UNIT-III
POWER SYSTEM TRANSIENTS&FACTORS GOVERING THE PERFORMANCE OF
TRANSMISSION LINES
Skin Effect:The phenomena arising due to unequal distribution of current over the entire cross section
of the conductor being used for long distance power transmission is referred as the skin effect in
transmission lines.
Factors Affecting Skin Effect in Transmission Lines
The skin effect in an ac system depends on a number of factors like:-
Shape of conductor.
Type of material.
Diameter of the conductors.
Operational frequency.
Proximity Effect:
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Proximity means nearness in space or time, so as the name suggests, proximity effect in
transmission lines indicates the effect in one conductor for other neighbouring conductors. When
the alternating current is flowing through a conductor, alternating magnetic flux is generated
surrounding the conductor.
Corona
When an alternating potential difference is applied across two conductors whose spacing is large as
compared to their diameters, there is no apparent change in the condition of atmospheric air
surrounding the wires if the applied voltage is low. However, when the applied voltage exceeds a
certain value, called critical disruptive voltage, the conductors are surrounded by a faint violet glow
called corona.
Factors Affecting Corona Effect in Power System
As mentioned earlier, the line voltage of the conductor is the main determining factor for corona in
transmission lines, at low values of voltage (lesser than critical disruptive voltage) the stress on the
air is too less to dissociate them, and hence no electrical discharge occurs.
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Atmospheric Conditions for Corona in Transmission Lines
It has been physically proven that the voltage gradient for di-electric breakdown of air is directly
proportional to the density of air.
Hence in a stormy day, due to continuous air flow the number of ions present surrounding the
conductor is far more than normal, and hence its more likely to have electrical discharge in
transmission lines on such a day, compared to a day with fairly clear weather. The system has to
designed taking those extreme situations into consideration.
Condition of Cables for Corona in Transmission Line.
This particular phenomena depends highly on the conductors and its physical condition. It has an
inverse proportionality relationship with the diameter of the conductors. i.e. with the increase in
diameter, the effect of corona in power system reduces considerably.
Also the presence of dirt or roughness of the conductor reduces the critical breakdown voltage,
making the conductors more prone to corona losses. Hence in most cities and industrial areas having
high pollution, this factor is of reasonable importance to counter the ill effects it has on the system.
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Spacing between Conductors
As already mentioned, for corona to occur effectively the spacing between the lines should be much
higher compared to its diameter, but if the length is increased beyond a certain limit, the dielectric
stress on the air reduces and consequently the effect of corona reduces as well. If the spacing is made
too large then corona for that region of the transmission line might not occur at all.
Important Terms:
The phenomenon of corona plays an important role in the design of an overhead transmission line.
Therefore, it is profitable to consider the following terms much used in the analysis of corona effects
Critical Disruptive Voltage:
It is the minimum phase-neutral voltage at which corona occurs. Consider two conductors of radii r
cm and spaced d cm apart. If V is the phase-neutral potential, then potential gradient at the conductor
surface is given by:
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The value of go is directly proportional to air density. Thus the breakdown strength of air at a
barometric pressure of b cm of mercury and temperature of tºC becomes δg0 where
Under standard conditions, the value of δ = 1.
Visual critical voltage
It is the minimum phase-neutral voltage at which corona glow appears all along the line conductors.
It has been seen that in case of parallel conductors, the corona glow does not begin at the disruptive
voltage Vc but at a higher voltage Vv, called visual critical voltage. The phase-neutral effective value
of visual critical voltage is given by the following empirical formula
where mv is another irregularity factor having a value of 1·0 for polished conductors and 0·72 to 0·82
for rough conductors.
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Power loss due to corona
Formation of corona is always accompanied by energy loss which is dissipated in the form of light,
heat, sound and chemical action. When disruptive voltage is exceeded, the power loss due to corona is
given by:
Advantages and Disadvantages of Corona
Corona has many advantages and disadvantages. In the correct design of a high voltage overheadline, a
balance should be struck between the advantages and disadvantages. Below are the Advantages and
disadvantages of Corona.
Disadvantages
Corona is accompanied by a loss of energy. This affects the transmission efficiency of the line.
Ozone is produced by corona and may cause corrosion of the conductor due to chemical action.
Methods to reduce Corona Discharge Effect
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By minimizing the voltage stress and electric field gradient.:
This is accomplished by using utilizing good high voltage design practices, i.e., maximizing the
distance between conductors that have large voltage differentials, using conductors with large radii,
and avoiding parts that have sharp points or sharp edges.
Surface Treatments:Corona inception voltage can sometimes be increased by using a surface
treatment, such as a semiconductor layer, high voltage putty or corona dope.
Homogenous Insulators:Use a good, homogeneous insulator. Void free solids, such as properly
prepared silicone and epoxy potting materials work well.
Using Bundled Conductors: on our 345 kV lines, we have installed multiple conductors per
phase. This is a common way of increasing the effective diameter of the conductor, which in turn
results in less resistance, which in turn reduces losses.
By increasing the spacing between the conductors: Corona Discharge Effect can be reduced
by increasing the clearance spacing between the phases of the transmission lines. However increase in
the phase’s results in heavier metal supports. Cost and Space requirement increases.
By increasing the diameter of the conductor: Diameter of the conductor can be increased to
reduce the corona discharge effect. By using hollow conductors corona discharge effect can be
improved.
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UNIT-V
UNDERGROUND CABLES
INSULATED CABLES:Electric power can be transmitted or distributed either by overhead
system or by underground cables. The underground cables have several advantages such as less liable
to damage through storms or lightning, low maintenance cost, less chance of faults, smaller voltage
drop and better general appearance. However, their major drawback is that they have greater
installation cost and introduce insulation problems at high voltages compared with the equivalent
overhead system.
Underground Cables:-An underground cable essentially consists of one or more conductors
covered with suitable insulation and surrounded by a protecting cover. Although several types of
cables are available, the type of cable to be used will depend upon the working voltage and service
requirements. In general, a cable must fulfill the following necessary requirements:
The conductor used in cables should be tinned stranded copper or aluminum of high conductivity.
Stranding is done so that conductor may become flexible and carry more current.
The conductor size should be such that the cable carries the desired load current without
overheating and causes voltage drop within permissible limits.
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Construction of Cables:Figure shows the general construction of a 3-conductor cable. The
various parts are
Fig 2.9- Cable
Cores or Conductors. A cable may have one or more than one core (conductor) depending
upon the type of service for which it is intended. For instance, the 3 conductor cable shown in
Figure is used for 3-phase service. The conductors are made of tinned copper or aluminum and
are usually stranded in order to provide flexibility to the cable.
Insulation. Each core or conductor is provided with a suitable thickness of insulation, the
thickness of layer depending upon the voltage to be withstood by the cable. The commonly used
materials for insulation are impregnated paper, varnished cambric or rubber mineral
compound.
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Insulating Materials for Cables:-The satisfactory operation of a cable depends to a great extent
upon the characteristics of insulation used. Therefore, the proper choice of insulating material for
cables is of considerable importance. In general, the insulating materials used in cables should have
the following properties:
High insulation resistance to avoid leakage current.
High dielectric strength to avoid electrical breakdown of the cable.
High mechanical strength to withstand the mechanical handling of cables.
(iv)Non-hygroscopic i.e., it should not absorb moisture from air or soil. The moisture tends to
decrease the insulation resistance and hastens the breakdown of the cable. In case the insulating
material is hygroscopic, it must be enclosed in a waterproof covering like lead sheath.
The principal insulating materials used in cables are rubber, vulcanized rubber, impregnated paper
and polyvinyl chloride
1. Rubber: Rubber may be obtained from milky sap of tropical trees or it may be produced from
oil products. It has relative permittivity varying between 2 and 3, dielectric strength is about 30
kV/mm and resistivity of insulation is 1017 cm.
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Vulcanised India Rubber (V.I.R.). It is prepared by mixing pure rubber with mineral matter
such as zinc oxide, red lead etc., and 3 to 5% of sulphur
Impregnated paper. It consists of chemically pulped paper made from wood chippings and
impregnated with some compound such as paraffinic or naphthenic material. This type of insulation
has almost superseded the rubber insulation
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC). This insulating material is a synthetic compound. It is obtained
from the polymerization of acetylene and is in the form of white powder.
Classification of Cables: -Cables for underground service may be classified in two ways according
to (i) the type of insulating material used in their manufacture (ii) the voltage for which they are
manufactured. However, the latter method of classification is generally preferred, according to which
cables can be divided into the following groups
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Low-tension (L.T.) cables — upto 1000 V
High-tension (H.T.) cables — upto 11,000 V
Super-tension (S.T.) cables — from 22 kV to 33 kV (iv)Extra high-tension (E.H.T.) cables —
from 33 kV to 66 kV
Extra super voltage cables — beyond 132 kV
A cable may have one or more than one core depending upon the type of service for which it is
intended. It may be (i) single-core (ii) two-core (iii) three-core (iv) four-core etc. For a 3-phase
service, either 3-single-core cables or three-core cable can be used depending upon the operating
voltage and load demand.
Cable for 3-phase
In practice, underground cables are generally required to deliver 3-phase power. For the
purpose, either three-core cable or three single core cables may be used. For voltages upto 66
kV, 3-core cable (i.e., multi-core construction) is preferred due to economic reasons. However,
for voltages beyond 66 kV, 3-core-cables become too large and unwieldy and, therefore, single-
core cables are used. The following types of cables are generally used for 3-phase service:
Belted cables — upto 11 kV
Screened cables — from 22 kV to 66 kV
Pressure cables — beyond 66 kV
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Dielectric Stress in Cable
Fig 2.11- Dielectric Stress in Cable
Under operating conditions, the insulation of a cable is subjected to electrostatic forces. This is
known as dielectric stress. The dielectric stress at any point in a cable is in fact the potential gradient
(or electric intensity) at that point. Consider a single core cable with core diameter d and internal
sheath diameter D. The electric intensity at a point x metres from the centre of the cable is
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By definition, electric intensity is equal to potential gradient. Therefore, potential gradient g at
point x meters from the Centre of cable is
Potential difference V between conductor and sheath is
Substituting the value of Q, we get
Maximum potential gradient is
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Minimum potential gradient is
Most Economical Size of Conductor:
It has already been shown that maximum stress in a cable occurs at the surface of the conductor.
For safe working of the cable, dielectric strength of the insulation should be more than the
maximums tress.
Most economical conductor diameter is
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cc
and the value of gmax under this condition is
Grading of Cables
The process of achieving uniform electrostatic stress in the dielectric of cables is known as grading of
cables. It has already been shown that electrostatic stress in a single core cable has a maximum value
(gmax) at the conductor surface and goes on decreasing as we move towards the sheath. The
maximum voltage that can be safely applied to a cable depends upon gmax i.e., electrostatic stress at
the conductor surface.
(i) Capacitance grading (ii) Intersheath grading
Capacitance Grading:
The process of achieving uniformity in the dielectric stress by using layers of different dielectrics is
known as capacitance grading.
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Fig 2.12- Capacitance grading
In capacitance grading, the homogeneous dielectric is replaced by a composite dielectric. The
composite dielectric consists of various layers of different dielectrics in such a manner that relative
permittivity > r of any layer is inversely proportional to its distance from the center
There are three dielectrics of outer diameter d1, d2 and D and of relative permittivity >1, >2 and
>3 respectively. If the permittivity are such that >1 > 2 > 3 and the three dielectrics are worked at
the same maximum stress, then
Total p.d. between core and earthed sheath is
=V1 +V2 + V3
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Intersheath Grading: : In this method of cable grading, a homogeneous dielectric is used, but it is
divided into various layers by placing metallic inters heaths between the core and lead sheath.
Fig 2.13- Intersheath grading
Consider a cable of core diameter d and outer lead sheath of diameter D. Suppose that two
intersheaths of diameters d1 and d2 are inserted into the homogeneous dielectric and maintained at
some fixed potentials.
Since the dielectric is homogeneous, the maximum stress in each layer is the same i.e.,
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As the cable behaves like three capacitors in series, therefore, all the potentials are in phase i.e.
Voltage between conductor and earthed lead sheath is
V=V1+ V2 +V3
Inter sheath grading has three principal disadvantages. Firstly, there are complications in fixing the
sheath potentials.
Measurement of capacitance of 3-core cables
In three-core cables, capacitance does not have a single value, but can be lumped as shown in below
figure.
Fig 2.14- Cable Capacitance
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These can be separated from measurements as described in the following section.
Strap the 3 cores together and measure the capacitance between this bundle and the sheath as
shown in figure.
Fig 2.16-Capacitance Measurement
Connect 2 of the cores to the sheath and measure between the remaining core and the sheath.
Measured value Cm2= 2 C + Cs
i.e. C = (Cm2 – Cs)/2 = (3 Cm2 – Cm1)/6
Which gives the capacitance between the conductors.
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The effective capacitance to neutral Co of any of the cores may be obtained by considering the
star equivalent. This gives
Fig 2.17-Calculation of C0
In the breakdown of actual 3-core belted cables, it is generally observed that charring occurs at
those places where the stress is tangential to the layers of paper
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