Electric Power Transmission and

Distribution
ELEN 4001, 6005, 6010

Contact Details
Associate Prof. Ahmed Abu-Siada (337:314)
Ext : 7287
Email : a.abusiada@curtin.edu.au
Blackboard:
http://lms.curtin.edu.au

ASSESSMENT DETAILS
Assessment Tasks (ELEN4001 and
ELEN6010)

Week Due

Worth

Transmission line design assignment

30

Distribution system assignment

30

Final Examination

40

TOTAL

Assessment Tasks ELEN6005

100%

Week Due

Worth

Transmission line design assignment

50

Distribution system assignment

50

TOTAL

-To Pass this unit student must:

-Achieve an overall grade/mark greater than
or equal to 5/50.
-Submit all Assessments.

100%

Learning Activities:
One 2 hour Lecture followed by one 1-hour tutorial

Unit Materials:
Blackboard:
http://lms.curtin.edu.au

Concept of Energy Transmission and Distribution

S=VI*

TL losses=I2R

One Line Diagram of a typical Transmission System

Power System Components:

Generation

Prime mover
Generator
Step-up Transformer

Transmission &
Substations

Loads

Distribution

HV transmission lines
Switching stations
circuit breakers
transformers

Distribution substations
Step-down transformers

Single Line Diagram

Industrial
Residential

Source: ABB.

Substations

Introduction

-Substations are the points in the power network where transmission lines and

distribution feeders are connected together through circuit breakers or switches via
busbars and transformers.

SUBSTATION DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

Security of Supply
Extendibility
Maintainability
Operational Flexibility
Protection Arrangements
Short Circuit Limitations
Land Area
Cost

More about AC vs. DC

The factor determining the choice of an ac or dc installation is mainly an economical
one. However, in some cases, dc transmission is the only feasible solution. The
economical comparisons between dc and ac schemes are based mainly on two facts:
1- DC converter stations cost considerably more than ac transformer stations.
2- For the same transmitted power, a dc line costs less than an ac line.
Thus, it is obvious that, beyond a certain length of line, dc transmission becomes less
costly than ac.
Critical length of overhead lines ranges from 310 to 930 miles (500 to 1500 km).
For cables, the critical length is much shorter than overhead lines, between 15 and 30
miles (24 and 48 km).

Technical advantages of dc transmission can be summarized as follows:

1- The security of a dc transmission is high because, in the event of fault on one conductor,
the other conductor can continue to operate with ground return during the period required
for repairing the fault.
2- The corona loss of a dc line is considerably less than that of the equivalent ac line.
3- A dc link is asynchronous, thus the power transfer can be adjusted to any desired value
irrespective of the magnitude and phase of the terminal ac voltages (under normal operating
conditions).
4- A dc link can be used for power transfer over national frontiers. This is because it ensures
complete independence of the frequency of the linked ac systems.
5- A dc link can be worked at a higher voltage gradient and there is practically no charging
current.
6- In dc systems, skin effect is completely absent. This results in a more uniform current
distribution in the conductors and better utilization of material.
7- In dc transmission, reduced tower size is used due to the lower insulation levels and number
of conductors used. This is because a dc line has only two conductors, while three conductors
are used with an ac line.

8- Delivery of energy from remote energy sources, where generation takes

place at remote sites of available energy, HVDC transmission has been an
economical means to bring the electricity to load centers at distances beyond
the critical limits.
9- Import electric energy into congested load areas. In areas where new
generation is impossible to bring into service to meet load growth or replace
inefficient or decommissioned plant, underground dc cable transmission is a
viable means to import electricity.
10- Increasing the capacity of existing ac transmission by conversion to dc
transmission. New transmission rights-of-way may be impossible to obtain.
Existing overhead ac transmission lines if upgraded to or overbuilt with dc
transmission can substantially increase the power transfer capability on the
existing right-of-way.
11- Power flow control. AC networks do not easily accommodate desired
power flow control. Power marketers and system operators may require the
power flow control capability provided by HVDC transmission.
12- Stabilization of electric power networks. Some wide spread ac power
system networks operate at stability limits well below the thermal capacity of
their transmission conductors. HVDC transmission is an option to consider
increasing utilization of network conductors along with the various power
electronic controllers, which can be applied on ac transmission.

On the other hand, the disadvantages of dc transmission are:

1- A dc terminal station is far more complicated than the equivalent ac transformer
station.
2- Voltage transformation has to be carried out on the ac side.
3- Converters generate harmonics and, therefore, filters have to be used.

Transmission Lines (Electrical Design /

Performance); Review

The power transmission line is one of the major components of an electric

power system.
Its major function is to transport electric energy, with minimal losses, from
the power sources to the load centres, usually separated by long distances.
The power capability of a transmission line is proportional to the square of
the voltage on the line. Therefore, very high voltage levels are used to
transmit power over long distances. Once the power reaches the area where
it will be used, it is stepped down to a lower voltages in distribution
substations, and then delivered to customers through distribution lines
The three basic electrical parameters of a transmission line are:

1. Series resistance
2. Series inductance
3. Shunt capacitance

Once evaluated, the parameters are used to model the line and to perform
design calculations.
The arrangement of the parameters (equivalent circuit) representing the line
depends upon the length of the line.
These values determine the power-carrying capacity of the transmission line
and the voltage drop across it at full load.

 Line resistance
The AC resistance of a conductor in a transmission line is based on the calculation of its
DC resistance.
If DC is flowing along a round cylindrical conductor, the current is uniformly distributed
over its cross-section area and the DC resistance is evaluated by:

If AC current is flowing, rather than DC current, the conductor effective resistance is higher
due to the skin effect.
at 60 Hz

 Temperature effects
The resistivity of any metal varies linearly over an operating temperature, and therefore
the resistance of any conductor suffers the same variations. As temperature rises, the
resistance increases linearly, according to the following equation:

Resistance
We notice that silver and copper would be among the best conductors. However,
aluminum, being much cheaper and lighter, is used to make most of the transmission line
conductors. Conductors made out of aluminum should have bigger diameter than copper
conductors to offset the higher resistivity of the material and, therefore, support the
necessary currents.
AC resistance of a conductor is always higher than its DC resistance due to the skin effect
forcing more current flow near the outer surface of the conductor. The higher the
frequency of current, the more noticeable skin effect would be.
At frequencies of our interest (50-60 Hz), however, skin effect is not very strong.
Wire manufacturers usually supply tables of resistance per unit length at common
frequencies (50 and 60 Hz). Therefore, the resistance can be determined from such
tables.

Magnetic Field -Fundamentals

Amperes circuital law

Flux Linkage

Inductance

Permeability of free space =

0 = 4 10 7

H /m

Line Inductance

The magnetic flux generated by the current in transmission line conductors

produces a total inductance whose magnitude depends on the line configuration.

1- Inductance of a Single Conductor

External and internal concentric magnetic flux

lines around the conductor

Internal magnetic flux.

 Internal Inductance

The fraction of the current Ix enclosed in the area of the circle is determined by:

Amperes law determines the magnetic field intensity Hx constant at any point
along the circle contour:

where = 0 = 4 x 10-7 (H/m)

The differential flux d enclosed in a ring of thickness dx for a 1-m length of conductor, and
the differential flux linkage d in the respective area are:

The internal flux linkage is obtained by integrating the differential flux linkage
from x = 0 to x = r :

--------------------------- (1)
The inductance due to internal flux linkage per-unit length becomes

 External Inductance
The external inductance is evaluated assuming that the total current I is concentrated at the
conductor surface (maximum skin effect). At any point on an external magnetic field circle of
radius y , the magnetic field intensity Hy and the magnetic field density By are :

The differential flux d enclosed in a ring of thickness dy, from point D1 to point D2, for a 1-m
length of conductor is:

As the total current I flows in the surface conductor, then the differential flux
linkage d has the same magnitude as the differential flux d.

In general, the external flux linkage from the surface of the conductor to any
point D is:
--------------------------- (2)
The summation of the internal and external flux linkage at any point D permits
evaluation of the total inductance of the conductor L per-unit length as follows,

D
= 2 10 ln \
r
7

Inductance of a two-wire Single-Phase Line

conductors of radii r1 and r2, separated by a distance D

Flux Linkage - Self and Mutual Inductances

From the 2 conductor case:
for n conductor :

Inductance of Three-Phase Lines

Symmetrical spacing

H/m

Inductance of Three-Phase Lines

Asymmetrical spacing

Or in Matrix form:

Transposition

In actual transmission lines, the phase conductors generally do not have a symmetrical
(triangular) arrangement. However, if the phase conductors are transposed, an average
distance GMD (geometrical mean distance) is substituted for distance D, and the calculation
of the phase inductance derived for symmetrical arrangement is still valid. In a transposed
system, each phase conductor occupies the location of the other two phases for one third of
the total line length. The inductance per phase per unit length in a transmission line is:

Inductance of a transmission line

In most of the practical situations, the inductance of the transmission line can be
found from tables supplied by line developers.
The greater the spacing between the phases of a transmission line, the greater the
inductance of the line. Since the phases of a high-voltage overhead transmission line
must be spaced further apart to ensure proper insulation, a high-voltage line will
have a higher inductance than a low-voltage line. Since the spacing between lines in
buried cables is very small, series inductance of cables is much smaller than the
inductance of overhead lines.

The greater the radius of the conductors in a transmission line, the lower the
inductance of the line. In practical transmission lines, instead of using heavy and
inflexible conductors of large radii, two and more conductors are bundled together
to approximate a large conductor diameter. The more conductors included in the
bundle, the better the approximation becomes. Bundles are often used in the highvoltage transmission lines.

Electric Field -Fundamentals

Gausss law

Capacitance of a Single Solid Conductor

The potential difference between two outside points P1 and P2 with

corresponding distances x1 and x2 from the conductor centre is
defined by integrating the electric field intensity from x1 to x2

Then, the capacitance between points P1 and P2 is evaluated as

If point P1 is located at the conductor surface (x1 = r), and point P2 is located at ground
surface below the conductor (x2 = H), then the voltage of the conductor and the capacitance
between the conductor and ground are

Capacitance of a Single-Phase Line with Two Wires

The charge on each conductor generates independent electric fields.

Charge q+ on conductor A generates
a voltage VAB-A between both conductors. Similarly, charge q on
conductor B generates a voltage VAB-B between conductors.

The voltage between each conductor and ground is one-half of the voltage between the two
conductors. Therefore, the capacitance from either line to ground is twice the capacitance
between lines

Capacitance of a Three-Phase Line

Capacitance of a single phase twowire transmission line

Similar to inductance, capacitance of the transmission line can be found from tables
supplied by line developers.

The greater the spacing between the phases of a transmission line, the lower the
capacitance of the line. Since the phases of a high-voltage overhead transmission
line must be spaced further apart to ensure proper insulation, a high-voltage line
will have a lower capacitance than a low-voltage line. Since the spacing between
lines in buried cables is very small, shunt capacitance of cables is much larger than
the capacitance of overhead lines. Cable lines are normally used for short distances
in urban areas.

The greater the radius of the conductors in a transmission line, the higher the
capacitance of the line. Therefore, bundling increases the capacitance. Good
transmission line is a compromise among the requirements for low series
inductance, low shunt capacitance, and a large enough separation to provide
insulation between the phases.

Example
An 8000 V, 60 Hz, single-phase, transmission line consists of two hard-drawn aluminum
conductors with a radius of 2 cm spaced 1.2 m apart. If the transmission line is 30 km
long and the temperature of the conductors is 200C,
a. What is the series dc resistance per kilometer of this line?
b. What is the series inductance per kilometer of this line?
c. What is the shunt capacitance per kilometer of this line?
d. What is the total series reactance of this line?
e. What is the total shunt admittance of this line?
Solution:
a. The series resistance of the transmission line is

R=

l
A

Ignoring the skin effect, the resistivity of the line at 200 will be 2.8310-8 -m and the
resistance per kilometer of the line is

=
r

2.83 108 1000

=
= 0.0225 km
2
A
0.02

b. The series inductance per kilometer of the transmission line is

l
=

1
1
D
1.2
3
0
0.869
x
ln
1000
ln
1000
1.738
10
H km
+

=
+

2 4
4
r
0.02

c. The series capacitance per kilometer of the transmission line is

cab =

D
ln
r

1000 =

8.854 1012
1.2
ln
0.02

1000 = 6.794 109 F km

Shunt capacitance=2Cab

d. The series impedance per kilometer of the transmission line is

3
J(X
-X
)
zse =
r + jx =
r+
j
2

fl
=
0.0225
+
j
2

60

1.738

10
=
0.0225 + j 0.655 km
L C

Then the total series impedance of the line is= Zse*30

e. The shunt admittance per kilometer of the transmission line is

9
(2)=
=
yC j 2=
fc j 2 60 6.794 10
=
j 2.561 106 S m

The total shunt admittance will be

=
Yse

( j 2.561Y 10 =
) 30
c

j 7.684 105 S