Dynamic thermal rating of power

transmission lines related to

renewable resources

Jiri Hosek

Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Prague, Czech Rep.

 Background and motivation

modern renewable energy sources (e.g. wind turbines) are booming

and cause significant decentralization of electricity production
an alternative to building a new power line may be a dynamic thermal
rating (DTR) system
there are two methods of thermal rating of transmission lines:
1) static rating based on information about conductor type and
the overall climatology of the site
2) dynamic rating calculation using an online monitoring system
of conductor temperature, sag, or weather conditions
thermal model is driven by met. measurements or post-processed
outputs from a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model
dynamic rating generally increase line capacity (ampacity)
the energy production from renewable resources is no more
independent on the ambient atmospheric conditions, as it is for
traditional sources
 Dynamic thermal rating of power lines

The DTR calculations are based DTR may be calculated as:

on a heat balance equation:
1. steady state

qs I 2 RTc
dTc - total heat losses and gains
qc qr mC p are in equilibrium
dt - dTc/dt=0
qc .. convective heat loss
or
qr .. heat loss due to long wave radiation
qs .. heat gain due to solar radiation
2. transient
I2R(Tc) .. heat gain due to Joule heating
mCp .. heat capacity of the conductor
- necessary for conductor
temperature calculations
under varying current
and/or ambient conditions
 Thermal model

based on the IEEE standard 738-2006

the model allows:
1) steady-state calculations of conductor temperature and ampacity
2) transient calculation of conductor temperature with changing
ambient parameters and/or transmitted current
the most important factor is convective cooling based on wind velocity
and ambient air temperature
solar radiation is either calculated, using the time of day, or obtained
from measuring instruments or from a NWP model
electrical resistance for Joule heating is calculated as a function of
conductor temperature with linear interpolation between specified
points
Thermal model convective heat transfer
Convective heat transfer consists of either:

1. Natural convection heat loss: 2. Forced convective heat loss:

qc 0.0205 0f .5 D0.75 (Tc Ta )1.25 qc Ck f K (Tc Ta )

Tc .. temperatures of the conductor the constant C in forced

Ta .. temperature of the airstream
f .. air density
D .. conductor diameter
kf .. thermal conductivity of air
K .. wind direction factor
convection is evaluated using
expressions of McAdams (1959)
the higher of the natural or
forced convection is used
in the model

The wind direction factor is calculated as follows:

K 1.194 sin( ) 0.194cos(2 ) 0.38sin(2 )

.. angle between wind direction and normal to the line
 Thermal model radiative heat transfer
Solar radiation is calculated as follows:
qs Qse sin( ) A'
.. Solar absorptivity
Qse .. Total solar and sky radiation
(elevation corrected)
.. Angle of incidence of sun rays
A .. Projected area of conductor
(per unit length)
Long wave radiation loss is based on the Stefan-Boltzman law:
Tc 273.15 4 Ta 273.15 4
qr 0.0178D
100 100
mainly depends on age of
the conductor
is calculated using current
position of the sun (altitude and
azimuth) and heading of the power
line
Qse is calculated using an empirically
fitted polynomial of the altitude and
azimuth of the sun
.. emissivity
D .. conductor diameter
Tc .. conductor temperature
Ta .. ambient air temperature
Thermal model sensitivity
 Instantaneous vs. average inputs
wind speed is typically averaged over instantaneous
a specified interval
use of instantaneous values of the
meteorological inputs causes
significantly higher variability and
phase shifts of the results
recommended averaging intervals for
DTR calculations is 10-15 mins,
details in:

J. Hosek, P. Musilek, E. Lozowski, P. Pytlak: Effect of averaged

time resolution of meteorological inputs on dynamic
thermal rating calculations, accepted to IET
Generation, Transmission & Distribution
 Site and meteorological data specification

Meteorological mast at Dlouha Louka

Dlouha Louka, Ore Mountains
elevation: 880 m a.s.l.
wind mast measurements
height above ground: 50 m

Teplice
elevation: 230 m a.s.l.
standard met. station
height above ground: 10 m

Wind speed measurements

period Apr 2003 Apr 2005
logarithmic profile used for height adjustment:
- for DTR calculations 30 m a.g.l.
- for WT production calculations 98 m a.g.l.
 Benefits of DTR for WE production - setup

Conductor parameters
AlFe6 120mm2
voltage: 110 kV
diameter: 31.3 mm
resistance at 75 degC: 0.234 ohm/km
static ampacity: 420A
- calculated for 0.6 m/s wind speed,
wind direction parallel to the line,
30 degC ambient temperature,
300 W/m2 solar radiation

WT parameters
Enercon E82
nominal power: 2300 kW
hub height: 98 m
rotor diameter: 82 m
 Benefits of DTR for WE production
1600 2500

DTR ampacity [A]

1400
WT production [kW] 2000

WT production [kW]
DTR ampacity [A]

1200
1500

1000

1000
800

500
600

400 0

Case study
the line capacity considered blocked with 240A, leaving 180A available

three cases studied:

1) 13 WTs, max current delivered 272 A
2) 17 WTs, max current delivered 356 A
3) 26 WTs, max current delivered 544 A
Required and available ampacity 13 WTs
Required and available ampacity 17 WTs
Required and available ampacity 26 WTs
Wasted production, 10 - 40 WTs
 Conclusions
dynamic thermal rating allows more line capacity than static rating
the ampacity calculations suggest that, using DTR, it may be
possible to transport double the amount of energy in case of
favorable ambient conditions
DTR is calculated using thermal model and measured or modeled
meteorological data
if the line is used close to the operational limits, DTR helps to
transport the energy otherwise wasted