Unit-4

Design of Overhead Transmission

and Distribution lines
 Introduction
• Electric power can be transmitted or distributed
either by means of underground cables or by
overhead lines.

• The underground cables are rarely used for power

transmission due to two main reasons.
– Firstly, power is generally transmitted over long
distances to load centers. Obviously, the installation
costs for underground transmission will be very heavy.
– Secondly, electric power has to be transmitted at high
voltages for economic reasons. It is very difficult to
provide proper insulation to the cables to withstand
such higher pressures.
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• An overhead line is subjected to uncertain
weather conditions and other external
interferences.
• This calls for the use of proper mechanical
factors of safety in order to ensure the
continuity of operation in the line. In general,
the strength of the line should be such so as
to provide against the worst probable
weather conditions.

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Component of Transmission Line

o Conductor

o Earth wire

o Insulator

o Transmission Tower
o Wave trap and other
hardware(Clamp, Spacer,
Vibration dampers,
connectors etc.
A damper is used to suppress wind-
induced vibrations on structures such as
overhead power lines .
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 Main Components of Overhead Lines
• In general, the main components of an overhead line are:
1. Conductors which carry electric power from the sending end
station to the receiving end station.
2. Supports which may be poles or towers and keep the
conductors at a suitable level above the ground.
3. Insulators which are attached to supports and insulate the
conductors from the ground.
4. Cross arms which provide support to the insulators.
5. Miscellaneous items such as phase plates, danger plates,
lightning arrestors, anti-climbing wires etc.
• The continuity of operation in the overhead line depends upon
the judicious choice of above components.
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  Transmission Line Design Considerations
Conductors  Shield Wires
 Conductor types  Ground Wires
 ACSR  Lightning Protection
 AAC (All Aluminium Conductor)  Electrical factors
 AAAC(All Aluminium Alloy Conductor)  Resistance and thermal loading
 ACAR (Aluminium Conductor Steel Reinforced )  Dielectric integrity and clearance
 Configurations  Inductance
 bundles  Capacitance
Insulators  Mechanical Factors
 Porcelain  Structural Integrity
 Polymer  Vibration
Support Structures  Thermal
 Wood  Environmental Factors
 Lattice  Visual Impact
 Tubular Steel  EM exposure
 Concrete  Right of Way
 Fiberglass  Danger to Wildlife
 Conductor Material
• The conductor material used for transmission and
distribution of electric power should have the
following properties :
1. high electrical conductivity.
2. high tensile strength in order to withstand
mechanical stresses.
3. low cost so that it can be used for long
distances.
4. low specific gravity so that weight per unit
volume is small.

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 Commonly used conductor materials.
• The most commonly used conductor materials for
overhead lines are
– Copper
– aluminum
– steel-cored aluminum
– galvanized steel
– cadmium copper.
• The choice of a particular material will depend upon
the cost, the required electrical and mechanical,
properties and the local conditions.
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• Cadmium Copper alloy offers a unique combination of
high tensile strength and high electrical conductivity for
an industry where these properties are generally
considered incompatible. The nominal composition of
99.0% copper and 1.0% cadmium can lead to these
unique properties.
 Types of Conductors

 ACSR Conductor(Aluminium Conductor Steel Reinforced)

 AAC(All Aluminium Conductor)
 AAAC(All Alloy Aluminium Conductor)

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 Selection of Conductor Size

 Mechanical Requirement

 Electrical Requirement

Mechanical Requirement
⚫ Tensile Strength(For Tension)
⚫ Strain Strength(For Vibration)

Vibration dampers are used for vibration control.

Strain Strength: It determines a stranded conductor's or wire's

performance in terms of tensile strength and elongation when
exposed to increased tensions levels.

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 Electrical Requirement

o Continuous current rating.

o Short time current carrying rating.
o Voltage drop
o Power loss
o Minimum dia to avoid corona
o Length of line
o Charging current

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• Generally corona loss increases on
decreasing the radius of the conductor.
In order to prevent this ,bundled or
hollow large diameter conductors must be
used
 Line Supports
• The supporting structures for overhead line
conductors are various types of poles and towers
called line supports. In general, the line supports
should have the following properties :
1. High mechanical strength to withstand the weight of
conductors and wind loads etc.
Without the loss of mechanical strength it should be:
2. Cheap in cost and economical to maintain.
3. Longer life.
4. Easy accessibility of conductors for maintenance.
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• The line supports used for transmission and
distribution of electric power are of various
types including :

i. Wooden poles
ii. Steel poles
iii. R.C.C. poles
iv. lattice steel towers.

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 The choice of supporting structure for a particular
case depends upon the
i. line span
ii. X-sectional area
iii. line voltage
iv. Cost
v. local conditions

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Different Types of Towers

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 Selection of Tower Structure
 Single circuit Tower/ double circuit Tower

 Length of the insulator assembly

 Minimum clearances to be maintained between ground conductors, and

between conductors and tower

 Location of ground wire/wires with respect to the outermost conductor

 Mid-span clearance required from considerations of the dynamic behavior

of conductors and lightning protection of the line

 Minimum clearance of the lowest conductor above ground level

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 Tower Design

• Tower height
• Base width
• Top damper width
• Cross arms length

Fig. Typical 765 KV Tower Structure

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 Height of Tower Structure
Height of tower is determine by-

H  h1  h 2  h3  h 4

h1=Minimum permissible ground clearance

h2=Maximum sag
h3=Vertical spacing between conductors
h4=Vertical clearance between earthwire
and top conductor

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 Insulators
• The overhead line conductors should be supported on
the poles or towers in such a way that currents from
conductors do not flow to earth through supports i.e.,
line conductors must be properly insulated from
supports.
• This is achieved by securing line conductors to
supports with the help of insulators.
• The insulators provide necessary insulation between
line conductors and supports and thus prevent any
leakage current from conductors to earth.

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• In general, the insulators should have the
following desirable properties :
1. High mechanical strength in order to
withstand conductor load, wind load etc.
2. High electrical resistance of insulator material
in order to avoid leakage currents to earth.
3. High relative permittivity of insulator material
in order that dielectric strength is high.
4. The insulator material should be non-porous,
free from impurities and cracks otherwise the
permittivity will be lowered.
5. High ratio of puncture strength to flashover.
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 Types of Insulators
Successful operation of an overhead line
depends to a considerable extent upon the
proper selection of insulators. There are several
types of insulators but the most commonly used
are :
1. pin type
2. suspension type
3. strain insulator
4. shackle insulator

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 Shackle Insulator
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 INSULATOR
Insulator are required to support the line conductor and provide
clearance from ground and structure.

 Insulator material-

 High grade Electrical Porcelain

 Toughened Glass
 Fiber Glass
 Choice of insulator material is govern by availability, price and
ease of maintenance.
 Porcelain insulator are largely used in India.

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 Strut Type Insulator
 It consist of several insulator disc cemented altogether without
any link.

 It is rigid and can take both tension and compression load.

 These are used for holding the conductor out of way of structure.

 Long Rod Insulator

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Strut Type Insulator Long Rod Insulator
 Earth Wire
Earth wire provided above the phase conductor across the line
and ground at every tower.

 It shield the line conductor from direct strokes

 Reduces voltage stress across the insulating strings during

lightning strokes

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Single and Three Phase Distribution