In this video we will discuss about:-

Contents:

1. Introduction to Corona

2. Causes of Corona

3. Factors Affecting Corona

4. Corona Power Loss

5. Methods of Reducing Corona Effects

6. Advantages and Disadvantages of Corona

1. Introduction to Corona:

When an alternating potential difference is applied across two conductors, whose spacing
is large in comparison with their diameters, then the atmospheric air surrounding the
conductors is subjected to electrostatic stresses. At low voltage there is no change in the
condition of atmospheric air around the conductors.

However, when the potential difference is gradually increased, a stage arrives when a faint
luminous glow of violet colour appears together with a hissing noise. This phenomenon is
called “visual corona” and is accompanied by the production of ozone which is readily
detected because of its characteristic odour. The glow is due to the fact that the
atmospheric air around the conductor becomes conducting due to electrostatic stresses.
If the potential difference is raised still further, the glow and the noise will increase in
intensity until eventually a spark-over owing to breakdown of air insulation will take place.
The whole phenomenon—the hissing noise, the violet glow, and production of ozone gas is
known as the corona. This phenomenon is very much evident in transmission lines of 100
kV and above.

If the conductors are perfectly uniform and smooth the glow will be uniform throughout
the length of the conductor, otherwise the rough points will appear brighter. If the spacing
between the conductors is not very large as compared with their diameters (interaxial
difference is less than 15 times the diameter of the conductors) corona may bridge the
conductors and cause flash-over before any luminous glow is observed. It happens due to
the fact that the distance between the conductors being smaller, there is no time for the
glow to occur.

In EHV ac transmission lines the visible glow of corona is mostly uniform about both the
conductors but in case of HVDC transmission the glow is uniform and brighter about the
positive conductor but spotty about the negative conductor.

Corona is accompanied by a loss of energy which increases very rapidly once the visual
critical voltage is exceeded. Power loss, due to corona, heavily depends upon weather
condition—during humid and moist climate corona loss is much increased.

The energy loss accompanied by the phenomenon, called the corona, 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 practice this non-sinusoidal current and the non-sinusoidal
voltage drop caused by it may be more important than the power loss.

The effects of corona are summarized as below:

(i) A violet glow is observed around the conductor.

(ii) It produces a hissing noise.

(iii) It produces ozone which can be readily detected by its characteristic odour.

(iv) The glow is maximum over rough and dirty surfaces of the conductor.

(v) It is accompanied by a power loss—the wattmeter connected in the electric circuit will
show a reading.

(vi) The charging current under corona condition increases because the corona induces
harmonic currents.
2. Causes of Corona:

i. Dielectric Strength of Air Causing Corona:

The value of potential gradient at which complete disruption of air occurs, is called the
disruptive strength or dielectric strength of air. The breakdown strength of air at a
barometric pressure of 760 mm, and temperature of 25° C is 30 kV/cm (maximum) or 21.1.
kV/cm (rms) and is denoted by g0.

The value of dielectric strength of air (i.e. g 0) depends upon the density of air—g0 is
proportional to density of air over a wide range and thus directly proportional to the
barometric pressure, and inversely proportional to the absolute temperature. Thus
breakdown strength of air at a barometric pressure of b cm of mercury and temperature of
t° C becomes δ g0 where-

ii. Disruptive Critical Voltage Causing Corona:

Let us consider the two-wire line shown in Fig.1, where r is the radius of the line
conductors and d is the distance between their centres, where d is very large as compared
to r. If a positive charge of q coulombs per metre of conductor length is given to conductor
A, then a negative charge of q coulombs per metre of conductor length will be induced on
conductor B.
Consider point P at a distance of x metres from conductor A.

Electric field intensity at point P due to charge on conductor A = q/2 ε 0 x acting towards B
as shown.

Electric field intensity at point P due to induced charge on conductor B = q/2 ε 0 (d-x) acting
towards B as shown.

Resultant electric field intensity at point P,

PD between conductors A and B

Now since r is very small as compared to d, d – r ≃ d and, therefore,

Now gradient at any point x from the centre of the conductor A is given by,

Substituting for q from Eq. (7.2) in above equation, we have,

where V is voltage between two conductors.

where V is the line to neutral voltage of the system.

From the expression for the potential gradient it is clear that for a given transmission
system, the potential gradient increases as x decreases i.e., the potential gradient is
maximum when x = r, the surface of the conductor, and this value is given by,

where r is the radius of conductors in cm, d is the spacing in cm and V’ is the value of
voltage of the conductors to neutral, both gmax and V being expressed in rms values.

When the disruptive gradient of air is reached at the conductor surface,

In practice, corrections have to be applied to the above formula for air density and surface
conditions of the conductor and thus the complete formula becomes,

where δ is the air density factor [Refer to Eq. (7.1)] and m 0 is the conductor surface
condition factor.

The value of m0 may be taken as unity, 0.98 – 0.93 and 0.87 – 0.80 for polished, roughened
(or weathered) and stranded conductors respectively.

In the case of stranded conductors the variations in m0 is due to the number of strands
employed, and the varying ratio between the strand diameter and overall diameter in
different sizes of conductors. It also depends on the surface conditions of the conductor,
often improving after a conductor has been in service for a long time, and become
weathered and the roughness and abrasions oxidised away. Any mutilation of the
conductor during construction or stringing lowers m0 considerably.
The value of given by Eq. (7.6) is known as disruptive critical voltage, and is defined as
the minimum phase to neutral voltage at which corona occurs and holds good for fair-
weather conditions. Its value is considerably reduced during bad atmospheric conditions,
such as fog, sleet, rain and snowstorms.

iii. Visual Critical Voltage Causing Corona:

In the case of parallel wires it is found that visual corona does not begin at the voltage
at which the disruptive gradient of air g 0 is reached, but at a higher voltage called the
visual critical voltage. Visual critical voltage is defined as the minimum phase to neutral
voltage at which glow appears all along the line conductors.

Thus when corona begins, the potential gradient g v at the conductor surface is higher than
the disruptive gradient g0. Contrary to what might be expected, gv, the apparent strength of
air is not constant but depends on the size of the conductors, air being apparently stronger
at the surface of small conductors than large ones.

Peek states that the disruptive critical voltage must be so exceeded that the stress is
greater than the breakdown value up to a distance of 0.3√δr cm from the conductor. Thus
visual corona will occur when the breakdown value is attained at the distance r + 0.3√δr
from the axis, instead of at the distance r. This requires that the voltage to neutral be 1 +
(0.3)/√δr times the disruptive critical voltage. Thus the visual critical voltage is,

where mv is a roughness factor, which is unity for smooth conductors. When the wire is
stranded or rough, mv is less than unity. mv may be taken as 0.98 – 0.93 for rough
conductor exposed to atmospheric severities and 0.72 for local corona on stranded
conductors.

Because of irregular surface of the conductor, the corona does not start simultaneously on
the whole surface but it takes place at different points of the conductor which are pointed
and this is known as local corona. For this m v = 0.72. For decided or general corona along
the length of the conductor mv may be taken as 0.82.
4. Corona Power Loss:

The formation of corona is associated with a loss of power, which will have some effect on
the efficiency of the transmission line, but will not be of much importance to have any
appreciable effect on the voltage regulation.

As in the case of the critical voltage for corona, the power loss is affected both by
atmospheric and line conditions.

Under the fair weather conditions, the following empirical formula for the corona
power loss has been ascertained due to Peek:

where Vph is voltage to neutral in kV, is the disruptive critical voltage to neutral in kV
and f is the supply frequency in Hz.

Q․ The corona loss on a particular system at 50 Hz is 1 kW/km per phase. What is the
corona loss at 60 Hz in kW/km per phase?
1
1.25
0.89
1.13

Where, f = Supply frequency

δ = Air density factor
r = Radius of the conductor
d = Distance between the conductors
Vph = Operating voltage of the transmission line
Vc = Critical disruptive voltage Therefore,
Under the stormy weather conditions, is taken to be 0.8 times its fair weather value and
power loss due to corona is given by,

As a matter of fact, with perfectly smooth and cylindrical conductors no loss occurs until
the visual critical voltage is reached, when the loss suddenly takes a definite value as
calculated by the Eq. (7.8) or Eq. (7.9). It then follows the quadratic law for higher voltages.
The empirical relation as derived by Peek has certain limitations and holds good only
under certain conditions (i.e. the supply frequency lies between 25 and 120 Hz, the
conductor radius is greater than 2.5 mm and ratio V ph/Vd0 exceeds 1.8). Also a small error
in m0, the irregularity factor, will lead to wrong results when using the above formula.

When the ratio Vph/Vd0 is less than 1.8 Peterson’s formula is to be applied for
determining the corona losses and is given as:

where K is a factor which varies with the ratio of Vph/Vd0 as given below:

3. Factors Affecting Corona:

Since corona occurs due to the ionization of the air surrounding the line conductors, it is
affected by the physical state of the atmosphere as well as by the condition of the line.

The corona is affected by the following factors:

(i) Atmosphere:

Corona is caused by the bombardment of molecules, with subsequent dislodging of

electrons, by the ionised particles. Corona will thus be affected by the physical state of the
atmosphere. The voltage gradient for the breakdown of the air is proportional to its
density. In the stormy weather the number of ions may be more than normal, and as such
the corona may occur at much less voltage compared with fair weather.
Factor # . Effect of Density of Air:

Corona loss increases with the decrease in the density of air. The corona loss of a
transmission line passing through a hilly area is higher than that of a similar line in plains
due to reduced value of δ at high altitudes.

(ii) Conductor:

Factor #1 . Effect of Conductor Radius:

The electric field intensity decreases with the increase in radius of conductor. Hence with
conductors of large radius, electric field intensity decreases resulting in lower corona
power loss.

Factor #2 . Effect of Conductor Surface:

The potential gradient at the surface of a stranded conductor is greater than that for the
equivalent solid conductor. So breakdown voltage is low and corona loss is more for
stranded conductors.

Roughness of the surface of the conductor causes a field distortion and gives rise to high
potential gradient causing higher corona loss.

The corona decreases with the increase in diameter of conductor. A stranded conductor
gives rise to more corona than a solid conductor. For stranded conductors, the shape of the
x-section is a series of arcs of circles each of much smaller diameter than the conductor as a
whole.

The potential gradient for such a conductor will, therefore, be greater than for the
equivalent smooth conductor so the breakdown voltage for such a conductor will be
somewhat less than for a smooth conductor, the ratio being between 0.88 and unity. The
effect of dirt on the surface is to increase the irregularity and thereby decreasing the
breakdown voltage further, an average value for the ratio when both stranding and dirt are
taken into account lies between 0.85 and unity.

(iii) Spacing Between Conductors:

With the increase in spacing between the conductors the electrostatic stresses are reduced
and therefore, the corona effect is reduced. If the spacing between the conductors is made
very large as compared with their diameters, there may not be any corona effect.

(iv) Line Voltage:

Line voltage largely affects the corona. At low voltage, there is no corona effect, but when
the line voltage is increased to such a value that electrostatic stresses developed at the
conductor surface make the atmospheric air surrounding the conductor conducting, corona
effect appears.

(V) Effect of System Frequency:

From Eqs. (7.8), (7.9) and (7.10) it is obvious that corona loss varies directly as the system
frequency.
(VI)- Effect of Load Current:

The heating of the conductor due to flow of load current through it has an indirect reducing
effect on the corona loss. Heating of conductor prevents deposition of dew or snow on the
surface of the conductor and reduces corona loss.

During rains, the heating of conductor has no effect on the corona loss but, after the rain it
accelerates the drying of the conductor surface. The time duration for which the drops
remain on the surface is reduced and so the corona loss is reduced.

For long transmission lines passing through routes of varying altitudes, the average value
of corona loss is determined by determining the corona loss per km at a number of points
and then taking out an average.

Triple-Harmonic Currents due to Corona:

Corona forms when the voltage of a conductor passes the disruptive critical voltage and
disappears when the voltage descends through the same value. This occurs on each
conductor every half-cycle, and develops a pulsation in the voltage wave having three times
the generator frequency. In an earthed system this triple-frequency voltage causes a triple-
frequency current to flow through the capacitance of the system to earth and back through
the earthed neutral.

This effect is accentuated by the fact that the effective capacitance of the conductors
pulsates at triple frequency due to the increase and decrease of effective diameter of
conductors caused by the corona. Because of corona triple frequency currents flow through
the ground in case of a non-earthed system, the neutral has a voltage to earth of triple
frequency.

5. Methods of Reducing Corona Effects:

The critical voltage can be raised either by increasing the spacing between the conductors
or the diameter of conductors. By increasing the spacing between the conductors, the
voltage at which corona occurs is raised and hence corona effects can be avoided.

However, the spacing cannot be increased to a large extent because it will result in heavier
supporting structures (e.g., the bigger cross-arms and supports) and therefore high cost.
The diameter of the conductors can be increased by using hollow conductors with a hemp
core. Steel-cored aluminium conductors have a large diameter for a given conductivity and
weight, and are thus good from the point of view of corona.
By using bundled conductors also corona effects can be avoided because effective diameter
of the bundled conductor is much larger than that of the equivalent single conductor.

Factor # Bundling of Conductors:

A bundled conductor consists of two or more parallel sub- conductors at a spacing of

several diameters. These groups of conductors form the phase conductors. Thus the
effective diameter of the bundled conductor is much larger than that of the equivalent
single conductor. The value of large diameter, as obvious from the equation for corona loss,
will reduce the corona loss.

Factor # Voltage Limitations of Lines:

The basis for the design of a transmission line is essentially financial, the most economical
line being the most acceptable. It is because power loss due to corona is of no great
importance. It is considered satisfactory to design a line for operation at a voltage just
below the disruptive critical voltage for fair weather (taking δ = 1). It is economical to have
a small corona loss in bad weather, i.e., for a fraction of the year (storms are experienced at
intervals) rather than have large conductors and heavy supporting structures to avoid
corona entirely.

6. Advantages and Disadvantages of Corona:

In the past, the corona was considered as something to be avoided because of the energy
loss associated with it and the distortion of the waveform.

But now the corona is considered beneficial because of the following advantages:

1. On the formation of corona the sheath of air surrounding the conductor becomes
conductive and there is a virtual increase in conductor diameter and due to this virtual
increase in conductor diameter the maximum potential gradient or maximum electrostatic
stress is reduced. Thus probability of flash-over is reduced and system performance is
improved.

2. Effects of transients produced by lightning and other causes are reduced, since charges
induced on the line by lightning or other causes will be partially dissipated as a corona loss.
In this way it acts as a safety valve and sometimes lines have been purposely designed to
have an operating voltage near to the critical voltage in order to do away with the necessity
for, and expense of lightning arrestor gear. An objection to this scheme is that the critical
voltage is not fixed for a given line, but may vary considerably with changes in the weather.

Disadvantages of corona are given below:

1. There is a definite loss of power, although this is not important except under abnormal
weather conditions.

2. There is a non-sinusoidal voltage drop due to non-sinusoidal corona current and these
may cause some interference with neighbouring communication circuits due to elec-
tromagnetic and electrostatic induction effects.

3. Owing to the formation of corona, ozone gas is produced which chemically reacts with
the conductor and causes corrosion.