ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF TRANSMISSION-LINE STRUCTURES BY MEANS OF THE GEOMETRIC MEAN DISTANCE

A. J. Sinclair

J. A. Ferreira

Industrial Electronics Research Group, Laboratory for Energy, Rand Afrikaans University, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park, 2006, SOUTH AFRICA

ABSTRACT
This article describes the Geometric Mean Distance (GMD), a tool for calculating the various direct-current inductances in any multi-conductor transmission line. Two examples of its use are given. For a two-conductor transmission line consisting of rectangular conductors, the GMD is calculated by means of integration and also by discretizing the conductors and treating them as composite conductors. The obtained values for the GMD is then used to calculate the inductance of each conductor. A two-conductor foil transmission line is also investigated and the GMD is used to determine the optimal foil shape for a given conductor inductance and minimum conduction losses. Finally, the advantages and limitations of the use of the GMD are discussed.

Fig. 2. The Geometric Mean Distance between two Rectangular Conductors

INTRODUCTION
The Geometric Mean Distance (GMD) is a means of r e p resenting the total effect with regard to inductance, of two conductor cross-sections on each other such that the two conductor cross-sections can be replaced by two filamentary conductors. The system of two filaments with their center points separated by this GMD, will have the same mutual inductance as the original two conductors. See Figure 1 for an illustration of this statement. The formula used to calculate the GMD between the two conductors with cross-sections Si and S2, is [l]:

The inductance of one conductor of a two-conductor goand-return transmission line (see Figure 2) is given by
PO L~ = -In
Dl2 D 1 - = 2 . 1 0 - ~ 1 ~2 -

2 ~ - Dii

D11

where Dll is the so-called self geometric mean distance of conductor 1, i.e. the arbitrary points with coordinates ( 2 , ~and ( X , Y ) are located in the same cross-section ) 51 = 5'2 (coinciding), in equation (1) and Figure 2. ' Higgins [l]mentions that the concept of the Geometric Mean Distance dates back to 1872 when it was originated by J. C. Maxwell, and it has since been used extensively in the design of busbars [2] [3] and power systems analysis and design in general [4]. Its strength is the fact that it can be used to calculate the direct-current inductance of conductors of any shape and arrangement.

where 0 1 2 is the GMD between the two conductors, and In D12 is called the logarithmic mean distance. Dlz r e p resents the weighted effect of all the filamentary conductors constituting the two cross-sections.
S,

SINGLEPHASE TRANSMISSION LINE CONSISTING OF TWO RECTANGULAR CONDUCTORS

Consider the two-conductor transmission line in Figure 2. Two methods will now be shown by which the inductance of conductor 1 can be calculated. Direct Integration When equation (1) is applied to Figure 2, the following complicated formula for the inductance of conductor 1 arises:

In J ( X

- z *+ (Y- y)2dXdzdYdy )

Fig. 1. The Geometric Mean Distance between two Gross-Sections

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-x - q / ( X

- .r)*+ (Y - y ) 2
A--x G dxcdYdy I
0

+(Y - y ) tan-'

(3)

and after an inordinately long integration procedure has been performed, the following general formula, first derived by Gray, is obtained [5]:
Fig. 2.
4h2w2InD12

Discretizatzon of Transmission Line

o j t u o Rectangular

Conductors

example) and the self geonietric mean distance (denoted by D,,, for example) of a round conductor with radius T is just r e - + .
+(s

- TU)'

1 1 + - ( s + w ) 4 ~ n ( s + w ) - -s41ns 12 6 +-1 (S - w ) In(s - w) -4h ( s ~ 12 3

h2 -

12):-s(
~

- -In

[(s - ? u ) ~ h 2 ]

h tan-' S+W

h + + - h 3 (s w) tan-' -- 8hs3 tan-' 3 h 3 S s 4 h -zh3stan-1-+-h(s+w)3tan-1 __ 3 h 3 s-w

4

- + -hA
3

(s

s - 1u - U ) tan-' -- L5w2h2

(4)

Equation (6) can therefore be described as follows: The term . . Dam!) in the numerator of equation (6) represents the GMD of all the round conductors constituting conductor 2, to conductor a , which is part of conductor 1, and this term therefore represents the total effect of conductor 2 on the round conductor a. There are n round conductors constituting conductor 1, and there are therefore n of these distance. The geometric mean of these distances (the nth root of the product of these distances) represents the GMD between conductors 1 and 2.

v m c ~ .

The An empirical formula obtained for the self GMD of a rectangular section, is

d(DaaDabDac . . . Da,a,which represents the total effect

denominator

contains

terms

like

As can be seen from (3) and (4), calculating inductances of conductors of arbitrary shapes and arrangements by using (1) is fairly cumbersome. Fortunately. there is an alternative.

of all the other round conductors in conductor 1. on the round conductor a. This term is a distance at which one other round conductoir should be placed from conductor a , so that it would have the same effect as all of the round conductors 6 to n. on conductor a . The geometric mean of all these distances is the self GMD of conductor 1. The remarks in t,he previous two paragraphs can be summarized by pointing to the similarities between equations (6) and (2). Calculation Results The calculations were performed for a single-phase transmission line consisting of two rectangular conductors with the following dimensions:
w = 2 cm,

Discretization Stevenson [4] gives the following expression for the inductance of one composite conductor in a single-phase transmission line consisting of two composite conductors, each in turn consisting of a number of identical round conductors (see Figure 3 which illustrates the process of discretization):

h = 10 cm,

= 10 cm

Direct calculation yielded t.he following results:

Dll = 0, %235(w h ) = 26,8 mm

Each rectangular conductor in Figure 2 has been replaced by a number of identical round conductors arranged in such a way that they resemble the shape of the original conductor. Each of the thin round conductors constituting conductor 1 is denoted by a letter Q to n and each of those constituting conductor 2 is denoted by a letter U' to m'. The GMD between two round conductors is simply the distance between their center points (denoted by Dab', for
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Ll = 276,9 nH.m-'

A program written in MathCad and implementing the discretization algorithm yielded the results shown in Table 1.
A finite element analysis package was also used to calculate the inductances L1 and La, and values of 272,2 nH.m-' and 272,3 H.m-l were obtained.

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Table 1 Results of Discretization of Rectangular Conductors

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

No. of points
6x2 11 x 3 21 x 5

L1,

L2

[nH.m-l] 271,4 261.3 264.6

Fig. 5. Iterative Process to find Optimal Shape of Discretazed Foils

MINIMIZING CONDUCTION LOSSES OF A TRANSMISSION LINE WITH A FIXED REQUIRED INDUCTANCE

Consider a transmission-line structure consisting of two foils, the thicknesses of which have already been optimized with respect to the operating frequency, i.e. there is no variation in the current distribution in the thickness of the foils. The current distribution therefore only varies laterally (along each foils width). Assume further that the transmission line is required to have a specific inductance, for example to limit fault currents. First, it is necessary to consider why some foil shapes are characterized by higher losses than other shapes. Consider the two-foil transmission line in Figure 4. The foils are shown in dashed lines. while a few of the filaments of which the foils are considered to be constituted. are shown as round conductors. A number of flux lines, resulting from the current flowing in the foils, are also shown. The filaments toward the centers of the foils are linked by all of the flux shown, whereas those toward the edges of the foils are linked by fewer flux lines, so that they are characterized by lower inductances. Everywhere in nature, systems seek out states of minimum energy, and these systems tend to gravitate toward those states. Since the energy associated with the magnetic field of the current flowing in the outer filaments, W = +Li2,is less than that of the field associated with current flowing in the center filaments, more current will tend to flow in the outer filaments. This variation in lateral current distribution gives rise to an increased resistance, since the cross-sectional area of each foil is not fully utilized. There are again at least two ways to determine the o p timal shape of the foils, viz. discretization and finite element analysis. Discretization Initially each foil conductor is represented by a horizontal row of evenly-spaced thin round conductors, which will

be called filaments, for the sake of brevity. Each filaments inductance is then calculated. The inductance of conductor a in Figure 4, for example, is given by

L~ = 2.10-~1n

VDaalDab, . . . Dam,
VDaaDab

. ..Dan

(7)

and the total inductance of each foil conductor can be calculated using equation (6). Due to the symmetrical nature of the transmission line, the calculations need only be performed for one of the foils. As the final step of each iteration, the mean and standard deviation of the inductances of the filaments representing the foil must be calculated. The second iteration involves moving the two outer filaments of each foil away from the other foil by an angle 8, but keeping the distance between the outer filament and the adjacent filament second from the outside constant, so a s not to alter the width of the foils. Once again the inductance of each filament is calculated, as well as the values of the mean and standard deviation of the filamentary inductances in each foil. The standard deviation should decrease as more iterations are performed.

As soon as the standard deviation of the filamentary inductances in a foil starts to increase again, the previous configuration is such that the filamentary inductances in each foil conductor is most nearly equal. This means that the current distribution will be the closest to uniform for that configuration and the foil should be shaped like the curve passing through all of the filaments.
The process described above, involves only the moving of the outermost filaments in each foil, but the same process can be carried out after the filaments second from the outside in each foil have been moved by a certain angle, and so on toward the center filaments. This method is of a recursive nature and can easily be implemented in a computer program. All of the iterations described above, can be incorporated into the program, so that the user only needs to specify the foil width and the shortest separation distances between the two foils. The program would then calculate and display the optimal positions of the filaments. Finite Element Analysis Another method to determine the optimal shape of the two-foil transmission line, is to use a two-dimensional finiteelement analysis package that solves for the magnetic vector potential after current sources and the conductor geometries have been specified.

Fig. 4. Transmission Line consisting of

two Flat Foils

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A? m
_..._.. ._._._ .-._-.. ..... _............_. ..... .--.....-.-__~

2/

results can be obtained more rapidly than with other methods it is cheaper to use than methods such as finite element analysis it is as flexible as more expensive methods in terms of conductor shapes and arrangements that can be dealt with. The main limitation of the use of the GILZD is that it is restricted to direct-current conditions where the current is distributed uniformly across the conductor cross-section. or cases where the current distribution is known exactly (for example, at very high frequencies where current only flows on the conductor surfaces, or when the conductors are so thin that the skin effect, does not influence the current distribution noticeably).

Fig. 6. Iterative Process to find Optimal Foil Shape by Simulation

CONCLUSIONS
Lines of constant magnetic vector potential are, in fact, flux lines, and these lines should not cross the foil crosssections if all filaments are to link the same amount of flux, and hence have equal inductances. Initially the two flat foils separated by a certain distance, would be simulated and the calculated direct-current flux lines plotted. The user would then have to alter the geometry in such a way that the foils do not cross any direct-current flux lines, and the process would be repeated. Once the foil shapes need not be changed any more to prevent flux lines from crossing the foil surfaces, the optimal shapes have been determined. The first two steps in the process are shown in Figure 6. Application to Busbars The foil shapes arrived at by means of the above method, are usually not easily manufacturable, but there are some practical busbar shapes that closely resemble the calculated shapes for various inter-conductor distances. Figure 7 [6] shows some theoretical foil shapes and the closest corresponding practical busbar shapes. The Geometric Mean Distance as a tool for analysis and design has long been discarded in favor of Finite-Element Methods (FEM), but in certain cases it can still be used to great advantage to yield approximate results more quickly and cheaply than finite-element methods.

REFERENCES
[I] T. J. Higgins. Theory and Application of Complex Logarithms and Geometrical Mean Distances, Trans. AIEE, vol. 66, pp. 12- 16, 1947. Copper Development Association, Copper for Busbars. Potters Bar, Hertfordshire: Copper Development Association, ch. 9, pp. 3336, 1984. 131 P. J. H. Rata and A. G. Thomas, Aluminium Busbar. London: Northern Aluminium CO. (Ltd.), ch. 5, pp. 37- 40, 1960. [4] W. D. Stephenson, Jr.. Elements of Power System Analysis New York: McGraw-Hill Book CO.. ch. 3, pp. 52- 55, 1982. [5] A. H. M. Arnold, The Inductance of Linear Conductors of Rectangular Section, JIEE, vol. TO, pp. ,579- 586. 1932. [6] A. H. M. Arnold, The Transmission of AlternatingCurrent Power with small Eddy-Current Losses, JIEE. vol. 80. pp. 395- 400, 1937.

P I

ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF THE GMD

The advantages of using the G I I D for inductance calculations are that in some cases:

Fig. 7. Practical Busbar Shapes m o s t closely resembling Theoretical Foil Shapes

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