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CORONA LOSS MEASUREMENTS IN CORONA CAGE ON UHV BUNDLE CONDUCTORS

B.Gunasekaran Central Power Research Institute Hyderabad

I. INTRODUCTION The increasing demand for bulk power transmission over long distances made the system planners to opt for EHV/UHV AC and HV DC transmission. One of the major design factors at voltages above 400 kV is the effect of corona discharges at the conductors. The main effects of corona are corona loss, Radio Interference, Audible noise and TV Interference. The parameters that affect the corona performance, for a particular system voltage, are conductor geometry, line geometry, conductor surface condition, atmospheric and weather conditions. As these parameters directly affect the line and tower design, it is important to estimate the corona effects at the design stage itself. Techniques have been developed to obtain data from relatively short section of conductor, either on a single phase overhead test line or in a corona cage [1].Corona cage is a useful tool for rapid evaluation of different types of conductor arrangements. The use of corona cage is considered as one of the most effective, rapid and relatively inexpensive method for evaluating the corona performance of bundle conductors [2].As artificial rain conditions can be easily created for cage studies, preliminary selection of the conductors are usually done from the cage results. The selected conductor configuration can be strung in the experimental line for detailed studies if needed. A number of 765 kV Transmission lines have been constructed in the country and more lines are under construction. The next transmission line voltage is planned to be 1200 kV, in the country. As corona performance is a key factor in selecting the conductor, evaluation of the corona effects is important at the design stage.

Corona Characteristics of Conductors for 1000 kV AC Transmission Lines

In order to optimize the conductor scheme of 1 000 kV AC transmission line,the corona characteristics of different conductor schemes should bee studied.This paper analyzes the conductor surface potential gradient,conductor critical coronal voltage,coronal power loss of 1 000 kV AC transmission line under different bundles and different diameters of conductor section,studies the influence of high altitude on conductor critical coronal voltage,coronal power loss,and compares the adjustability of all the conductor schemes to different altitudes.Conductor section and phase split way with good coronal performance at plain and high altitude region are put forward.Thereby the investment of 1 000 kV AC power engineering is saved.

II. MEASUREMENT PROCEDURE A. Corona cage Fig.1 presents a general view of the corona cage. The corona cage consists of three sections; Insulated central section of length 18 m ; Two end sections each of length 1.5m, located on either side of the central section. These end sections act as

guard sections to maintain the voltage gradient uniform throughout the length of the conductor. The size of the cage is 6.1 m x 6.1 m x 21 m (Length). The conductor bundle was strung between two towers such that the bundle was at the centre along the length of the cage. Both the ends of the bundle was connected to the end fittings, corona shields and insulator strings. Suitable nozzles were provided, at the top of the cage, along the axis of the cage to simulate heavy rain. The electrical arrangement of the cage is shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 1. General view of the corona cage

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Table 1

Guard section

conductor

Measurement section

conductor

Fig. 2. Electrical arrangement of the Corona cage

2 x MOOSE 2x BERSIMIS 4 x MOOSE 4 x BERSIMIS 8 x BERSIMIS

Sub conductor spacing, cm 45.7 45.7 45.7 45.7 45.0

Gradient factor, kV/cm Theoretical software

0.093 0.085 0.067 0.061 0.045

0.0937 0.0845 0.065 0.06 0.044

B. Measurement The conductor bundle was energized from a 1600 kV test transformer. The connections between the transformer and conductor were designed to be corona free at the test voltage. The voltage applied to the bundle was obtained from a voltage divider. The corona current signal was obtained by tapping the voltage across a low value resistor connected between the central section and ground. The current and voltage signals were fed to a precision digital wattmeter. The power loss was measured at different voltages commencing from corona inception to about 1.5 times the inception voltage. The measurements were made under two different precipitation rates, and the loss is reported for the precipitation rate of 85 mm/hr. The average maximum bundle gradient is calculated by the following equations. Em = Ea [ 1 + (n - 1 )*r / Rb ] (1) Ea = [U/n*r] / ln (R/Req) (2) Req = [n*r* Rb(n-1)] (1/n) (3) where, U - applied voltage, kV(RMS) Em - Average Maximum bundle gradient, kV/cm Ea - Average bundle gradient, kV/cm n - no. of sub conductors r - radius of sub conductor, cm Rb - radius of the bundle, cm R - radius of the cage , cm The above relationships are applicable for a circular corona cage. A square corona cage was used for the study. The equivalent diameter of the circular cage, producing the same bundle gradient, can be calculated by using the relation, D = 1.08 L [3] (4) where D is the equivalent diameter of the circular cage and L is the side of the square cage. Gradient factor : The voltage gradient for an applied voltage of 1 kV is denoted as Gradient factor. The gradient factors were calculated, based on the above relationships, for the various bundle configurations and given in table 1. The gradient factors calculated theoretically and those obtained by the software closely match with each other. The field pattern obtained for four and eight conductor bundles are shown below. Fig. 3 shows the electric field contour from the four conductor Bersimis bundle, in the square cage. Fig. 4 shows the equi potential lines around the eight conductor Bersimis bundle. The electric field contour around the eight sub conductors of the eight conductor Bersimis bundle is shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 3. Electric field contour 4 x Bersimis in square cage

Fig. 4. Equi potential lines in the square cage 8 x Bersimis

Fig. 5. Electric field contour in the square cage 8 x Bersimis

Fig. 6. Electric field contour in the equivalent circular cage 8 x Bersimis

The eight conductor bundle was simulated in an equivalent circular cage with the diameter equal to 1.08 L, as in equation (4).

Design & Development of 1200kV Transmission Line and Sub-Station Insulator Hardware Fittings,clamps & connectors

In view of the projected growth of capacity addition in Power Generation and to take care of future increasing load demand, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd(PGCIL) decided to adopt 1200kV Power Transmission System for bulk power transmission. It was decided to develop the entire range of equipment for sub-station and transmission line indigenously and PGCIL created one Project Steering Committee(PSC) and several Working Groups(WG) equipment-wise. Supreme & Co.(Supreme) signed an MOU with PGCIL on 12th November, 2008 to work in the following Working Groups for development of respective product. 1. 2. 3. WG for Transmission Line Insulator Hardware Fittings and Conductor Accessories WG for Sub-station Hardware Fittings, Clamps & Connectors WG for Pre-fabricated Jumpers I. INTENT OF PAPERThis paper is intended for sharing the approach and experience faced during developmental process with respect to design particularly for meeting electrical high voltage and eletromechanical criteria, augmentation of shop floor infrastructure & manufacturing/fabrication facilities, development of massive dies for Steel forging, Tube Bending & Aluminum casting, augmentation of Test facilities etc. II. SYSTEM DESIGNVarious studies were conducted by PGCIL to determine the configuration of its 1200kV transmission lines & Switchyard. Studies included corona cage studies, air gap insulation studies, tests for voltage distribution on the insulator string, RIV & voltage gradient measurement. Based on the Studies the Conductor configuration, Air gap clearances and String configurations were finalized. Bundle Conductor Selection Corona Cage Studies

PGCIL carried out these tests in a Corona cage at UHV test lab at Central Power Research Institute (CPRI), Hyderabad. Octagonal Bersimis ACSR (Dia 35.1mm) bundle conductor was chosen. Three types of bundle arrangements, with different sub conductor spacing of 350 mm. 450 mm and 550 mm were adopted. The measurements were made with two nominal precipitation rates viz 57 mm/hr and 85 mm/hr. Corona Inception Voltage, Corona loss, AN & RIV were measured. Eight bundle Bersimis with both 450mm and 550mm sub-conductor spacing considered for 1200 kV system.System Studies conducted with eight bundle Moose also gave good results and hence, in 1200kV National Test Station both Bersimis (D/C line) and Moose (S/C line) conductors were adopted.

Technical parameters of 1200 kV Equipments Based on the above studies, test results, all relevant technical considerations and discussions with representatives of manufactures, utilities as a part of working groups for individual equipments, major technical parameters have been identified by PGCIL(Ref-[1] & [2]) which are given at Annexure I. III. LINE HARDWARE DESIGNAfter obtaining such data from PGCIL and also compiling some more from a few other sources, the design parameters were selected and the aspect was categorized in three broad groups for 1. 2. 3. Aluminum Tubes for CC/ Grading Ring Steel Forging Fabricated Steel Plates Aluminum Tubes for CC/ Grading Ring Corona Control(CC) Rings are deployed in EHV/ UHV level for dual purpose of reducing electrical stresses to ensure extinction of corona below a certain voltage level thereby reducing losses due to corona as well as taking care of voltage grading along insulator string. The design of CC ring also ensures Radio Influence Voltage(RIV) under the acceptable limit. 1200kV system need special attention on the design aspect of CC Rings in view of the large dimension of the CC Ring to cover a large Hardware Fitting set. Surface Voltage Gradient on surface of conductor was calculated for Transmission Lines and Sub-stations and found within safe limit with respect to corona inception. Calculation enclosed at Annexure-II. Selection of CC ring has been done by covering a much larger diameter and effective surface area and hence performance with respect to Corona Inception and Losses will be within limit. To achieve this, 100mm diameter 6063 Grade Aluminum Alloy extruded tube with 5mm thickness was selected. Bending of such tubes called for new and higher capacity bending machines along with new dies which were developed in-house. CC ring for Tension Hardware is of so big dimension, it was fabricated(bend) in two halves. Two numbers of Couplings having inner diameter near to tube outer diameter have been deployed at the two adjoining points of the two halves of CC ring. To facilitate smooth fitment, the couplings are tapered inside from centre to outermost point on either side. Opening up of CC ring has been arrested by two structural steel flats bolted with the bracket of CC ring and fastening both the halves of CC ring together. Studies were conducted by M/s Decan Enterprises to determine voltage distribution along insulator string. Polymer Insulator with Octagonal bundle conductor were considered with two types of outer Corona Control/ Grading rings viz., 700mm and 1100mm ring diameters. Comparative Results of studies are given in following Table-1:

III. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS Corona power loss was measured on two, four and eight conductor bundles using MOOSE and BERSIMIS sub conductor. The conductors used in two and four conductor bundles were old and damaged. New conductors were used for the eight conductor bundle study. The loss measured, under different surface gradients are shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. From Fig. 7, it can be seen that the corona loss increases with increase in the diameter of the sub conductor and the number of sub conductors, for the same surface gradient. The corona loss is nearly directly proportional to the number of sub conductors. But, by comparing the corona loss of four and eight conductor bundles in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, for the same surface gradient, it is observed that the corona loss is more for four conductor bundle than that of eight conductor bundle. The reason is that, the four conductor bundle had damaged sub conductors. The surface condition of the conductors, thus, plays a significant role in the corona performance of the conductors.

Fig. 7. Corona loss in Moose & Bersimis conductor bundle, with two and tour subconductors

The sub conductor spacing does not have any significant effect on the corona loss, as the corona loss is related to the total space charge around the bundle ( Fig. 8). The electric field distribution around the surface of the sub conductors and in the immediate vicinity of the sub conductor, in a square cage and equivalent circular cage closely match. Thus, the average maximum bundle gradient in a square cage, can be calculated using the equivalent circular cage. The corona power loss in a transmission line , with the same bundle configuration, can be estimated by calculating the surface gradient on the transmission line conductors and reading the corona loss corresponding to that gradient, from the graph.

Fig. 8.Corona loss in 8 conductor bundle, with different sub conductor spacing

Department of Electrical Engineering, Univ. College of Engg., Osmania University, Hyderabad, A.P, INDIA.

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IV. CONCLUSION The corona loss was measured in a corona cage on two, four and eight conductor bundles using Moose and Bersimis sub conductors, suitable for system voltages from 420 kV to 1200 kV. The following conclusions are drawn from the study. 1. The surface condition of the conductor greatly influences the corona loss. The corona loss in a damaged conductor can be a few times more than that of good conductor, depending on the nature of damage. 2. The number of sub conductors have a greater effect than the sub conductor spacing, on corona loss. 3. The corona loss increases rapidly with the surface gradient, but reaches a steady value above about 22 kV/cm.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors wish to thank the management of CPRI for permitting to publish the paper. Thanks are also due to Mr. K.A.Aravind, Mr Subhash Ghole, for assisting in the measurements.

REFERENCES
[1] [2] [3] Transmission line reference book, 345 kV and above,second edition, EPRI, 1982 M.G Comber, L.E. Zaffanella, The use of single phase overhead test lines and test cage to evaluate the corona effects of EHV and UHV transmission lines, IEEE T PAS, Jan Feb 1974, pp 81 - 90. P. Sarma Maruvada, Corona Performance of High voltage Transmission lines , Research studies press ltd, 2000.

Department of Electrical Engineering, Univ. College of Engg., Osmania University, Hyderabad, A.P, INDIA.