Conductors

Conductors
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.
Final choice of conductor material is compromise .

Stranded Conductors
Central wire and one or more layers of conductors
over central wire

Stranded Conductors
n- number of layers
d- diameter of each strand
Diameter of stranded conductor = (2n+1)d
Number of conductors in stranded conductor = 3n(n+1)+1

Conductor Materials
High electrical conductivity.
High tensile strength in order to withstand
mechanical stresses.
Low cost so that it can be used for long distances
Low specific gravity so that weight per unit
volume is small.
-- Most commonly used conductors materials are:
Aluminium
Copper

Copper

Electrical
Conductivity
Resistivity(cm)
Tensile
Strength(MN/m2)
Coefficient of
expansion
Ratio of
conductivities
for equal area

Aluminium

0.975

0.585

1.777

2.826

384X106-430X106
17X10-6

180X106 234X106
23X10-6

0.6

Ratio of diameters
for equal resistance

1.29

Ratio of weights
for equal resistance

Hard-drawn Copper

High electrical conductivity

Greater tensile strength
Hard drawn copper used
High current density
Smaller cross-sectional area required
More suitable for distribution where spans are
short and tappings are more.
High cost & non availability

Cadmium Copper Conductor

Tensile strength of copper can be increased by
50% by adding 0.7 to 1 % cadmium.
But conductivity reduces by 15-17 %
High tensile strength means longer span with
same sag.
Variations in sag are minimum as cadmium
increases the temperature at which copper
anneals and softens.
Unsuitable at high voltage due to corona.

Steel Cored Copper

Conductors (SCC)
One or more layer of copper strands
surround a steel-core.
Steel core adds tensile strength.

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)
Higher tower with greater sag
Specific gravity lower than copper
Larger cross-arms required
Not suitable for long distance transmission lines

Aluminium Conductor
Steel Reinforced (ACSR)
To increase strength of aluminium conductors
reinforced with a core of galvanized steel wires
Abbreviated as ACSR (Aluminium conductor steel
reinforced)
1- Steel strands
2- Aluminum strands
ACSR (26/7)

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.
Lossess are reduced due to larger diameter of
conductor.
High current carrying capacity.

All Aluminum Conductors

(AAC)

All Aluminum Conductors (AAC)

Material in this conductor is aluminiummagnesium silicon alloy.
It is lighter and higher conductivity than ACSR
conductors
Higher strength to weight ratio which results in
lower sag
Can be operated at higher temperature than
ACSR conductors
Lower sag means higher tension which results in
increased vibrations and early fatigue.

 ACAR Conductor
o Central core of alloy of aluminium surrounded by layers of conductor
aluminium
o Better conductance with a strength weight ratio equal to ACSR
conductor of same diameter
o Smaller size and less weight as compared to ACSR for same electrical
capacity.

Phosphor-Bronze Conductor
o Long spans such as a river crossings
o More strong than copper but low conductivity
o Superior to aluminium bronze in atmospheres containing harmful
gases.

Galvanized Steel Conductor

o High strength
o Used on very long span
o Being magnetic material this conductor has large resistance,
inductance and voltage drop.
o Shot life.

Expanded ACSR

Bundled Conductors

Bundled Conductors
BundledConductors are used in transmission
lines where the voltage exceeds 230 kV.
As at high voltages,
ordinaryconductorswillresult inexcessive
corona and noise which may affect
communication lines.
The increased corona willresult insignificant
power loss.
Bundleconductorsconsist of three or four
conductorsfor each phase.
Theconductorsare separated from each other by
means of spacers at regular intervals.
Spacers prevent clashing of the conductors and

Bundled Conductors

Bundled Conductors
Bundledconductorshave higher current carrying
capacity as compared toordinary conductorsfor
a given weight.
The reactance of bundledconductorsis also
lesser than singleconductors.
However, bundledconductors experience greater
wind loading than singleconductors