Long Transmission Line Model

Sam Chevalier

Guiding Question: How do we convert the distributed parameters of a transmission line into lumped
parameters?

Distributed Transmission Line Model

The following derivations are based off work by James McCalley and from Power System Dynamics:
Stability and Control. We consider the Transmission Line model given by Figure 1. In the diagram, all
voltages and currents are sinusoidal phasor quantities oscillating at ω = ω0 . We have voltage V = Veθ ,
−1
Ω
current I = Iejφ , impedance z = zejσ ( m ) and admittance y = yejψ ( Ωm ).

z(d𝑥)
𝐼 + d𝐼 𝐼 𝐼2
…
+ + +

𝑉 + d𝑉 d𝐼 y(d𝑥) 𝑉 𝑉2

− − −
…
d𝑥 𝑥

Figure 1: Single-phase transmission line equivalent circuit with distributed parameters

If we apply Kirchhoff’s Voltage Law (KVL) around the outer loop, we have the following expression.

V + dV − Izdx = V
dV = Izdx (1)

We may calculate the change in voltage over a given change in distance.

dV
= Iz (2)
dx
We now apply Kirchhoff’s Current Law (KCL) to the middle node.

(I + dI) − (V + dV ) ydx = I
dI = (V + dV ) ydx (3)

We may calculate the change in current over a given change in distance.

dI
= (V + dV ) y
dx
≈Vy (4)

We make the approximation that dV  V , which is true when limits are taken. If we differentiate the
expression for current change, we have the following useful result.

d2 I dV
= y (5)
dx2 dx

1
 dV
We now substitute in our expression for dx which was derived using KVL.

d2 I
= Izy (6)
dx2
√ 1
At this point, the propagation constant γ = zy ( m ) may be invoked. From wikipedia: The propagation
constant of a sinusoidal electromagnetic wave is a measure of the change undergone by the amplitude and
phase of the wave as it propagates in a given direction. We now update the current phasor double derivative.
d2 I
= Iγ 2 (7)
dx2
We now differentiate equation (2) with respect to x and then substitute in equation (4).
d2 V dI
= z
dx2 dx
= V yz
= V γ2 (8)
To solve equations (7) and (8), which will have nearly identical solutions, we bring the expressions into the
Laplace domain, where I(s) and V (s) are voltage and current functions in the Laplace domain.
 2   
d I 2 2 dI(x)
L = Iγ ⇒ s I(s) − sI(x) + |x=0 = I(s)γ 2
dx2 dx
 2   
d V 2 2 dV (x)
L =Vγ ⇒ s V (s) − sV (x) + |x=0 = V (s)γ 2
dx2 dx
We may solve these expressions for I(s) and V (s) respectively.
 
sI(x) + dI(x)
dx |x=0
I(s) = 2 2
s −γ
   
s dI(x) 1
= I(x)|x=0 2 + |x=0 2
s − γ2 dx s − γ2
 
sV (x) + dVdx(x) |x=0
V (s) =
s2 − γ 2
   
s dV (x) 1
= V (x)|x=0 2 + |x=0 2
s − γ2 dx s − γ2
We now recognize two important Laplace transform properties: sinh and cosh. We break both of these
functions down into they exponential constituents and show their Laplace transforms.
eγx − e−γx
sinh (γx) =
2
The Laplace transform can be computed and manipulated.
e − e−γx
 γx   
1 1 1
L = −
2 2 s−γ s+γ
 
1 s+γ s−γ
= −
2 (s − γ) (s + γ) (s + γ) (s − γ)
γ
= 2
s − γ2
We show a similar property for cosh (γx).
eγx + e−γx
cosh (γx) =
2

2
The Laplace transform can be computed and manipulated.

e + e−γx
 γx   
1 1 1
L = +
2 2 s−γ s+γ
 
1 s+γ s−γ
= +
2 (s − γ) (s + γ) (s + γ) (s − γ)
s
= 2
s − γ2

We use these properties to solve for I(x) and V (x). For I(x), we have the following.
    
−1 s dI(x) 1
I(x) = L I(x)|x=0 2 + |x=0 2
s − γ2 dx s − γ2
    
−1 s dI(x) 1 γ
=L I(x)|x=0 2 + |x=0
s − γ2 dx γ s2 − γ 2
 
dI(x) 1
= [I(x)|x=0 ] cosh (γx) + |x=0 sinh (γx)
dx γ

And for V (x), we have the following.

    
−1 s dV (x) 1
V (x) = L V (x)|x=0 2 + |x=0 2
s − γ2 dx s − γ2
    
−1 s dV (x) 1 γ
=L V (x)|x=0 2 + |x=0
s − γ2 dx γ s2 − γ 2
 
dV (x) 1
= [V (x)|x=0 ] cosh (γx) + |x=0 sinh (γx)
dx γ

For each function, we substitute in the derivatives from equations (2) and (4).
 
y
I(x) = [I(0)] cosh (γx) + V (0) sinh (γx)
γ
 
z
V (x) = [V (0)] cosh (γx) + I(0) sinh (γx)
γ
q
y
Next we define Zc = yz (Ω) as the characteristic impedance of the line, where γ = 1
Zc and z
γ = Zc . We
also use Figure 1 to define I(0) = I2 and V (0) = V2 .

V2
I(x) = I2 cosh (γx) + sinh (γx)
Zc
V (x) = V2 cosh (γx) + Zc I2 sinh (γx)

We may write these equations in terms for receiving end and sending end variables. And we set x = l, which
corresponds to the transmission line length.
    
Vs cosh (γl) Zc sinh (γl) Vr
= sinh(γl) (9)
Is Zc cosh (γl) Ir
  
A B Vr
=
C D Ir

We now essentially have a two port model, and we can convert the distributed parameter system into a
π-equivalent model with lumped parameters. In this model, ZL = R + jX is the line impedance, placed in
the center of the line, and Y2 = jB
2 is the shunt capacitance. Half of the total capacitance is lumped at the
beginning of the line while half of the capacitance is lumped at the end of the line.

3
 𝑉𝑠 𝑉𝑟
𝑍𝐿

𝐼𝑠 𝐼𝑟
𝑌𝐿 𝑌𝐿
2 2

Figure 2: Single-phase π-model transmission line equivalent circuit

The two port model for this system is relatively easy to construct. We write the voltage at the sending bus
in terms of the voltage at the receiving bus minus the voltage drop across the series impedance.
 
YL
Vs = Vr + Ir + Vr ZL
2
Next, we write the sending end current as the sum of the receiving end current minus the shunt losses.
YL YL
Is = Ir + Vr + Vs
2  2   
YL YL YL
= Ir + V r + Vr + Ir + Vr ZL
2 2 2
We may now rearrange these expressions to build the two-port model.
 
ZL YL
Vs = Vr 1 + + Ir [ZL ]
2
ZL YL2
   
ZL YL
Is = Vr YL + + Ir 1 +
4 2
In matrix form, we have the following expression.
1 + ZL2YL i
 "   #
[ZL ]
 
Vs Vr
= h
Z Y2  ZL YL
 (10)
Is YL + L4 L 1+ 2
Ir

We may now relate parameters between the lumped model and distributed model directly. We consider the
upper right entries of the matrices in (9) and (10).
ZL = Zc sinh (γl)
γlZc sinh (γl)
=
γl
sinh (γl)
= zl
γl
Next we consider the lower right entries of these matrices.
ZL YL
1+ = cosh (γl)
2
sinh (γl) YL
1 + zl = cosh (γl)
γl 2
2γl cosh (γl) − 1
YL =
zl sinh (γl)
 
tanh γl2
= yl γl
2

4
We therefore use the following expressions to convert from a distributed model to a lumped model.

sinh (γl)
ZL = zl (11)
γl
 
tanh γl2
YL = yl γl
(12)
2

γl
We note that if 2 is small, we may approximate
  the lumped parameters by employing the small angle
γl γl
assumption of sinh (γl) ≈ γl and tanh 2 ≈ 2 . Therefore, the lumped line series impedance and shunt
susceptance is simply the product of the characteristic impedance or susceptance times the line length,
respectively.

ZL = zl (13)
YL = yl (14)