MODULE – 3

CORONA
Corona Effect in Overhead Transmission Line
The phenomenon of violet glow, hissing sound and production of ozone gas in an
overhead transmission line is known as corona.

When a very high voltage is applied across two conductors of the overhead
transmission line whose spacing is large as compared to their diameters. When this
applied voltage exceeds a certain value (called critical disruptive voltage), then the
conductors are surrounded by a faint violet glow that is known as corona effect.

In practice, the corona effect is accompanied by a hissing sound, production of

ozone, power loss and radio interference. The higher is the transmission voltage,
the larger and higher the luminous envelope becomes and the higher are the power
loss and the radio interference. If the applied voltage attained the breakdown
value, then a flashover will occur between the conductors due to breakdown of the
insulation of air.
If the transmission conductors are polished and smooth, then the violet glow will
be uniform throughout the length of the conductors, otherwise the rough points
will appear brighter.
In case of DC transmission lines, there is a difference in the appearance of corona
glow for the two conductors, i.e. the positive wire has uniform corona glow about it
and the negative wire has spotty glow.

Factors Affecting Corona Loss

The physical state of the atmosphere and the conditions of the transmission line
affects the phenomenon of corona. The factors which affect the corona loss in
the overhead transmission line are given as follows –
 Atmosphere – Since the corona loss is formed due to the ionization of the
surrounding air of the conductors. Therefore, the physical state of the
atmosphere affects the corona loss. In the stormy weather, the number of
ions is more than the normal and hence the corona occurs at very low voltage
as compared to the fair weather.

 Line Voltage – The corona loss is greatly affected by the line voltage. If the
is low, then there is no change in the condition of the air surrounding the
conductors and hence no corona occurs. Although, if the line voltage has a
very value such that there is the electrostatic stresses developed at the
conductor surface making the surrounding air conducting, then corona effect
takes place.

 Spacing between Conductors – If the spacing between the conductors is made

very large as compared to their diameters, then there may not be any corona
discharge. It is because the large space between the conductors decreases
the electrostatic stresses at the conductor which helps in avoiding the corona
formation.

 Size of the Conductor – The corona loss is also affected by the shape and
size of the conductors. The rough and uneven surface will give rise more
corona loss since the unevenness of the surface of the conductor reduces the
value of breakdown voltage. Therefore, a stranded conductor has irregular
surface and hence gives rise to more corona effect than a solid conductor.
Methods of Reducing Corona Effect

In practice, it has been observed that the corona effect occurs at a line voltage
of 33 kV or above. Therefore, careful design of the overhead transmission lines
should be made to avoid the corona loss at 33 kV or higher voltages, otherwise
highly ionized air may cause flashover in the line insulators or between the line
conductors, causing considerable damage to the equipment.
The methods used for reducing the corona effect / corona loss / corona discharge
are given as follows −
 By Increasing Conductor Size – The corona effect in the overhead
transmission lines can be reduced by increasing the conductor size. By
increasing the conductor size, the line voltage at which corona takes place is
increased and hence the corona loss is greatly reduced. Therefore, this is one
of the reasons that the aluminium-conductor-steel-reinforced (ACSR)
conductors which have large area cross-section are used in overhead
transmission lines.
 By Increasing the Spacing between Conductors – The large spacing between
the conductors reduces the electrostatic stresses developed at the
conductors, thus avoiding the corona formation. Therefore, by increasing the
spacing between the conductors, the line voltage at which corona occurs is
raised and thus the corona effect can be reduced. However, the spacing
between the conductors cannot be increased too much otherwise the cost of
supporting structure becomes very high, which is uneconomical.

What is Critical Disruptive Voltage &

Visual Critical Voltage?

When there exists a potential difference between two conductors of a

transmission line, where the distance between them (spacing) is larger compared to
their diameters. Then the air surrounding the conductors is subjected to electro-
static stresses. If the potential difference applied reaches a value, then the air
between the conductors gets ionized and hence produces ions.
The ionization of air causes an electrical discharge accomplished by a faint glow of
violet color, hissing noise, and the production of ozone gas known as the corona
effect. The phenomenon of corona plays an important role in the design of an
overhead transmission line. Therefore, it is profitable to consider the following
terms much used in the analysis of the corona effect on transmission lines.

Critical Disruptive Voltage :

Critical disruptive voltage is defined as the minimum phase-to-neutral voltage at

which corona occurs. It is denoted by Vc. Consider two parallel conductors of radius
r and spaced by a distance d as shown below. Let V be the phase to neutral voltage

Now, if V is the phase to neutral potential, then potential gradient at the surface
of the conductor is given by,
In order that corona to be formed, the value of potential gradient g must be made
equal to the breakdown strength of air. Under normal operating conditions (i.e., at
76cm pressure and temperature of 25° C), the breakdown strength of air is
30kV/cm maximum value of 21.2kV/cm RMS value and is denoted by g o.If Vc is the
phase to neutral potential required under these conditions, by equating the
potential gradient at the surface of the conductor to the breakdown strength of
air (i.e., g = go) we get,

The above expression for disruptive voltage is under standard conditions i.e. at
76cm of Hg and 25°C. However, the above equation varies with the variation in the
breakdown strength of air, further varying the air density factor. Hence,
considering the air density factor at a barometric pressure of k cms mercury and
temperature at t°C. The air density factor δ becomes,

Correction must also be made for the surface condition of the conductor. This is
accounted for by multiplying the above expression by irregularity factor m o.
Therefore, the expression for critical disruptive voltage Vc is given as,
 Where,

 mo = 1 for smooth and polished conductors,

 = 0.92 to 0.98 for rough conductors, and
 = 0.87 for stranded conductors.

Visual Critical Voltage :

In the case of transmission lines with parallel conductors, the corona glow does not
being at the critical disruptive voltage V c, but it begins at a higher voltage called
the Visual Critical Voltage. It is denoted by V v. Thus visual critical voltage is the
minimum phase-neutral voltage at which the visual corona starts or appearance of
the faint luminous glow of violet color all along the transmission line conductors.

Thus, when corona begins, the potential gradient g r at the conductor surface is
higher than the disruptive gradient go. Peak states that the critical disruptive
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 a distance (r
+ 0.3√δr) from the axis. In order to achieve this the phase to neutral voltage
should be (1 + 0.3/√δr) times the critical disruptive voltage. Therefore, the visual
critical voltage Vv is given as,

Where,

 mv = 1 for smooth and polished conductors,

 = 0.92 to 0.98 for rough conductors, and
 = 0.72 for stranded conductors.
 go = Breakdown strength of air at 76cm of Hg and 25°C
 δ = Air density factor
 r = Radius of the conductor
 d = Spacing between the conductors.

Factors Affecting Critical Disruptive Voltage

and Visual Critical Voltage :

From the experiment of visual critical voltage, we can see that V v also depends on
the size of the conductor, spacing between the conductors, and the surface
condition of conductors. The effects of various parameters on V c and Vv can be
summarized as below.

Size of Conductors :
The increase in the conductor size increases the voltage at which the corona
occurs and appears to increase. Because as the size of the conductor is increased,
the electric field intensity reduces. Hence, the corona will occur at a greater
voltage if the size of the conductor is increased.

However, an increase in conductor size will increase the cost of conductors and the
mechanical stress on the insulators. Hence, the conductor size cannot be increased
to a large value, in order to avoid the early occurrence of the corona.

So, we have to make a compromise and go for a conductor size that will give a good
value of critical disruptive voltage Vc and visual critical voltage Vv at the same time
it does not increase the cost by much.

Spacing Between the Conductors :

As the spacing between the overhead conductors is increased, the electrostatic
stress between the two conductors decreases. Hence, the air between the
conductors will get ionized at a higher voltage i.e., the value of critical disruptive
voltage and the visual critical voltage increases, and corona is eliminated.
 Once again the spacing between the conductors cannot be increased to a very large
value because we have to go for larger cross arms and long tower structures for
the increased spacing. Also, we have to go for a higher right of way to install the
tower structure.

Surface Condition of Conductors :

Surface condition plays an important role in the process of the corona. In order to
account for the surface conditions, surface factors such as m o and mv are
introduced in the expression of Vc and Vv.

If the conductor surface is smooth i.e., in the case of polished conductors, the
voltage at which corona occurs and appears will be high. Hence, corona can be
avoided. On the other hand, if the surface is irregular and dirty, the value of
Vc and Vv will be less and corona will occur even at low voltages. The different
values for mo and mv are,

 mo = 1 for polished conductors,

 = 0.92 to 0.98 for dirty conductors,
 = 0.8 to 0.87 for stranded conductors.
 mv = 1 for polished conductors,
 = 0.82 to 0.72 for rough conductors.

Radio and television interference

caused by corona discharges from
high-voltage transmission lines

Increase in power utility loads in industrialized countries, as well as developing

countries, demands a higher level of transmission line voltage. Radio interference
(RI) problems have been determined to be a limiting factor in selecting the size of
transmission line conductors. Transmission line noise is primarily caused by corona
discharges in the immediate vicinity of the conductor. It has been observed that
discharges occur during both half-cycles of the applied voltage, but positive corona
is usually predominant at AM radio frequencies range with practical high-voltage
and extra high-voltage transmission lines. The corona radio noise effect is highly
dependent upon the presence of particles on the surface of the conductor and the
increase of the electrical gradient beyond the breakdown value of the air.
Therefore, corona radio noise varies significantly with the weather and
atmospheric conditions and generally increases by 10 to 30 dB in foul weather.