each tower acts as
lightning conductor.
 Types of Towers
1- Suspension Tower

2- Tension Tower

3- Angle Tower

4- End Tower
1- Suspension Tower
2- Tension Tower
3- Angle Tower
 4- End Tower

This type of towers exists in the beginning

and at the end of the line which exposed to
tension in one side.
INSULATORS

The successful operation of an overhead line depends to

a considerable extent upon the proper selection of
insulators.
The insulators provide necessary insulation between
line conductors and supports and thus prevent
any leakage current from conductors to earth

There are several types of insulators but the most

commonly used are pin type, suspension type, strain
insulator and shackle insulator.
Properties:-
• High mechanical strength
•High electrical resistance to avoid
leakage currents to earth
•Insulator material should be porous,free
from impurities & cracks
 TYPES
• Pin type :- For transmission and distribution
upto 33 KV
 Con’d
Suspension type :- For voltage greater than 33
KV
 Con’d
Strain type:-
• When there is a dead end of the line or there is
corner or sharp curve, the line is subjected to
greater tension.
• In order to relieve the line of excessive
tension, strain insulators are used.
• For low voltage lines (< 11 kV), shackle
insulators are used as strain insulators
 Con’d
• However, for high voltage transmission lines,
strain insulator consists of an assembly of
suspension insulators
• The discs of strain insulators are used in the
vertical plane.
• When the tension in lines is exceedingly high,
as at long river spans, two or more strings are
used in parallel.
shackle type:- For low voltage distribution lines & can be used
either in a horizontal or vertical position
Bundled conductors