IEEE Power Engineering Society

Transmission and Distribution

Committee

. YC30+~ ~

IEEE Transaction on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-103, No. 12, December 1984

3579

STABILITY ANALYSIS AND STABILIZING PROCEDURE FOR

A FREQUENCY DEPENDENT TRANSMISSION LINE MODEL

Russell H. Brierley
Ontario Hydro
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Adam Semlyen
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Abstract. A frequency dependent transmission line model, developed in

1975 and referred to in the BPA Electro-Magnetic Transients Program
(EMTP) as 'Semlyen Setup', has persistently exhibited an anomaly frustrating to its users. When the line model is isolated from the rest of the
power system model by switch action it responds with an apparently
linearly increasing voltage rather than a constant one corresponding to
the locked charges. Experimentation has shown that the anomaly is associated with the frequency dependent characteristic admittance of the
model. The paper gives the theoretical analysis of the stability of simulation, indicates the cause of the anomaly and recommends a solution.
This has been tested and implemented in the EMTP.

3
2

1.= AG/R

(a)

T +

YC
INTRODUCTION

ys

The investigation presented in this paper was motivated by a rather

serious anomaly, noticed by one of the authors at Ontario Hydro, related
to the simulation of the deenergization of open circuited transmission
lines using an Electro-Magnetic Transients Program (EMTP). The program is a versatile computational tool built on principles presented by
Dommel [1] in 1969 and incorporates features for the modelling of lines
with frequency dependent parameters [2,3,4,51.
The anomaly consists in the following (see Fig. 1):
i

(a)

1
2
,v

(b)

-1

AN

_I
X~ji

to

Fig. 1

Simulation result of line deenergization

(a) Circuit diagram

(b) Voltage take-off after the interruption of the charging
current i; (1) conductance to ground G = 0, (2) G . 0,
(3) distortionless line.
When the charging current i is interrupted at its zero-crossing (Fig.

la) the voltage increases linearly (curve I of Fig. lb) if the line is

modelled with zero conductance to ground (G = 0, curve I of Fig. 2a)

but it levels off (curve 2 of Fig. lb) if the line is modelled with G 0
(curve 2 of Fig. 2a). Only if the characteristic admittance is modelled as a
constant (i.e. non-frequency dependent, curve (3) of Fig. 2a) will the
voltage due to the trapped charge remain constant (curve 3 of Fig. lb).
Intuition and experience would not support the take-off phenomenon
of curve 1 (Fig. lb) for the perfectly insulated line or the constant voltage of curve 3 (Fig. lb) a line with large conductance G. Some users of

A paper recommended and approved

84 T&D 367-9
by the IEEE Transmission and Distribution Committee
of the IEEE Power Engineering Society for presentation at the IEEE/PES 1984 Transmission and
Distribution Conference, Kansas City, Missouri,
April 29 - May 4, 1984. Manucsript submitted
August 12, 1983; made available for printing
March 2, 1984.

YC = yQ (= Yc(0) )

(b)

Tnax

Fig. 2

Unit step response of the characteristic admittance Yc (et)

(a) Finite order models: (1) yc = 0, (2) yc .O (3)
Yc = const
(b) True, infinite order model

EMTP compromised by choosing the latter, in some applications. However, by using a constant characteristic admittance the whole simulation
becomes inaccurate.
Since the frequency dependent characteristic admittance produced instability and a constant one gave inaccurate simulation, the problem had
to be clarified. It should be realized that the anomaly became apparent in
relation to line dropping but it is fundamentally related to opening a
switch, i.e. to current interruption, at zero crossing or perhaps any other
instant. Repeated checking has indicated that the phenomenon was not
due to current chopping. Since it appears any time a switch pole interrupts a current, it may produce errors in many switching transient calculations.
In order to remove the above anomaly, the fundamental ideas of
switching transient simulation have been reviewed and formulated in
state equation form. It was found that the simulation of the propagation
process was inherently stable but the modelling of the characteristic
admittance transfer function Yc by a low order rational function introduces an unstable mode, a double pole in the origin, in the natural
behaviour of the disconnected line.
In the EMTP both the propagation transfer function Hp and the
characteristic admittance Yc are fitted by rational polynomials in the frequency domain or exponential functions in the time domain. High order
fitting, as implemented by Marti [4] and by Hauer [5],is very accurate
and, consequently the instability mentioned above did not appear. Lower
order fitting however, as im'plemented in the 'Semlyen Setup' of the
EMTP, which is still accurate for the calculation of transients and has the
advantage of smaller computational time, has produced the described
computational problem, much to the frustration of some EMTP users.
Since the phenomenon was not understood, a thorough investigation was
carried out on the EMTP frequency dependent transmission line module.
It' was suspected that, because of the inherent time delays between input
and output, related to wave propagation, the procedure of recursive convolutions may have produced numerical instability. It tumed out that
this was not the case and a more subtle explanation was found, related to
the modelling of Y(. -Based on the insight gained a remedy could then

0018-9510/84/1200-3579$01 .00 1984 IEEE

3580
be proposed. It consists in using a specific final value Yc,. for the characterisitc admittance. The proposed methodc has been tested and implemented in the EMTP.
The stability analysis of the following sections consists of three steps:

- First, state equations are set up for the time domain simulation of the
two basic transfer functions used' in transmission line modelling with
frequency dependent parameters: Hp the propagation transfer function, and Yc the characteristic admittance transfer function.
- Next, the stability of the propagation link is examined because of a
high likelihood that an integratidn scheme, such as recursive convolutions, with a delay of many time steps related to wave propagation
could conceivably be unstable.
- Finally, and most importantly, the state 'equations related to the
characteristic admittance Yc are examined for stability if the line is
open circuited. The instability found is analytical rather than numerical, and fully explains the linear take-off phenomenon obtained by
computation. Fundamentally, the instability is the result of using a
finite order model for an infinite order (distributed parameter) system. A physical interpretation of the phenomenon is described in the
Appendix.

so that

H(j.)

Yc (oo)=

are:

V= V'+ V"

(1')

I- I' + I"

(1")

Hp V"Iar

(2)

eAhxk

Xk+I =

(7)

/1

f eATbu (t-T)dT

(8)

Fxk + Guk + HUk+I

(9,)

or, with -a denoting a diagonal element of A, we have for a particular

state variable, the scalar form [31:
=

axk + Xtik+I + A Uk

(9,)

with
=

(10')

e-ah

A = b (1
a

I' = Yc V'

l-)
ah

(10")

-a)

(10"')

(3,)
b

I" =-YcV'

(3")

where Hp is the propagation transfer function:

Hp= exp(---Yl1

(4')

Yc is the characteristic admittance transfer function:

7

oo

In previous work [31 modal state variables have been chosen so that A
was diagonal and u in (8) has been approximated by a straight line over
the integration interval. The general result is of the form (see page 370
of [8]):

and

)/w

Xk+I

(or V'far = Hp V")

YC=

(6)

o,

Two transfer functions Hp and Yc are defined by

and

A)-lb + d

This is the value of d from (6), to be denoted by y, (surge admittance).

Fig. 2b represents the unit step response corresponding to Yc of (4) and
Fig. 2a gives finite order approximations to the time response, for some
particular conditions. In dry weather the most realistic is curve 1 of Fig.
2a corresponding to a very small conductivity. (Indeed, the time constant CIG for the dissipation of trapped charges (see page 19 of [7]) may
be
minutes:
G < 10- " S/m,
CIG > 102s,
Yc.> < 3 x 10-5 S/mn 0.01 y5.)'
Integration of (5'), over one time step h, yields:
X&.+I

For simplicity and clarity, only a single phase (or a single mode) line
will be examined. The fundamental frequency domain relations,
representing the incident and reflected wave components of V and I (see

V'=

cT(jOU

This applies for Hp of (4') which is multiplied by exp{ji-T) (where T iS

the travel time at a high frequency) to remove the propagation delay [61
and also for Yc of (4"). We note that Hp(jw) is strictly proper (d = 0),
since waves at the highest frequencies are fully attentuated. However,
Yc is proper since for w-oo equation (4) yields

SIMULATION USING STATE EQUATIONS

Fig. 3),

(R =R(w),L=L(Z))

Ia
ah

In reference [31 the recursion process (9") was called "recursive convolution" because xk. was perceived as a convolution over an infinite past
time-interval. There is no essential difference between recursive convolutions and the general solution (8) and (9) of the state equations (5'):
both are implicit and are the best possible single step solutions (better
than trapezoidal) of linear state equations.,

(4")
STABILITY OF THE PROPAGATION LINK

A transfer function H(jco) of a finite order time-invariant linear system can be considered as obtained from the state equations

(5')

x = Ax + bu

For simplicity, we consider a single state variableto obtain the propagation unit step response of Fig. 4, corresponding to the propagation
transfer function Hp. Then, in (10) b = a, and
a

(5")

y = CTx + du

I' ,I")I

It~~~~

far >V
VI

far

Ijg.

-V

Fundamental variables.

+X + u

(11)

According to equation (2), we intend to relate to each other v"iar as

input and v' as output. In order to account for n steps of travel delay,
(9") has to be written as

V';k+I

avk'

+ X V _ta + I + /J.Vi,,

(12')

Again for simplicity, we do not include in our loop the dynamics at

the terminals, so that incident and reflected voltages become equal; in
addition, we assume perfect symmetry with respect to the two line ends

3581

dv_

hp
T

Fig. 4

Propagation unit step response

or, alternatively, the constants a, X, , and n are considered for a fictitious loop of double line length, so that a single variable x will suffice in
the recursion equation:
Xk + I

ao Xk +

XX--n + I + IXA.-n

(12")

Equation- (16) shows that v is constant only if w = 0, i.e. if v' = v".

Clearly, w is a very meaningful variable for stability analysis. While
the sum of the incident and reflected waves v' + v" is the voltage itself,
their difference w = v' - v" of equation (15') is proportional to the rate
of change of the voltage, as shown by (16). Therefore, if w turns out to
contain a constant component, this explains why the voltage v would
have a linear variation in time.
Even though the line may be disconnected, equation (16) indicates
the presence, if w . 0, of a fictitious current proportional to -w,
injected into the line and increasing its voltage. The question is then: is
such a fictitious injection possible if the line is disconnected; and, if yes,
what to do about it? These problems are addressed in the remainder of
the paper.

The Terminal Equivalent Circuit

The frequency domain form for (15') is

The characteristic equation is:

f (z)

Zn+1

W= V'-

azn

Xz

1 = 0

(13)

x= Krz;

x=

K,.z,

(14")

Clearly z1 = 1 is a solution of (13) due to condition (11). Therefore

xl = K1 is the' steady state solution of the propagation problem,
corresponding to a constant trapped charge (voltage). All other roots of
(13) must therefore, for stability, lie strictly inside the unit circle (see
reference [81, page 494).
A Newton-Raphson algorithm has been used to obtain the remaining
n roots of (13), with starting points selected all around the unit circle.
All n roots obtained were complex (conjugate; n was even) and had
magnitudes between 0.8 and 0.95. Thus the system is stable. This fact
was checked for several sets of parameters, as follows:

ah

(15")

(17)

Fig. 5a gives a circuit model in which VI, V", W and V appear as

actual voltages and I as the current through Yc. Time domain
equivalents are shown in Figs. 5b, c, d and will be discussed later, in
Appendix 2. Fig. 6 is more complete than Fig. 5a by showing the nodal
current and voltage in a way which permits connection of an external circuit.
The Unstable Mode
We rewrite equations (5) with diagonal A-matrix for the transfer
function Yc of (17):
XK = -aKXK + bK W

XK + YS W

(18')

(18")

The corresponding step response is curve 2 of Fig. 2a. In order to obtain

curve 1, corresponding to G = 0, we require that

n = 50

I= Yc W

(14')

and the complete solution is

VI?

Premultiplying (15") by Yc and taking into account equations (3) and

(1") yields:

For a single root z, of (13) we have the time variable

(16)

aT

2w
h

dt

(O.1
a nT

...
=

bK

YWaJ K=

10)

(18"')

For t - oo the time "constant" T of curve 1 becomes equal to that of its

slowest exponential component:

0.002, 0.02, 0.2

The conclusion is that the propagation component in the disconnected

transmission line is not responsible for any observed instability or anomaly. In the next section the search is continued to examine reflection
phenomena at the ends of the line.

STABILITY OF REFLECTION SIMULATION

If we neglect attenuation due to propagation, the voltage on the

disconnected line will increase if the reflected wave v" is larger than the
incident wave v', or if
< 0

Tmax = const

(15')

Then at each time step h, due to similar effects at both ends of the line,
both v' and v " will increase by -w, and v = v' + v " will increase by
-2w. Therefore

(19)

The current i is impressed from the terminal if the SWitch is open

(then i = 0), or it is determined by a terminal 'current/voltage relationship. Therefore, it is justified to consider in (18) i as input and w as
output. This input/output interchange produces the inverse system [9]: .

xK =--aKXK +YsbKxI + y-bki

The Basic Variable w

w = v'- v"

Y-1

XK+YS'i

(20')
(20")

When the switch is open, i.e. i = 0, the system (20) is'driven solely by
the state variables if they have non-zero initial values. The A-matrix of
(20') is

3582

b,-y,aI
A

Ys~'

b,
bK

bK

...

b,
bK

...

-ys

aK

2V' 4-

(21)

...

and has zero determinant. Indeed, the sum of the rows, each divided by
the respective aK, is zero if (18"') is valid. Consequently, one eigenvalue of A is zero:

XI

(22)

\ W

)
\

(a)

2V"

+ +
VI

+
I

V/2 -c W
I

Fig. 6

V"I

I_X_

The equivalent circuit of Fig. 5a with more details. The controlled voltage source duplicates the voltage drop on Yc.

For the eigenvalue

vI

Xi

0 of (22), equation (24) yields a constant:

(25)

-1= const
i

This will be present in all XK (t) calculated from (23). It will be non-zero
if (0) . 0. Then it will exist in w of (20") as well and, according to
(16), will produce the unrealistic voltage take-off of curve 1 of Fig. lb.
The first column (eigenvector el) of Q, corresponding to 61 and XI,
can be obtained by solving the linear equations

Ael

II

(26)

with the coefficient matrix (21). Then, from (23),

vI

(c)

vifi

tions.
Appendix 2 contains a physical interpretation of state equations (18).

VII

v'

+
w

(d)

YCT

Initial Value of Unstable Mode

We call mode 1 unstable because it is responsible for the take-off
phenomenon of curve 1, Fig. lb. It represents a pole in the origin of the
transfer function with I as input and, because of the differentiation in
(16), a double pole will appear in the origin for V as output.
The initial values of the state variables XK of (20') can be obtained,
for instance, from a phasor solution of the pre-switching steady state,
d
when i is the capacitive charging current. For this we replace -d by jw.
Equations (20) become:

Vt

Fig. 5

Equivalent circuits for line termination

(a) Frequency domain equivalent
(b) Finite order model
(c) Semi-infinite line representing Yc
(d) Discretization of semi-infinite line (c)

ys (o + aK)XK

QE

Kf_ (0)

bK

I Xi

A'X= Ib

= I bK

(28')
(28")

where A'is the coefficient matrix of (28'):

(23)

A'=y(jwU- A)

(24)

Here A is the singular matrix of equation (21). The matrix A' is nonsingular and equations (28) yield the phasors XK with values XK(O) at
the zero crossing of i. In general, the resulting (, will be non-zero at

where f are the new (modal) state variables. For these we can write
(_ (t

or, in matrix form,

We can diagonalize the A-matrix of (20') by using the similarity

transformation
x =

(27)

ele,

In (27) 6 is the constant scalar of (25) and x is the vector of constants

in each state variable XK. According to (20"), these constants are simply
added to obtain the constant part of w.
Appendix 1 gives a numerical example to illustrate the above calcula-

iYj

(29)

this moment:

(}(0) . 0

(30)

This indicates that w will have a constant term leading to the linear
variation in v, represented by curve 1 of Fig. lb.

STABILIZING PROCEDURE

Conclusions of Stability Analysis and Proposed Remedy

The stability analysis of the previous sections has shown that a linear
voltage take-off at line deenergization is to be expected because of the
fundamental difference between the fitted characteristic admittance
(curve 1 of Fig. 2a) and the true one (Fig. 2b), both represented by unit
step responses. The difference consists in the fact that the true step
response has an increasing time "constant" which, at best, can only be
approximated by a constant. This is evidenced at larger values of time,
so that a few exponentials, which give a good initial fitting, will not be
enough to satisfactorily approximate the true curve. This explains why
low order approximations which give quite accurate results in transients
simulations are not enough for removing the instability.
It should be noted, however, that the step response of Fig. 2b is of a
complex nature due to the existence of different frequency ranges in
YC(W) of (4"). Indeed, for co > Wcr, where wcr corresponds to approximately 5 Hz, G and R can be neglected in (4") so that

(31)

Yco)
It is true that for w <<

,c
Yc(

(32)

and this approaches zero if G = 0 and R (o) - Rol) but this fact need
not be modelled since it does not affect the calculation of transients,
except very slow ones. Therefore, Yc( oj) will be approximated by equation (31). For o-0 this also yields Yc - 0 but, fqr practical purposes
a minimal value

Ycc,

(33)

may be assumed, since from this level Yc decreases very slowly. This
leads to a curve similar to no. 2 of Fig. 2a with the final value of Fig. 2a
with the final value
y =-

LWcr

(33')

It is expected that a low order approximation to this curve will give

accurate results for transients (except for the very slow ones) and
remove the voltage take-off instability. The next section gives the results

obtained with this approach of modelling.

Results
Figure 7a shows the voltage take-off at the deenergization of an
open-circuited three-phase line, modelled with two exponentials for Yc.
approaching zeros according to the initial 'Semlyen Setup', essentially as
shown in curve I of Fig. 2a. Fig. 7b gives the transient voltages calculated with this model for a line-to-ground fault on the John Day to
Lower Monumental transmission line, used as a test case in EMTP transient calculations
Figure 8 represents the same tests as Figure 7, but obtained in three
different ways. These are using respectively: the 'Marti Setup', the
'Hauer Setup', and the 'Semlyen Setup' with a final value of yc given
by (33'). The computed traces are almost indistinguishably close, so
that a single one is sufficient for describing the results. The first two
procedures perform the fitting very accurately, with many exponentials.
Both the fitting and its time domain use are, in these two cases,
significantly more expensive than with a lower order model. However,
there is no noticeable instability. The transient shown in Figure 8b is
very close to that in Figure 7b. The result with the 'Semlyen Setup', is

3583
identical for all practical purposes to that of the first two methods,
which served as a basis for comparison: clearly, the voltage take-off is
fully removed and the transient is accurately represented. There is no
increase of modelling and simulation cost by using this improved technique.
CONCLUSIONS
For the simulation of transients on overhead transmission lines
several 'setups' are available in the BPA Electro-Magnetic Transients
Program. This paper has shown that an unstable mode is intrinsical to
the finite dimensional modelling of all these procedures if the line conductance G is assumed zero. The phenomenon is clearly visible, and
therefore alarming, in the case of the 'Semlyen Setup' which has a low
order fitting of the characteristic admittance transfer function. While this
is sufficiently accurate for the simulation of transients, the long-time
approximation is not good enough to render the voltage take-off negligible. Setups with higher order fitting, which are significantly more expensive for simulation of transients, do not show a noticeable voltage takeoff. However, the instability (even if not noticeable) is basically common
to all finite dimensional models of the infinite dimensional (distributed
parameter) lines. The incentive to identify the cause of the instability
and to propose a remedy existed because of the low simulation cost with
the low order setup.
The performed analysis has shown that the instability is of analytical
rather than numerical nature. A state equation formulation relative to a
variable w, representing the difference between incident and reflected
wave voltages, has shown that an unstable natural mode exists for any
finite dimensional model. Moreover, this mode is always excited at line
energization.
Based on the recognition that the characteristic admittance transfer
function changes its nature at lower frequencies where resistance
becomes dominant over reactance, it became reasonable to approximate
yc in the time domain with a non-zero final value, even if the conductance G is zero. This has stabilized the simulation while maintaining its
simplicity and accuracy.
The main conclusions of the paper are the following:
a. The propagation loop of the recursive convolution part of the EMTP
frequency dependent line model is numerically stable.
b. The true unit step response of the characteristic admittance transfer
function is approaching zero so slowly that only a large number of
exponentials can fit this sluggish behaviour with sufficient accuracy.
c. An exponential fit is intrinsically unstable if the final value is zero.
The instability consists in the observed ramp voltage take-off. This
instability is the result of exponential fitting rather than a numerical
error accumulation problem.

d. By neglecting G and R in the expression of the characteristic admittance it remains practically unaffected in the range of frequencies
essential for simulation of not too slow transients. At the same time
a limit value YC,, = //TL7 becomes apparent: this is used in low
order fitting to assure stable results.
e. The stabilized procedure gives accurate simulation results at low cost
for fitting and simulation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Financial support by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council of Canada is gratefully acknowledged. Dr. A. Morched of
Ontario Hydro has contributed to this work by stimulating discussions
and consultation.

REFERENCES
[1] H.W. Dommel, "Digital Computer Solution of Electromagnetic
Transients in Single and Multiphase Networks", IEEE Trans. on
Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-88, April 1969, pp. 388399.

3584

0 LLI SCONDS

ISECONUS

1k iKJJ

(a)

(a)

(b)
Fig. 7

Two exponential approximations of Yc, according to 'Semlyen

Setup'
(a) Voltage take-off upon deenergization of open-circuited
line.
(b) Voltage transient following a line-to-ground fault.

[2] W.S. Meyer and H.W. Dommel, "Numerical Modelling of

Frequency-Dependent Transmission-Line Parameters in an Electromagnetic Transients Program", IEEE Trans. on Power Apparatus
and Systems, Vol. PAS-93, Sept/Oct. 1974, pp. 1401-1409.
[3] A. Semlyen and A. Dabuleanu, "Fast and Accurate Switching
Transient Calculations on Transmission Lines with Ground Return
Using Recursive Convolutions", IEEE Trans. on Power Apparatus
and Systems, Vol. PAS-94, March/April 1975, pp. 561-571.
[4] J.R. Marti, "Accurate Modelling of Frequency-Dependent
Transmission Lines in Electromagnetic Transient Simulations",
IEEE Trans. on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-101, January 1982, pp. 147-157.
[5] J.F. Hauer, "Power System Identification by Fitting Structured
Models to Measured Frequency Response", IEEE Trans. on Power
Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-101, No. 4, April 1980, pp.
915-923.
[6] A. Semlyen, "Contributions to the Theory of Calculation of Electromagnetic Transients on Transmission Lines with Frequency
Dependent Parameters", IEEE Trans. on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-100, February 1981, pp. 848-856.
[7] W. Diesendorf, Insulation Coordination in High- Voltage Electric
Power Systems, Butterworth, 1974.

(b)

Fig. 8 Single trace for:

High order approximation of yc by 'Marti Setup'

High order approximation of yc by 'Hauer Setup'
- Two exponential approximation of yc by 'Semlyen Setup',
with Yc of (33').
(a) Deenergization of open-circuited line.
(b) Voltage transient following a line-to-ground fault.
-

[81 L.O. Chua and P.-M. Lin, Computer-Aided Analysis of Electronic

Circuits, Prentice-Hall, 1975.
[91 T. Kailath, Linear Systems, Prentice Hall, 1980.
APPENDIX 1

Example for an Unstable Mode

Consider two state variables only and the following form of equations (18)
(with coefficients typical for a ground mode):
xl= -10Ox, + O.1w
X2 =

-100Ox2 +

-x- x2 + 0.002w

(34')

(34")

Clearly, equation (18"') is satisfied.

Calculation of w from (34") and substitution into (34') yields:
x,

-50x, + 50x2 + 50i

x2

500xl - 500x2 + 500i

(35')

3585
SOOx,

w =

not be prevented if G = 0. Even for G . 0, the redistribution of charges and

the eventual decay of w to zero is not instantaneous. Therefore, a constant line
voltage v, precisely from the moment of current interruption is not to be
expected and would not be consistent with the dynamic modelling of the characteristic admittance.

50OX2 + 500i

The A-matrix of (35') is:

A

[-50

50 1

Considerations on Complete Modelling with R 'Go) and C'(o)

The characteristic admittance Y( is the input admittance to a semi-infinite
line (Fig. 5c). Indeed, it results from the input admittance of an open-circuited
line, Yctanh(YI,/ZY), for I - 0; or it can be viewed as the ratio I/V' since
there is no reflected wave if I - oo, irrespective of termination.
Fig. Sd shows that the semi-infinite line has capacitors energized at different
voltages so that the effective capacitance depends on the voltage profile. Therefore it is a function of frequency. At lower frequencies the voltage profile
becomes flat and the capacitance increases. It becomes infinite at zero frequency. Consequently, the finite trapped charges at power frequency will, upon
redistribution along the semi-infinite line, produce a vanishingly small voltage w:
the real transmission line will not have, according to equation (16), a constant
increase of voltage.
It is possible to model Zc = 1/ Yc by a series R ', C' circuit. Its impedance
is

500 - 500

Its eigenvalues are

XI

A2

-550

and the corresponding eigenvectors are

el=

The two modes will therefore be

{l(t)

{,(0)

const

-(t)= e-550' _ (0)

R' +

(40')

Z=R'

On the other hand, at low frequencies, equation (4") yields for G

The original state variables x will vary, if i = 0, according to (23):

0:

R/= (1 + I) /7

(40")

Comparing the two expressions (40) we obtain

||
1)|= , (0) ||+
[Xl(t)|=|1
Lii
Ii -101 [62(t)J
o

X2rI).

e-55002(0)

R '(O)

[-101

(41')

or
x(t)
X2(t)

e,(0)

0(0)

1000(,(0)

(36)

lOe550 2 (0)

Substitution of (41) into (40") yields, if i

w

C' (o)=

e-550e2(0)

0,

4500e-5502(0)

APPENDIX 2
Physical Interpretation
The state equations (18) can be interpreted as related to parallel RK, CK
branches, as shown in Fig. Sb. The relations are:
1

aK

bK

RK CK
=

RIECK

We have thus obtained a low frequency series R '(o), CU'Go) equivalent for a
semi-infinite line. Both R ' and C' increase indefinitely at low frequencies. The
time constant is

(37)

Equation (37) clearly demonstrates a constant term in the expression of w. It

is due solely to the non-zero initial conditions.

(41")

T'(o)
and becomes infinite for w

'Go) C'o)

(42)

(0

0 (see Fig. 2b).

Expressions (41) have more than just mathematical significance. We can, for
instance, calculate the charge on C'(Go) of (41") and show that it is the same as
the charge on all distributed capacitances of the semi- infinite line (see the next
section). If this is so, it means that, for some wl, the charge on CU'Go,) has physical significance and is equivalent to the state variables of the infinite dimensional system: the new state can then be obtained by considering the same
charge on the new capacitance C'(G02) calculated at a new frequency 0O2.
Calculation of Total Charge

TK

Consider first

V(x)

(38)

(43)

V(0)e-z

We take the real (or imaginary) part of (43) as the actual voltage at
time. The total charge is
q

and

dq

C Re(

V(x))dx

Re(C f

V(x)dx)

given

(44)

XK

qK

TK

(39)

Note that the state variables are proportional to charges on the capacitors. When
the sinusoidal charging current i of the line has its zero crossing, qK will in general be non-zero and thus charges are trapped on the capacitors. After current
interruption, these charges qK will in time redistribute, proportionally to the
respective capacitances CK, so that a common steady state voltage w will result.
This is responsible for the resultant instability.
There is one situation where, after redistribution, the voltage w results zero.
This happens when one capacitance is infinite: this however means that there
exists a purely conductive branch and, therefore, G . 0 (which is contrary to
our assumption). Clearly, with a finite order state variable model instability can

or

(45)

ReQ

where
Q
With Z

JV(x)dx

=C

=C(

(0)J'

e-zhdi

CV(O)

(46)

jwC (46) becomes:

R and Y

Q=

C/;

V(0)

(47)

3586
Next we calculate the voltage on the equivalent capacitance C' of the series
R ', C' combination, for the terminal voltage V(O):
VI

(48)

V(O)
I+ jcvR'C' V0

The charge on this capacitor is

Q = C'V

C'

(49)

V(O)
I
+ joR'

The identical expressions (47) and (50), obtained from the distributed circuit
and lumped circuit models of the transmission line, give the effective capacitance
at a given frequency cv:

Ceti/

(51)

j cR

The coefficient -\F2 in (51) results from the fact that Q was related to the input
voltage V(O) while the "effective" voltage along the line, or the voltage across C'
in the equivalent circuit is X2 times smaller (the R ', C' series circuit has a 1/
power factor).

Taking into account (34), equation (49) becomes

1+

(50)

relatively easy to implement. Authors' comments on this rather crude

Discussion
are solicited.
G. Gela (The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH): The authors are but practical approach
Finally, it should be observed that the problem of instability appears
to be complimented on the thorough and illustrative analysis of a subtle
yc. The
difficulty which, since it manifests itself clearly only in relatively rare to be caused by the use of exponentials to- fit a difficult function
at an increased cost. Exponensituations, could have been discovered only through extensive and more exponentials used, the better the fit nicely
to recursive convolutions
they lend themselves
repeated usage of the EMTP. Fitting of yc with a small number of ex- tials are used since
where exp(aAt) is fixed for consponentials decaying eventually to zero seemed to be a satisfactory ap- [exp (a(t + At)) = exp(at) exp(aAt),the
previous time step]. However,
proach, both on intuitive grounds and in terms of engineering approx- tant At, and exp(at) is known from
eximation. In fact, in the discusser's-experience, even a single-exponential since exponentials appear to be inadequate to fit yC well without
effort, have the authors given thought to other
fitting of yc produced (A) acceptable results when dealing with veryfast cessive computational
possible candidates? These, of course, would also have to satisfy the recursurges.
However, as evident from this paper, intuition and engineering judge- sive convolution criterion. Authors' comments on this aspect would be
ment may in some cases fail to yield generally applicable answers, and welcomed.
sophisticated mathematical tools must be called upon to aid in the
understanding of the problem. The solution and the stabilizing procedure
REFERENCE
derived by the authors through such a multidisciplinary exercise appear
to be fully satisfactory. They provide an immediate practical remedy
[a] G. Gela and W. Janischewskyj, "Surges on Single-Conductor Transwhich can be implemented in the EMTP.
mission Lines Exhibiting Effects of Frequency and Corona", 1976
Still, the discusser would like to raise several questions, with full
IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, Munich,
this
time.
be
available
at
answers
not
may
recognition that complete
Germany, April 27-29, 1976, pp. 614-617.
Firstly, if the primary or significant difference between the apparently satisfactory "Marti" and "Hauer" Setups, and the apparently proManuscript received May 21, 1984
blematic "Semlyen Setup", is the number of exponentials used to fit
are
as
to
how
enough.
many exponentials
yc, then one might well inquire
All Setups aim at achieving some "goodness of fit", and the "Semlyen A. Semlyen and R. H. Brierley: We would like to thank Dr. Gela for
questions.
Setup" concentrated on the initial portion of yc(t), since this corresponds his commentstheandproblem
of how many exponentials are enough for fitRegarding
to high frequencies, i.e. fast transients. Also, in all Setups, the number
the
characteristic
of the line, it seems that a satisfactory
admittance
ting
of
between
the
determined
is
economy
compromise
of exponentials
by
approximation is not possible for low frequencies or long time spans.
computations, and "goodness of fit". Perhaps a different criterion, such For
usual transients a few exponentials are enough and additional exas elimination (or rather prevention of artificial introduction) of the
"unstable" mode, could be used to help determine the required (or suf- ponentials used for the tail end of the step-response are not necessarily
better than the simple constant term approximation. While they gradually
ficient) accuracy of fitting?
The stabilizing procedure, i.e. using a non-zero limit Yccr for yc, can bring the function to zero, this is never slow enough for the slowest possitransients.
in fact be viewed as an attempt of implementing the above mentioned bleThe
of elminating the unstable mode is not to make it disapcriteria. At the same time, it is intriging that constant term yccr is capable pear inpurpose
case
when it is obviously producing incorrect results, namely
the
of "doing the job of", and even better than, the additional exponenline deenergization. This would be only a cosmetic measure, and intials in the "Marti" and "Hauer" Setups (it is recalled that, as shown at
results could still be expected in other cases where they would
in the paper, all Setups contain an unstable mode to a certain extent, correct
remain
undetected.
the
eliminate
to
of
use
instability).
while
YCcr appears
Recursive
convolutions require exponential functions for linear timereof
still
of
Therefore, it seems that the entire question fitting yC,
invariant systems because they correspond in the time domain to the raquires classification, and author's comments on this subject are ap- tional
polynomial transfer functions of such systems if they are finite
preciated. For instance, is the suggested remedy likely to work in general dimensional.
To each state variable corresponds a simple fraction in the
factors?
or
other
line
to
sensitive
it
be
would
or
parameters
situations,
domain
and one exponential in the time domain, and each
frequency
Would
for
establishing wcr?
Is there a generally applicable procedure
to be updated. In the infinite dimensional case of transmission line
introduction of additional exponentials (as in "Marti" and "Hauer" has
problems the transfer functions become in the limit irrational and/or
Setups) result in a uniform reduction of YCcr to zero?
and even if a closed form equivalent exists in the time
Alternately, if the effect of the unstable moae is to introduce a voltage transcendental
we
believe
that it has to be handled by its exponential components
domain,
in
the
analysis presented
ramp in the final results, then, acknowledging
the paper, can that artificial ramp be simply removed (subtracted) from to update all state variables (of infinite number).
the final results? Such a simple "a posteriori" correction would not re- Manuscript received June 14, 1984
quire extensive changes to the main parts of the EMTP, and would be
-