BASICS

OF
TRANSMISSION LINE DESIGN

Brajesh Kumar
Asstt. General Manager (Engg-TL)
Power Grid Corporation of India limited
New Delhi
 MAJOR COMPONENTS OF A TRANSMISSION
LINE

Conductor
Towers (and Foundations)
Earthwire
Insulators ] Insulator
Hardware Fittings ] strings
Accessories
 Transmission Line Categorized by
Voltage Class
- 132 kV / 220 kV / 400 kV / 500 kV / 800 kV /1200 kV

Number of Circuits
- Single / Double / Multi Circuit

AC or DC
- EHV AC / UHV AC / HVDC
Suspension / Tension
- A, B, C & D
 High Power Intensity Corridor
Road Map
RoW
(m)for Indian
Capacity
(MW)
Power System
MW/m
RoW

400kV S/c 52 500 9.6

400kV D/c 46 1000 21.8

765kV S/c 64 2500 39

765kV D/c 69 4000 58

1200 kV S/C 100 6400 64

800kV DC 70 6000 85

750 ft. 200 ft.

230 64 m
m
Type of Towers
a). Tangent towers with suspension string (0° to 2 °)
b). Small angle towers with tension strings (2° to 15 °)
c). Medium angle towers with tension strings (15 ° to 30 °)
d). Large angle (30 ° to 60 °) and dead end towers with
tension strings.
CLASSIFICATION OF TOWERS
 ACCORDING TO CONSTRUCTIONAL FEATURE:
- Self Supporting Towers.
- Conventional Guyed Towers.
- Chainette Guyed Towers.
 ACCORDING TO NO OF CIRCUITS THEY CARRY:
- Single Circuit Towers.
- Double Circuit Towers.
- Multi Circuit Towers.
 ACCORDING TO TOWER SHAPES:
- Horizontal Towers.
- Vertical towers.
Self Supporting Towers
Latticed Steel Towers, covered in India by IS:802
Fabricated using tested MS or combination of MS & HT
angle sections.
Usually square or rectangular base and four separate
footings. However, narrow based lower voltage towers may
have combined monoblock footing.
Compared to guyed towers have higher steel consumption.
Guyed Towers
Portal structures fabricated in ‘Y’ or ‘V’ shapes
Towers incl guys occupy large land space, hence used
in long unoccupied waste land, bush tracts in Canada,
Sweden, Brazil etc.
Chainette Guyed Towers
Consists of two masts each of which is supported by
two guys and a cross rope which is connected to of two
masts and supports the insulator strings
TERMINOLOGY
SAG
SUSPENSION TOWER
ANGLE TOWER
SECTION TOWER
RIVER CROSSING TOWER / ANCHOR TOWER
SPANS
RULING SPAN / DESIGN SPAN / NOMINAL SPAN
WIND / WEIGHT SPAN
EQUIVALENT SPAN
765 kV S/C Transmission Line
- Suspension, Tension Towers
Loading

No upward load on Suspension Towers

ROW: Right of Way
ROW

(Right of way)
Right of way along its route to keep minimum
clearances from earthed objects.
All objects are to be cleared within this zone.

Voltage ROW
132 kV 27 m
220 KV 35 m
400 KV 52 m
765 KV 64 m
1200 KV 89 m
765 kV S/C Transmission Line
- Suspension, Tension Towers
500 kV HVDC Transmission Line
400 kV D/C Transmission Line
220 kV D/C Transmission Line
TRANSMISSION LINES THROUGH FOREST
Transmission Line River Crossings
Survey
To optimize cost of transmission line
To ensure statutory clearances
Cost Optimisation
Shortest route clearing various objects
Minimum number of river crossing towers
Accessibility for construction and maintenance
Selection of optimal foundation locations
 Benching/Revetment requirements
 Earth protection requirement against landslides
 River meandering locations
Statutory Clearances
 Forest Clearance : Environment Impact
National Parks/Wild life sanctuaries.
 PWD\ NHAI Clearance
 PTCC Clearance
 Aviation Clearance
 Air Force Clearance
 Railway Clearance
 Power Line Clearance
 CEA Clearance
 Route alignment

The route should have minimum numbers of angle points.

.

The areas requiring special foundations

and those prone to flooding should be
avoided
 Minimum clearances in mm between lines
when crossing each other

Sl. No Nominal 132 220 400 kV 765 kV 1200kV

System kV kV
Voltage
1. 132 kV 3050 4580 5490 7940 10440
2. 220 kV 4580 4580 5490 7940 10440
3. 400 kV 5490 5490 5490 7940 10440
4. 765 kV 7940 7940 7940 7940 10440
5. 1200 kV 10440 10440 10440 10440 10440
Ground clearance
VOLTAGE (kV) GROUND CLEARANCE
(mm)
132 6100

220 7015

400 8840

765 15000

1200 24000
Telephone line crossings
VOLTAGE (kV) CLEARANCE (mm)

132 2765
220 3050
400 4880
765 7,500
1200 10000
 Benching

Benching
Revetment

UNEQUAL LEG EXTENSIONS IN HILLY AREAS

Benching

Revetment

BENCHING AND REVETMENT IN HILLY AREAS

TOWER SPOTTING

Manual Spotting : Tower Spotting Data

Computerised Plotting : PLSCADD

TOWER
TOWER GEOMETRY
A TOWER IS CONSTITUTED OF FOLLOWING:

- PEAK
- CROSS ARM
- BOOM
- CAGE
- TOWER BODY
- BODY EXTENSION
- LEG EXTENSION
- STUB/ANCHOR BOLT & BASE PLATE ASSEMBLY.
PEAK
Portion above the Top X arm
Function is to support the Ground Wire
Its height depends on the specified angle of shield and
mid span clearance.
Cross Arm
Supports the Conductors
Dimension of X arm depends on the line voltage, type
and configuration of Insulator string, minimum
framing angle required for mechanical stress
distribution
Tower Extensions: Body / Leg
Body extensions used to increase the height of tower
to get required minimum ground clearance over road
crossing , river crossing, ground obstacle etc.
Negative body extensions
Leg Extensions
Used either in any one leg or any pair of legs at
locations where footings of towers are at different
levels.
Generally used in hilly region to reduce benching
cutting.
TOWER SPOTTING

SPAN
Extensions
Use of extension
Tower Outline
Its fixed considering Minimum Ground Clearance,
terrain type, ROW limitations, electrical clearance,
etc.
Tower Height
Minimum Ground Clearance: depends on IE rules
Maximum sag (Max Temp; still wind) including
the effect of Conductor creep
Sag of Ground Wire / Angle of Shield / Mid Span
Clearance
Length of Insulator String assembly
Phase, Ground Clearance: Lightning for < 300kV;
switching
 TYPICAL 400KV S/C TOWER: CLEARANCES

MID SPAN CLEARANCE = 9.0 M (MIN)

A B
SAG=12.87 M
PHASE TO PHASE
CLEARANCE =
MAXM.

8.0M (MIN)

A= CLEARNCE AT 0
DEG SWING (FOR
CLEARANCE =

SWITCHING / LIGHTNIG
OVERVOLTAGE)
GROUND

B= CLEARNCE AT MAX
8.84 M

SWING (FOR POWER

FREQ.OVERVOLTAGE)
Environmental Criteria for 800kV TL
The standing EHV committee of CEA have laid down the
following criteria for 800kV Lines.
RIV < 50dB for 80% of time
TVI < 30dB
AN < 55dB
Electrostatic filed at 2m above ground, below the outer
most phase <= 10kV/m or <= 2kV/m at the edge of the
ROW
To comply with above Mim Gr Clearance of 15m has been
adopted.
Wind Zones and Basic Wind Speeds

Wind Basic Wind Speed

Zone (Vb) m/sec

1 33
2 39
3 44
4 47
5 50
6 55
DESIGN OF TOWERS
Transmission Line Towers are designed as per
IS:802:1995 considering wind zones as per IS:875:1987

SALIENT DESIGN CONDITIONS CLIMATIC LOADS

RELIABILITY REQUIREMENTS UNDER
NORMAL CONDITION

SECURITY REQUIREMENTS FAILURE CONTAINMENT

LOADS UNDER BROKEN
WIRE CONDITION

SAFETY REQUIREMENTS LOADS DURING CONSTRUC-

TION AND MAINTENANCE
LOAD.
DESIGN OF TOWERS

The reliability of transmission line towers

depends on the appropriate selection of
design criteria/parameters.
Climatic conditions play an important role
in determining the reliability of transmission
line tower.
A significant number of transmission line
failures can be the result of wind speed
exceeding design limits due to deficiencies in
selection of design parameters/criteria.
 TOWER DESIGN
1. TOWER TYPES
2. CLASSIFICATION OF TOWER
3. TOWER CONFIGURATION
4. LOADING OF TOWER
5. ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
Reliability Levels
RELIABILITY RETURN SUGGESTED FOR
LEVEL PERIOD

1 50 FOR EHV TRANS LINES UPTO 400KV

CLASS

2 150 FOR TRANS LINES ABOVE 400KV CLASS

AND TRIPLE & QUAD CIRCUIT TRANS LINE
UPTO 400KV.

3 500 FOR TALL RIVER CROSSING TOWERS AND

SPECIAL TOWERS.
Electrical Design Aspects
- Power Flow / Line Loadability
- Electrical Clearances (Operational, safety)
- Corona & Interference
- Insulation Requirements

Mechanical Design Aspects

- External (Dynamic) loads due to wind, ice etc.
- Self Weight of components
- Temperature conditions, Climatological factors
- Vibrations
Loads Due To Conductor & Earthwire
i). Transverse Load
a). Due to Conductor & Earthwire.
Pd . Cdc. L . Gc. d
b). Due to insulator string. Where,
Cdi. Pd. Ai . Gi Pd = Design wind pressure
c). Deviation loads Cdc, Cdi = Drag co-officients
2T. Sin(D/2) L = Wind span
Gc, Gi = Gust response factors
ii). Vertical Load d = Dia of cable
T = Design tension
iii). Longitudinal Load D = Deviation angle
 Tower Loads
i). Transverse Load
Pd. Cdt. Ae. Gt
ii). Self Weight

Load Combinations
Reliability Conditions
Security Conditions
Safety Conditions
Analysis And Design
 ANALYSIS
i). GRAPHICAL METHOD
ii). ANALYTICAL METHOD
iii). COMPUTER AIDED ANALYSIS

 DESIGN AS COMPRESSION AND TENSION MEMBERS.

 CODAL PROViSION FOR LIMITING SLENDERNESS RATIO FOR

COMPRESSION MEMBER DESIGN
i). LEG MEMBERS - 120
ii). BRACINGS - 200
iii). REDUNDANTS - 250
iv). TENSION MEMBERS - 400
INSULATION CO-ORDINATION
Insulation co-ordination aims at selecting proper insulation
level for various voltage stresses in a rational manner. The
objective is to assure that insulation has enough strength to
meet the stress on it.

How many
Flashovers? Strength
Probability Density

Insulation Flashover
Stress
Over Voltage

Probability
Voltage-kV
CAP & PIN DISC INSULATOR
DISC INSULATOR
PORCELAIN LONG ROD INSULATOR STRING
PORCELAIN LONG ROD INSULATOR STRING
INSULATOR AND INSULATOR STRING DESIGN Electrical design
considerations
Insulation design depends on
- Pollution withstand Capability
Min. nominal creepage dist. = Min nominal specific
creepage dist X highest system voltage phase to phase of
the system
Creepage Distance of insulator string required for different pollution
levels
Pollution Equiv. Salt Deposit Density Minm nominal specific
Level (mg/cm2) creepage dist (mm/Kv)
Light 0.03 to 0.06 16

Medium 0.10 to 0.20 20

Heavy 0.20 to 0.60 25

Very Heavy >0.60 31

- Switching/ Lightning Over voltage

INSULATOR AND INSULATOR STRING DESIGN Mechanical design
considerations

a) Everyday Loading Condition

Everyday load 20 to 25% of insulator rated strength.
 
b) Ultimate Loading Condition
  Ultimate load on insulator to not exceed 70% of its
rating. This limit corresponds roughly to pseudo-elastic limit.
 

c)   In addition, capacity of tension insulator strings at least 10

% more than rated tensile strength of the line conductors.
Earthwire
 Function

 To protect conductor against lightning flashovers

 To provide a path for fault current
LIGHTNING FLASHOVERS
 Direct Flashover

 Occurs due to shielding failure with lightning on the conductor ,

flashover taking place across the insulator string from conductor
to ground.

 Back Flashover

 Occurs due to high tower footing resistance with a high voltage at

the grounded tower cross arm compared to conductor, resulting in
a flashover across the insulator string from ground to conductor.
HARDWARE FITTINGS
For attachment of insulator string to tower
 D-Shackles,Ball clevis, Yoke plate, Chain link
 For attachment of insulator string to the conductor
 Suspension & tension assembly
 Fittings like D-Shackles, Socket clevis, chain link
For protection of insulator string from power follow
current
 Arcing Horn
For making electric field uniform and to limit the electric
field at the live end
 Corona Control Ring/ Grading Ring
For fine adjustment of conductor sag
 Sag Adjustment Plate, Turn Buckle
HARDWARE FITTINGS
Arcing Horn
 The air gap is maintained for satisfactory performance under
actual field conditions.
 For power follow current

Yoke Plate
 To withstand mechanical loads- Thickness & shear edge
maintained
 To maintain sub conductor spacing

Corona Control Ring/ Grading Ring

 To cover atleast one live end insulator disc
 To cover hardware fittings susceptible for Corona/RIV
HARDWARE FITTINGS

 Suspension Assembly
 Shaped to prevent hammering between clamp & conductor
 To minimize static & dynamic stress in conductor under various
loading conditions
 Minimum level of corona/RIV performance
 For slipping of conductor under prescribed unbalanced conditions
between adjacent conductor spans

 Tension Assembly
 To withstand loads of atleast 95% of conductor UTS
 To have conductivity more than that of conductor

 Sag Adjustment Plate/ Turn Buckle

 To adjust sag upto 150mm in steps of 6mm
ACCESSORIES FOR CONDUCTOR & EARTHWIRE
 For joining two lengths of conductor/earthwire
 Mid Span Compression joint for Conductor/ earthwire

 For repairing damaged conductor

 Repair Sleeve

 For damping out Aeolian vibrations

 Vibration Damper for conductor & earthwire

 For maintaining sub conductor spacing along the span

 Spacers

 For damping out Aeolian vibrations, sub span oscillation and to

maintain sub conductor spacing
 Spacer Damper
ACCESSORIES FOR CONDUCTOR & EARTHWIRE
Mid Span Compression joint for Conductor/ earthwire &
Repair Sleeve

To withstand at least loads equivalent to 95% of the

conductor UTS
To have conductivity better than equivalent length of
conductor (99.5% Aluminium)
TYPE OF WIND INDUCED VIBRATIONS

  AEOLIAN VIBRATIONS
  High frequency, low amplitude vibrations induced by low,
steady & laminar wind
 
  WAKE INDUCED VIBRATIONS
  Low frequency, medium amplitude vibrations induced by
high velocity steady winds on bundle conductors
 
  GALLOPING
  Very low frequency, high amplitude vibrations induced by
high velocity steady winds on conductors with
asymmetrical ice deposit
FACTORS INFLUENCING VIBRATION PERFORMANCE
  TYPE , STRANDING & DIA OF CONDUCTOR,
EARTHWIRE

  CONDUCTOR/EARTHWIRE TENSION

  SUB-CONDUCTOR SPACING IN BUNDLE

CONDUCTORS

  BUNDLE CONFIGURATION
VIBRATION CONTROL DEVICES
 VIBRATION DAMPERS
Commonly used for vibration control of single conductor
systems as well as bundle conductors alongwith spacers

 SPACER DAMPERS
Used for vibration control of bundle conductors
(instead of combination of vibration dampers & spacers)

 DETUNING PENDULUMS
Used for control of galloping
VIBRATION DAMPER
SPACER-DAMPER