EHV AC TRANSMISSION

Dr(Mrs) K Uma Rao

Professor, Dept. of EEE
RVCE
ALL INDIA GENERATING INSTALLED CAPACITY
( MW ) (AS ON 31-05-13 )

250000 225133.1

200000

153188

150000

100000

39623
50000 34444.12
27542

4780

0
Thermal Nuclear Hydro RES Total Captive
 INTRODUCTION

Power System Reliability

Need for High Voltage Transmission
- increase in transmission efficiency
- reduction in conductor material
- reduction in losses
- flexibility for future system growth
- increase in transmission capacity
- increase of SIL
- Right - of-way reduction
 INTRODUCTION……..

Classification
above 66kV less than 230kV - HV
345 kV, 400kV and 500kV - EHV
765kV, 1200kV - UHV
 Evolution of HVAC and HVDC Transmission in India

At the time of Independence, power systems in

the country were essentially isolated systems
developed in and around urban and industrial
areas and the highest transmission voltage was
132 kV. The state-sector network grew at
voltage level up to 132 kV during the 50s and
60s and then to 220 kV during 60s and 70s.
Subsequently, in many states (U.P.,
Maharashtra, M.P., Gujarat, Orissa, A.P., and
Karnataka) substantial 400kV network was also
added as large quantum of power was to be
transmitted over long distances.
Considering the operational regime of the various
Regional Grids, it was decided around 1990s to
establish initially asynchronous connection between
the Regional Grids to enable them to exchange large
regulated quantum of power. Accordingly, a 500 MW
asynchronous HVDC back-to-back link between the NR
- WR at Vindhyachal was established. Subsequently,
similar links between WR - SR (1000 MW capacity at
Bhadrawati), between ER - SR (1000 MW capacity at
Gazuwaka) and between ER - NR (500 MW capacity at
Sasaram), were established. In1992 the Eastern
Region and the North-Eastern Region were
synchronously interconnected through a Birpara-
Salakati 220kV double circuit transmission line.
During first four years of 11th Plan,
49,852 ckm comprising of 1,636 ckm of
765 kV lines, 1580 ckm of HVDC lines,
26,856 ckm of 400 kV lines and 19,780
ckm of 230/220 kV lines .
TRANSMISSION LINES- 11TH PLAN PROGRAMME &
ACHIEVEMENT
(ALL FIGURES IN CIRCUIT KMS)

Transmission Existing Additions Total by

lines (ckm) by 11thplan March
10thplan 2012

765 kV 2184 5428 7612

HVDC 500 kV 5872 1606 7478
HVDC 800/600 0 3600 3600
kV
400 kV 75722 49278 125000
220 kV 114629 35371 150000
Total 198569 95283 293852
GROWTH IN 765KV TRANSMISSION SYSTEM UP
TO 12TH PLAN / EARLY 13TH PLAN PERIOD
During 11th Plan, a number of 765kV lines and
substations have been added and a few more are
under-construction. The trend of increasing 765kV
system in the grid is going to continue in the 12th Plan
as well. A number of new 765kV lines and substations
have been planned for evacuation of bulk power in the
range of 3000 - 6000 MW to longer distances. Their
actual realization would depend upon progress of
associated generation projects. The planned765kV
transmission systems are expected to be implemented
during 12th Plan or early 13th Plan period. Some of the
planned 765 kV systems would be initially operated at
400 kV.
Comparison between 345kV and 765 kV permitted
distance with equal transmission capacity
Comparison between 132kV and 765 kV permitted distance with equal
transmission capacity
COMPARISON OF HVAC AND HVDC SYSTEMS
Sl. Characteristics EHV-AC HVDC
No.
1 • Line cost Higher Lower
• Sub-station cost Lower Higher
• No. of circuits More One
• Intermediate substation Required Not required
2 Skin Effect Present Absent
3 Line losses High Low
4 Power transfer Limited - power No limit
angle and X
5 Voltage control Difficult due to L Easier
&C
6 Compensation Series & shunt No compensation
7 Corona and RI More Less
8 Stability Very low Much Higher
 BUNDLED CONDUCTORS
Bundled conductors are exclusively used for EHV
transmission lines. Only one line in the world, that
of the Bonneville Power Administration in the USA
has used a special expanded ACSR conductor of 2.5
inch diameter for their 525kV line. Following figure
shows examples of conductor configuration used for
each phase of AC lines or each pole of a DC line.
 Overhead transmission lines : Bundled conductors, Resistance,
Inductance and capacitance calculations of EHV line
configurations
RESISTANCE OF CONDUCTORS
Conductors used for EHV transmission lines are always
stranded. Most common conductors use a steel core for
reinforcement of the strength of aluminium, but recently
high tensile strength aluminium is being increasingly
used, replacing the steel. The former is known as ACSR
(Aluminium Conductor Steel Reinforced) and the latter
ACAR (Aluminium Conductor Alloy Reinforced). A recent
development is the AAAC(All Aluminium Alloy
Conductor) which consists of alloys of Al, Mg, Si. This has
10 to 15% less loss than ACSR. When a steel core is used,
because of its high permeability and inductance, power-
frequency current flows only in the aluminium strands.
In ACAR and AAAC conductors,
 RESISTANCE
If ns = number of strands of aluminium, ds =
diameter of each strand in metre and ρa = specific
resistance of Al, ohm-m, at temperature t, the
resistance of the stranded conductor per km is
 INDUCTANCE

For a symmetrical bundle with N conductors

arranged in a circle of radius A and angle between
two sub-conductors is 2π/N.
 CAPACITANCE

In a single phase line with bundle conductor having N

sub-conductors on circle of radius A and each sub-
conductor has a radius of ‗r‘
 Power loss due to corona

Percent Power Loss and Power handling capacity

When compared to the I2R heating loss, the
average corona losses on several lines from
345 kV to 750 kV gave 1 to 20 kW/km in fair
weather, the higher values referring to
higher voltages. In foul-weather, the losses
can go up to 300 kW/km. A reasonable
estimate is the yearly average loss which
amounts to roughly 2 kW/km to 10 kW/km
for 400 km lines, and 20-40 kW/km for 800
km range since usually higher voltages are
necessary for the longer lines. Therefore,
cumulative annual average corona loss
amounts only to10% of I2R loss, on the
assumption of continuous full load carried.
CORONA-LOSS FORMULAE
CORONA-LOSS FORMULAE……..
Formulas useful for evaluating 3-phase corona loss in
kW/km, which are particularly adopted for EHV lines,
 Electric Field under transmission lines
ELECTRIC SHOCK AND THRESHOLD CURRENTS
(a) Primary Shock Currents. These cause direct physiological
harm when the current exceeds about 6-10 mA. The normal
resistance of the human body is about 2-3 kilohms so that
about 25 volts may be necessary to produce primary shock
currents.
(b) Secondary Shock Currents. These cannot cause direct
physiological harm but may produce adverse reactions. They
can be steady state 50 Hz or its harmonics or transient in
nature. The latter occur when a human being comes into
contact with a capacitively charged body such as a parked
vehicle under a line. Steady state currents up to 1 mA cause
a slight tingle on the fingers. Currents from 1 to 6 mA are
classed as, 'let go' currents. At this level, a human being has
control of muscles to let the conductor go as soon as a
tingling sensation occurs. For a 50% probability that the let-
to current may increase to primary shock current, the limit
for men is 16 mA and for women 10 mA. At 0.5% probability,
the currents are 9 mA for men, 6 mA for women, and 4.5 mA
for children.
ELECTROSTATIC FIELD OF SINGLE-CIRCUIT 3-PHASE
LINE

Profile of ES field of 400kV line at ground level

ES field of 750kV line (calculated)
Overhead line insulators: Ceramic and non-ceramic types,
Insulator performance in polluted environments, mitigation
of pollution induced flashover.

What Is an Insulator?
An insulator is a ―dam‖ poor conductor!
And more, technically speaking!
An insulator is a mechanical support!
Primary function - support the ―line‖
mechanically
Secondary function- electrical
Air is the insulator
Outer shells/surfaces are designed to increase
leakage distance and strike distance
WHAT DOES AN INSULATOR DO?
Maintains an Air Gap
Separates Line from Ground
length of air gap depends primarily on
system voltage, modified by desired
safety margin, contamination, etc.
Resists Mechanical Stresses
―everyday‖ loads, extreme loads
Resists Electrical Stresses
system voltage/fields, overvoltages
Resists Environmental Stresses
heat, cold, UV, contamination, etc.
DESIGN CRITERIA - ELECTRICAL
Dry Arcing Distance -
(Strike Distance) - “The
shortest distance through
the surrounding medium
between terminal electrodes….”
DESIGN CRITERIA - LEAKAGE DISTANCE

What is Leakage Distance?

―The sum of the shortest

distances measured
along the insulating
surfaces between the
conductive parts, as
arranged for dry
flashover test.
 This requirement is derived from the probability of
flashover either during lightning strikes for
systems below345kV, or during switching
operations for systems above 345kV. This analysis
establishes the strike or the dry arcing distance,
which in turn dictates the minimum physical
length of the insulation design.

Dr. Dixit, MSRIT

 Regarding the electrical specifications of outdoor
insulators for polluted conditions, the above
overvoltage approach inevitably leads to
inadequate insulation, as illustrated in the figure.
As the flashover of wet and polluted insulators is a
thermal process, short duration waves such as
lightning impulses do not result in lower flashover
voltage, while switching surges, with their longer
times, will result in a significant reduction in the
flashover voltage.
 POLLUTION INDUCED FLASHOVERS
The effect is greatest at power frequency because
it is entirely dependent on the level of pollution.
Another most severe threat is that, the
flashover occurs at the normal working voltage
itself.
EFFECT OF POLLUTION…
EFFECT OF POLLUTION
 ACCUMULATION OF CONTAMINATION
The main forces are,

Gravity
Wind
Electric field

Force proportional to E
Force proportional to E2 (due to
divergence of the electric field
MAIN POLLUTANTS
Sand (SiO2)
Common salt (NaCl)
Gypsum (CaSO4)
Calcium Chloride (CaCl2)
-is the salt used on roadways in
colder locations to prevent
icing on roads following a
snowfall.
 RELATIVE COMPARISON OF MAGNITUDE OF FORCES
RESPONSIBLE FOR INSULATOR CONTAMINATION (PARTICLE
SIZE= 5 M)

Type of Force Relative Magnitude

Gravity 1 PU (reference)

Voltage stress (E=2kV/cm 10

DC)
Field Divergence (E2=0.2 0.0001
kV2/cm3)
Wind (speed=2m/s) 1000

Wind (speed=5m/s) 2000

Wind (speed=10m/s) 3000

 FLASHOVER MECHANISM

Insulator collects dirt and becomes wet during dew, rain or fog

Leakage current promoted

Current density on insulator surface is non-uniform, higher at

Regions of smaller diameter (shank, pin) and lower at regions of larger diameter

Leakage current produces heating causing circular dry

bands in regions of high current density

Voltage a/c insulator is applied a/c dry bands,

high electric stress causing dry band arcing

If insulator surface resistance is sufficiently low,

dry band arcs propagate to bridge terminals causing flashover
IEC CLASSIFICATION OF CONTAMINATION SEVERITY
Level of ESDD range in Specific
contamination mg/cm2 creepage length
mm/kV
Light 0.01- 0.04 16

Medium 0.04- 0.15 20

High 25
0.15- 0.40
Very high 31
>0.40

L
Sp creepage length
voltage* 3
 3R
• Representability is the ability of an
artificial test procedure to simulate
service conditions that can give similar
absolute and relative results.
• Reproducibility is the extent to which a
specified test gives the same results
when performed in different
laboratories.
• Repeatability is the degree to which a
test gives the same results when
performed on different occasions in the
same laboratory
 HOW TO MAKE INSULATORS WORK IN
CONTAMINATED ENVIRONMENT

Cleaning:
1. Water washing (removing loose
contamination)
2. Dry Cleaning
- Cleaning with a dry abrasive cleaner
such as ground walnut or corncob and
limestone to remove hard deposits
3. Hand cleaning
-efficient but is labour intensive and
requires an outage
4. Dry Ice Cleaning
 HOW TO MAKE INSULATORS WORK IN CONTAMINATED
ENVIRONMENT……

Modification of Insulator design:

1. Extended leakage design
2. Aerodynamic designs (open profile)
- well in desert environments
3. Booster sheds
- Booster sheds were developed to avoid FO
resulting from water cascading down post
insulators during live washing
4. Leakage or creepage extenders
5. Additional insulators
6. Resistive Glaze insulators
Non-ceramic Insulators
 NON-CERAMIC (POLYMERIC)
INSULATORS
Advantage of polymers over ceramics
90% weight reduction
Reduced breakage
Hydrophobic- water repellent
Lower installation costs
Aesthetically more pleasing
Improved resistance to vandalism
Improved handling of shock loads
Improved contamination performance
 ISSUES WITH POLYMERS
Aging of Polymer Materials
Limited Experience
Large Variation in designs, materials and
manufacturing techniques
Handling concerns
Storing, transporting and installing
 HV cable transmission - Underground cables and
Gas insulated transmission lines.
Cables are classified according to the material used for
their major insulation. These are broadly of four
varieties:
High Pressure Oil Filled (HPOF) Paper Insulated
Cables;
Cables with Extruded Insulation such as Cross-
Linked Polyethylene(XLPE), Ethylene Propylene
Rubber (EPR), etc;
Composite Laminated Insulation, having plastic
films laminated with Kraft Paper in 40-60% ratio,
with names such as Polypropylene Laminated Paper
(PPLP), etc; and
High Pressure SF6 Gas-Insulated Cable or
transmission line designated as GIL.
Typical insulation thicknesses for EHV cables are as
follows:
HPOF: 138 kV—13mm; 275 kV—20 mm; 400-500
kV—25 mm; 1100 kV—35 mm.
XLPE: 69 kV—16 mm; 275 kV—27 mm; 500 kV—32
to 35 mm;
PPLP: 500 kV—25 mm; 765 kV—30.5 mm.
SF6: 275 kV—125 to 160 mm clearance; 500 kV—200
mm; 750 kV—275 mm.
 HV substations - AIS and GIS.
AIS Substation Description
An Air Insulated Switchgear substation (AIS
substation) uses atmospheric air as the phase to
ground insulation for the switchgear of an
electrical substation. The main advantage of the
AIS substation is the scope of the substation for
future offloading, for this reason AIS substations
tend to be the most popular 400kV substation type.
The equipment of an AIS substation is easily
sourced and has a short lead-time; this means that
the required future offloading does not need to be
built immediately, unlike GIS where it must be
considered. The main disadvantage to the AIS
substation is its overall size.
 GIS SUBSTATION DESCRIPTION
A Gas Insulated Switchgear substation (GIS substation)
uses Sulfur hexafluoride gas (SF6 Gas) whose dielectric
strength is higher than air, to provide the phase to ground
insulation for the switchgear of an electrical substation.
This works where by the conductors and contacts are
insulated by pressurised SF6 gas meaning clearances
required are smaller than that of AIS substations. The
main advantage of the GIS substation is that this phase to
phase spacing can be reduced significantly resulting in a
substation with comparable load capability to an AIS
substation. This is particularly advantageous in an urban
environment where land size is at a premium. The main
disadvantage of the GIS substation type is the reduction
in scope of the substation for future offloading, as
equipment can be costly and difficult to source over the
long term.
 GIS AND AIS SUBSTATION SIZES
AIS Substation Size
Overall substation Compound Size 46,864.5m2
(235.5m x 199m or approximately 11.6 acres)
Height of highest element of substation ~ 28m
(lightning protection structures situated in the
substation compound)
Note: The switchgear in an AIS substation is
outdoors therefore no building sizes are considered.
 GIS SUBSTATION SIZE
Based on the single line diagrams given in Appendix
B the GIS substation and building sizes for this
project would be as follows:
Size of 400kV Building 522.45m2 (12.15m x 43 m)
Size of 110kV Building 270m2 (27m x 10m)
Height of 400kV Building is ~11m.
Height of the 110kV Building is ~8m.
Height of highest element of substation ~ 28m
(lightning protection structures situated in the
substation compound)
Overall Compound Size 10,612m2 (90.7m x 117m
or approximately 2.6 acres)
Overvoltages in power systems,
Temporary, lightning and
Switching over voltages, over
voltage computation.
 TEMPORARY OVERVOLTAGES
Typically due to faults
< 1.2 pu
ms to tens of second or even minutes
Not dangerous to insulation
Decides arrester selection.
LIGHTNING OVERVOLTAGE
 LIGHTNING OVERVOLTAGE…..
Due to ‗direct‘ or ‗indirect‘ lightning
strokes.
known to contribute to 50% of system
outages in EHV & UHV systems
few hundred kV to several tens of MV.
Few kA to 200 kA
very short duration : times to front : 1 to
few tens of s
times to tail : few tens to hundreds of s.
Decides line insulation (BIL)
Severely influences Transformer insulation.
SWITCHING OVERVOLTAGES
 SWITCHING OVERVOLTAGES…..

Due to system switching operations

1.5 pu - 5 pu depends on system voltage
mostly damped asymmetric sinusoids
front time of first peak - tens of micro seconds to a few
ms.
decides external insulation in EHV/UHV
systems
decides arrester duty by way of long
duration class‘
 COMPUTATION OF OVERVOLTAGES
Modeling of the line
Softwares used:
- PSCAD, EMTP/EMTDC, PSPICE,MATLAB/SIMULINK

Grounding of transmission towers and substations

Transmission lines:
Tower Footing Resistance

Sub-station grounding
Ground resistance/soil resistivity/earth mat
 Common Problems associated with EHVAC Transmission

Corona loss
Insulation requirements
Stability consideration
Heavy supporting structure
Mechanical vibration and oscillations
Audible noise
Interference (RI: 0.5 - 1.6MHZ, TV: 54-216MHZ)
Ferranti effect
Surge impedance loading
Compensation