3/27/2014

Corona Effect on Electrical Transmission Lines | Electrical Engineering

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Corona

Effect

on

Electrical

Transmission Lines
In power system is which engineering a of For special can and be in high power

corona

effect

phenomenon stations, voltage low

observed in cables substations lines. transmission

lines corona effect is system. whose In ac is

much more predominant than for voltage transmission lines if there are two conductors
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spacing

/* */ then air surrounding the conductor is subjected to electrostatic stresses. This takes place only for high voltage transmission lines. When the applied potential difference across two conductors reaches a critical value called critical disruptive voltage then a faint luminous glow of violet color appears surrounding the conductors. This phenomenon is

much larger than their diameter

Transmission of Electric Power Transmission Line Parameters Skin Effect and Proximity Effect Gas Insulated Substation & Switchgear Concept of Electrical Busbar Busbar Protection Schemes Ferranti Effect in Transmission Lines Corona Effect on Transmission Lines What is power Factor?

known as visual corona which is also provided with a hissing sound. In this article we will discuss about corona effect in detail.

Contents [hide ] 1 What is Corona Effect? 2 Mechanism of corona formation 3 Effects due to Corona
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Corona Effect on Electrical Transmission Lines | Electrical Engineering

4 Factors affecting Corona formation 5 Reduction of Corona effect 6 Advantages & Problems of Corona effect

What is Corona Effect?

The phenomenon of corona formation around conductors in high voltage transmission lines are accompanied by four parameters which are violet glow, hissing sound, power loss and ozone gas production. If the potential difference between two conductors is increased then violet glow, hissing noise and power loss due to corona will also increase. The phenomenon of corona is much more evident for transmission lines of 100kV and above. If the conductors are perfectly smooth the violet glow due to corona will be uniform throughout the entire conductor. Sometimes the conductor surface is not well polished and it becomes rough at some points. In this type of conductor the violet glow appears to be bright at rough points -that is corona effect not uniform throughout the conductor. Spacing between conductors is an important criterion of corona effect, so if the spacing is not sufficient then sometimes flashover takes place. This happens because the corona effect may bridge the conductors (owing to less space between them) causing luminous glow. Visible glow of violet light due to corona varies in ac and dc transmission lines. Corona effect occurs when potential difference (p.d) between two conductors exceeds critical value. One of the conductors is considered as positive and other as negative. In EHV ac transmission lines the visible glow of corona is mostly uniform for both the conductors but in case of HVDC transmission lines the glow is uniform and brighter about positive conductor but faint and spotty about the negative conductor.

Mechanism of corona formation

The basic principle of corona formation is ionization of air surrounding the conductors in overhead transmission lines. This ionization of air molecules is responsible for corona formation and its effects. Some ionized particles are present in the surrounding air under normal condition. UV rays or cosmic ray produces some degree of ionization always. Ionized particles include high speed free electrons and positively charged ions. Air contains ionized particles along with some neutral molecules. Corona takes place when a potential difference (p.d) is applied between two conductors. This p.d sets up a potential gradient in the air which is kept on increasing. This potential gradient also increases the velocity of free electrons which
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Corona Effect on Electrical Transmission Lines | Electrical Engineering

becomes maximum for gradient value of 30kV/cm. High speed free electrons strikes neutral molecules and electrons are released from those molecules resulting in formation of ions and more free electrons. This process of ionization continues until corona forms or flashover takes place.

Effects due to Corona

Corona is a phenomenon which is accompanied by loss of energy. We have already discussed that corona occurs when the potential difference (p.d) between two conductors in a transmission line exceeds a critical voltage value. The loss of energy also increases when the p.d is increased beyond critical voltage. Power loss due to corona depends upon weather conditions. During humid and moist climatic condition corona loss is much increased while it is reduced for dry climatic condition. The corona loss or corona power loss is dissipated in the form of light, heat, sound and chemical action. In case of ac system the current due to corona is non-sinusoidal in nature. The power loss due to corona is compelled to have some effect on the efficiency of the transmission line but it does not have any appreciable effect on the voltage regulation. Different formulas are used to find out corona power loss for fair weather and for stormy weather condition. Let us see the corona effects at a glance. Violet color glow is observed around the conductor of transmission lines, which is maximum for rough or dirty conductor surface. Hissing sound is always produced owing to corona phenomenon. Ozone gas is produced along with hissing noise and violet glow and the gas can be detected by characteristic odour. Power loss or corona loss can be measured by a wattmeter connected in the electric circuit. Corona induces harmonic current so the charging current due to corona also increases.

Factors affecting Corona formation

Corona occurs due to ionization of air surrounding the line conductors, so it is affected by two conditions atmospheric state and condition of the transmission line. Now we will discuss some factors upon which corona formation depends. These are: Atmospheric Condition: Corona takes place by the bombardment of molecules by the ionized particles. This results in dislodging of electrons. Ionized particles include some free electrons and positive ions. In stormy weather condition the number of
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Corona Effect on Electrical Transmission Lines | Electrical Engineering

ions in the surrounding air is much more than fair weather condition. Since density of air is more in stormy weather thus corona occurs at a much lower voltage. Conductor: The corona is

considerably affected by the size (diameter), shape (stranded or smooth) and surface condition (dirty or clean) of the conductor. A stranded conductor helps in more corona formation than /* */
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smooth conductor or solid conductor. The potential gradient for stranded conductor is greater than the smooth conductor. Thus breakdown voltage of such a conductor is less than a smooth conductor giving rise to more corona formation. Dirty conductors are also prone to corona formation. These conductors have irregular surfaces which decreases the breakdown voltage. Conductor Spacing: Spacing between conductors in transmission lines is an important parameter for corona formation. With the increase in spacing between conductors the electrostatic stresses are reduced and thus corona formation chance is also reduced. If the conductors are placed very large distance apart as their diameter, there may not be any corona effect. Line voltage: At low voltage system corona formation is not certain, it takes place for high voltage system. When line voltage is low, atmospheric condition is unchanged that is electrostatic stresses are not developed. In this state ionization of air surrounding the conductor does not takes place. All these conditions lead to corona formation for high voltages.

Reduction of Corona effect

Corona effects are most prominent for voltage level of 33kV and beyond that. For very high voltage system air gets highly ionized which may lead to flashover and cause damage to the equipment. Thus it is desirable to reduce corona effects by some common methods. The critical voltage (voltage at which corona occurs) can be raised either by increasing the spacing between the conductors or the diameter of conductors. By increasing spacing between the conductors, voltage at which corona takes place is increased thus eliminating chances of corona effects. The spacing cannot be
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Corona Effect on Electrical Transmission Lines | Electrical Engineering

increased to a much greater value because it will lead to high cost of the supporting structures. Cross arms (insulator support) and support (pole / tower) has to be bigger in size. The conductor diameter can be increased by using hollow conductors with a hemp core. ACSR (Aluminium Conductor Steel Reinforced) conductors are mostly used which have large diameter and also they have good conductivity and are light weighted. By using bundled conductors (group of two or more parallel sub conductors) corona can be avoided because effective diameter of the bundled conductor is much larger than that of the equivalent single conductor.

Advantages & Problems of Corona effect

So far we have seen corona as an unwanted phenomenon in power system engineering. Corona involves loss of energy in different forms which is a negative aspect. But corona can be considered beneficial sometimes owing to following advantages. i) On formation of corona the sheath of air surrounding the conductor becomes conductive and there is virtual increase in conductor diameter. This virtual increase of diameter reduces maximum potential gradient or maximum electrostatic stresses. The probability of flash-over is reduced and system performance or efficiency is improved. ii) Effects of transients produced by lightning and other causes are reduced due to corona effect. Lightning causes charges induced on the line which dissipates partially as corona loss. Let us also remind you about the problems of corona effect. These are: i) Owing to corona formation, ozone gas is produced which chemically reacts with the conductor and causes corrosion. ii) Corona is always accompanied by loss of energy in form of heat, light, sound, etc. Transmission line efficiency is affected by this corona loss. iii) Corona results in non-sinusoidal voltage drop due to non-sinusoidal current flow in the line. This cause interference with neighbouring communication circuits owing to electromagnetic and electrostatic induction effects.

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