POWER SYSTEM-II

UNIT-I

Insulators, Sag and Cables

 Content
1. Types
Insulators 2. String efficiency

3. Methods for improvement

Sag
1. Types of Cables
2. Construction – Types of Insulating materials
Cables 3. Calculations of Insulation resistance and stress in
insulation

4. Capacitance of Single and 3-Core cables

5. grading of cables – Capacitance grading
6. Inter-sheath grading – Numerical Problems.
Components of Over Head Line
Main components:

Line support

Conductor

Line Insulator

Earth Wire.
The line supports requirements are :

1 2 3
mechanically light in weight least number
strong with factor without the loss of parts
of safety of 2.5 to 3 of strength

4 5 6
cheap, easily accessible
for point and longer life,
maintenance
cost should be erection of line pleasing shape
minimum conductors
Types of line supports

Wooden poles
Steel tubular poles

Reinforced concrete poles

Steel towers
Wooden Poles

1 2 3
Cheapest Use for lines Pole has limitation of
where span is short height and diameter
and tension is low.

4
5
Wood has natural insulating
property and lesser For greater strength
double pole structure of
flashover takes place due
‘A’ or ‘H’ are used.
to lightning
Concrete Poles

1 2 3
Concrete poles are It has longer life span
reinforced to give The maintenance
greater strength than that of wood cost is less

4
5
They are heavy and are likely
Nowadays pre-stressed
to get damage
during loading, unloading,
concrete supports are
transportation and erection due to manufactured in pieces
their brittle nature
 Steel poles

Tubular steel poles or girder steel masts is favored for low

and medium distribution voltages

Longer span is possible

Maintenance is expensive

Poles need to be galvanized or painted periodically

to prevent corrosion
Steel Towers
Lines of 66 KV are
They can withstand
1 supported on
towers
4 severe weather
conditions

They fabricated from

The height of the
painted or galvanized
angle section which
5 towers depend on
operating voltage
2 are and span length
transported
separately and
erection done on site The leg of the
6 tower are set on
Long life and high concrete
foundation
3 degree of
reliability
Steel Towers
1. Tangent towers

2. Deviation tower
 They are used for
1 straight runs.

Stress is due to weight of line,

2 wind and ice load

Tangent Base is either square

towers 3 or rectangle

Suspension type
4 insulators used
Extra forces due to break in
5 the line on one side
Deviation tower
They are used where
transmission line changes
direction
They have broader base , stronger
members and are costlier

Strain insulators are used.

i. Small angle towers(2o-15ochange in direction)

ii. Medium angle towers(15o-30ochange in
direction)
iii. Large angle towers(30o-60ochange in direction)
SUPPORT – TOWERS
 CONDUCTOR
Copper, Aluminium, or A.C.S.R Through a line of electric coductor power one place
to another must be in place.

ACSR Aluminum conductor Steel

Reinforced conductor
 INSULATORS
Separate or support electrical conductors on high voltage
electricity supply networks

Various shapes and types, including individual or strings of disks,

line posts or long rods.

They are made of polymers, glass and porcelain--each with

different densities, tensile strengths and performing properties in
adverse conditions
Basic Characteristics of Insulating
Materials
high mechanical strength so that it The material is
carries the tension and weight of non-porous and free
the conductors. from impurities

high dielectric strength kv/cm. The electrical and chemical

thickness of insulation is reduced for property of the material
a given voltage. should not be affected by
Ex. 40 kV/cm for 400kv the temperature

The material is highly resistive

(M ) for preventing the flow of Non Hygroscopic it
leakage current from the should not absorb
conductor to earth moisture from
atmosphere.
 porcelain insulator The toughened glass
insulator
Clay + Feldspar+ silicon Silica

Dielectric strength 60kV/cm/peak Dielectric strength 140kV/cm/peak

Non Hydroscopic for longer period

Slowly Hydroscopic as age of the
insulator increases. Hence insulator
230V, 1 phase, 415V three phase to are fails frequently
765kV line and also used in HVDC
Transmission 500kV(DC) ≤ 33kV we can recommend

it does not have any cracks, holes, irregular cooling often leads to
internal strains. Besides, moisture
laminations, etc easily condenses on a glass surface,
which creates a path for the leaked
it can be cast in irregular current.
shapes for higher voltages
 TYPES OF INSULATORS

1 2

suspension
5
Pin Insulator
type
Stay
4 insulator
3
shackle
strain insulator insulator

Pin, stay & shackle type insulators are most common in Distribution System
Suspension type, strain insulators are most common in transmission system
PIN TYPE INSULATORS
secured to the
cross- arm on
the pole
a groove on the
upper end of the
insulator for housing
the conductor

The conductor passes through this groove and

is bound by the annealed wire of the same
material as the conductor
This Pin type insulator employed only upto 230V
1-phase and 415V three phase

However for 11kV and 33kV multi sheel pin

insulators are provided.
Multi sheel pin insulator
Multisheel pin insulator advantages
It will provide a longer path for the leakage current so that the magnitude
of leakage current reduced, physical size of insulator is smaller.

During rain the top sheel becomes wet and bottom sheel is dry so that
insulation resistance increase and magnitude of leakage current reduce

Magnitude of lightning voltage is distributed among the sheel. So

that intensity of voltage reduces.
Disadvantages
•
 Applications
A single pin type higher voltages require
insulator is used to two-, three- or four-
transmit voltages piece pin insulators
up to 11 kV

Up to used for
transmission and Beyond the pin type insulators
become too bulky and
33 kV distribution of
electric power
33 kV hence uneconomical
SUSPENSION TYPE INSULATORS
SUSPENSION TYPE INSULATORS

For high voltages (>33 kV)

it is a usual practice to use
suspension type insulators

it consist of a number of porcelain discs

connected in series by metal links in the
form of a string.
SUSPENSION TYPE INSULATORS

It is suspend and support high voltage

transmission lines.

They are cost effective for higher voltage transmission,

typically replacing multiple pin type insulators

Suspension type insulators have a number of

interconnected porcelain discs, with each individual unit
designed to support a particular voltage.
Types of suspension insulators
1
cemented cap
suspension 2
insulators
3 link or core suspension
interlinking or insulators.
Hewlett
suspension
insulators
Types of suspension insulators
Operating Voltage(kV) Number of Discs
66

132

220

400

765 35
ADVANTAGES OF SUSPENSION TYPE INSULATORS
cheaper than pin type insulators for voltages beyond 33 Kv
1
Each unit or disc of suspension type insulator is designed for low
2 voltage, usually 11 kV

Greater flexibility to the line

3 free to swing in any direction and can take up the position where
mechanical stresses are minimum

increased demand need to raising the line voltage than to provide

4 another set of conductors. insulation required in the suspension
arrangement by adding the desired number of discs.

As the conductors run below the earthed cross-arm of the tower,

5 therefore, this arrangement provides partial protection from
lightning.
STRAIN TYPE INSULATORS
STRAIN TYPE INSULATORS

1 When there is a dead end of the line or there is corner or sharp

curve, the line is subjected to greater tension

2 In order to relieve the line of excessive tension, strain

insulators are used.

3 For low voltage lines (< 11 kV), shackle insulators are

used as strain insulators

4 When the tension in lines is exceedingly high, at long river

spans, two or more strings are used in parallel
 SHACKLE TYPE INSULATORS
Shackle type insulators, similar to strain type insulators, are used
on sharp curves, end poles and in section poles
 SHACKLE TYPE INSULATORS

1 shackle insulators are designed to support

lower voltages

These insulators are single, round

2 porcelain parts that are mounted
horizontally or vertically

In early days, the shackle insulators

3 were used as strain insulators

They can be directly fixed to the pole with

4 a bolt or to the cross arm
SHACKLE TYPE INSULATORS
STAY TYPE INSULATORS

STAY, GUY, AND EGG

 STAY TYPE INSULATORS

Stay insulators, also called egg insulators, are primarily used to

prevent stay wires from becoming energized from accidentally
broken live wires.
The function to provide insulation between stay clamps and
transmission poles

Stay insulators are mounted at a height of at least 3 meters

(118 inches) from ground level
String Efficiency
String Efficiency
 String Efficiency

At A we apply then

KCL at point B then

 String Efficiency

•
 String Efficiency
There will be a charging current in
Due to Shunt the shunt capacitor, which will results
as current in the discs are unequal so
Capacitance effect that the voltages are unequal

Hence I4>I3>I2>I1 so that V4>V3>V2>V1

No effect of shunt capacitance so that the

DC system current in the disc are equal. Hence the voltages
are equal so that the string efficiency should be
100%

C’<<C; Shunt Capacitance is very less

compared with Disc Capacitor(Mutual
K<1 Capacitance)
 String Efficiency
Insulators are wet, Mutual
Rain capacitance increases

Shunt to mutual capacitances

decreases K decreases the

Uniformity of voltage
distribution increases

String Efficiency is higher

Relation among the voltages of disc

At A we apply then

KCL at point B then

 String Efficiency
I4=I3+I3’

•
Problems
 Methods of
improving
string efficiency

By using a
Using longer Grading of guarding ring or
cross arms insulator discs guard
Methods of improving string efficiency

Using longer cross

arms
 2

Grading of
insulator discs
 3

By using a guarding
ring or guard
 Using longer cross arms

the shunt
capacitance is
high the shunt
capacitance is
low

C’<<C
 Using longer cross arms
5

nds
e p e
d
3
4

shunt capacitance
k by Csh

Csh

Using longer cross arms Distance between insulator string

1 2 and the tower

There is a limit in increasing the length of cross-arms due to

economic considerations
Grading of insulator discs
For equalizing the
voltage distribution
minimum
capacitance
Discs of different
dimensions

maximum
capacitance
Grading of insulator discs

If the disc are non uniform, the mechanical

stress in the string is uniform

so that the given string has become brittle

hence grading of disc are not recommended.
 Calculation of capacitance of the disc
At Point A

At Point B
Uses of Grading Rings or Static
Shielding
A guard ring or grading ring is basically a metal ring which is
electrically connected to the conductor surrounding the bottom unit
of the string insulator

The guard ring introduces capacitance between metal links and the
line conductor which tends to cancel out the shunt capacitances

As a result, nearly same charging current flows through each

disc and, hence, improving the string efficiency

Grading rings are sometimes similar to corona ring, but they

encircle insulators rather than conductors
Uses of Grading Rings or Static
Shielding
Due to the static shielding there will be another
capacitance between string of the insulator and Guard ring
which is called static capacitance

Due to static capacitance there will be charging current

which are equal to the charging current of shunt
capacitance

Hence the current in all the disc will be same and

voltages are equal so that the string efficiency is 100%
 Calculation of static capacitance
At Point A

At Point B
Calculation of static capacitance

At Point C
Disadvantages of Grading Rings or Static
Shielding
Disadvantages of Grading Rings or Static
Shielding
1 The grounding method will provide equal voltage among the disc and also
protect the string of the insulator against direct lightening. Hence it is to be
called ineffective method

2 If operating voltage is high ,then no of disc gets increases so that there will
be no longer length of the string and the length of the guard ring is also to
long
3 hence it is very difficult to have longer length of guard ring further there is
failure of guarding will create a short circuit in the system
4 Hence practically it is difficult to have the static shielding.

3 However the string of the insulator is protected by having earth wire on the
top of the tower
 Flashover Voltage
The voltage at which the air around insulator breaks
down and flashover takes place shorting the insulator is
called Flash Over Voltage.

Puncture Voltage
The voltage at which the insulator breaks down and
current flows through the inside of insulator is called
Puncture Voltage.
Safety factor
It is defined as the ration of Puncture Voltage to the Flash
Over Voltage.

Safety Factor = Puncture Voltage / Flash Over Voltage

pin type insulator the value of Safety Factor is about 10

Sag in overhead transmission line

Sag calculation & string chart

 Transmission
Line

Spa Supportin
n g Tension
Tension Tower Tower
Tower Insulator
Sag

The difference in level points of supports and lowest point on

the conductor is called as Sag.
The tension on theconductor depends on the
following factors:

1. Weight of the conductor

2. Wind effects
3. Ice loading
4. Temperature variation
 Safety Factor

It is the ratio of ultimate strength to the working tension

into the conductor area.

•
While calculating the sag there are
two consideration

1 2

When the When the

supports are at supports are at
equal ground unequal
level ground level
Supports are at equal ground level
 Supports are at equal ground level
Let
‘O’ is the lowest point of the conductor spacing

l=length of span in meters

w=weight of the conductor per unit length

T=tension on the conductor

 Supports are at equal ground level
P(x,y)

T
O

1 point ‘P’ on the conductor coordinate are ‘x’ and ‘y’.

2
Weight of the portion ‘OP’ acting downward at a distance x/2
from origin ‘O’.

3 Tangential tension T acting at points ‘O’

 Supports are at equal ground level

Equating the above two forces about point O

S will be the sag at point B

•
Supports are at unequal level
Supports are at unequal level
1 The position of lowest points ‘O’ of conductor which
is not exactly at centre of distance l

2 ‘x1’ is the distance of support at lower level( i.e A

from lowest point ‘O’
3
‘x2’ is the distance of support at higher level( i.e B
from lowest point ‘O’
4 ‘l’ is span length = x1 + x2

5 h difference in levels between two supports

6 ‘T’ is Tension in the conductor

Supports are at unequal level

If w is the weight per unit length of conductor then

Supports are at unequal level

Sub above eqn

Solve these eqns

Note: These Formulas are at Normal

Sub in these eqn we can calculate Temperature, still air and conductor
acted only its won weight
Effect of ice loading and wind pressure on
sag
Conductor & Ice
Ice coating Weight

d Wind

t
Effect of ice loading and wind pressure on
sag

Normally the net wind pressure direction is taken into the horizontal
direction to the line conductor.

The direction of Ice coating and the original conductor weight pressure
in the vertical direction

Total force on the high voltage line conductor is the vertical sum of
the horizontal and vertical forces.
 Effect of ice and wind pressure on sag
Total weight of conductor per unit length is

Where as
w = weight of the conductor per unit length
= conductor material density X Volume per unit length
Wind and ice loading effect
The conductor set itself in a plane at angle “ϴ” to
the vertical

The sag in conductor is given

Vertical Sag
ϴ
S

•
String chart
It is useful in knowing the sag and tension at any temperature

It gives the data per sag to be allowed and the tension to be allowed
for a particular temperature

Stringing chart prepared by calculating the sag and tension on the

conductor under worst conditions

such as maximum wind pressure and minimum temperature by assuming a

suitable factor safety
Equation for determining string
chart
• Let L1, T1, t1, W1 are the total length of conductor,
tension, temperature and total load per meter under
first set of physical conditions respectively.
• Similarly L2, T2, t2, W2 are the same quantities
under the second set of physical conditions.
• Increase to tension from T1 to T2 elongates the
conductor by L1(T2-T1)/aE
• a = conductor cross sectional area E = Young’s
modulus of elasticity
Continued
Continued…
 Graph
Now the graph of tension
verses temperature and sag
verses temperature can be
plotted

This graph is plotted for a

fixed span and is called as
stringing chart.
 S
ϴ

Vertical Sag
Underground Cables
 Topics in Cables
1 Types of Cables

2 Construction

3 Types of Insulating materials

Calculations of Insulation resistance and stress in

4
insulation
5 Capacitance of Single and 3-Core cables

6 Grading of cables – Capacitance grading,

Inter-sheath grading
Construction of cable
 Parts of Cable

Insulation Bedding Serving

Conductors Metallic Armoring

sheath
 Parts ofCable
1 Conductors
2 Insulation

3 Metallic sheath
4 Bedding
5 Armoring

6 Serving
 Conductor Insulation
1 2
copper or aluminium. Rubber, Vulcanized rubber,
PVC, impregnated paper etc
Purpose: To carry
current Purpose:-To prevent
Cable may consists the leakage current from
of one, two, three the conductor to the
or four conductors ground

sufficient flexibility Type and thickness of

conductors are used insulation depends
in stranded form. upon the voltage level
Metallic Sheath Bedding
3 4
lead or aluminium. jute or hessian tape.
Purpose: To prevent the
entry of moisture, gases and Purpose:-To reduce the
mechanical stress
some other liquids into the
externally on the surface of
insulation from earth the cable
surface
To protect the metallic sheath
As the cable is placed under from corrosion and some
ground, soil may present, mechanical injury, bedding is
moisture , gases and some provided
other liquids.
 Armouring Serving
5 6
galvanized steel wire
or steel tape. Jute
Purpose: To protect Purpose:-protect the
the cable against armouring from
mechanical injury atmospheric conditions.

Used to protect the

cable from mechanical
injury while handling
Insulating materials properties

The material is
highly resistive (M )

high dielectric
strength kv/cm.
High viscosity at
impregnation
temperature
high mechanical
strength

Low permittivity High plasticity

 Insulating Materials for Cables
Rubber:
 Insulating Materials for Cables
Rubber:

1 2 3
obtained from dielectric
milky sap of strength of 30
tropical trees or KV/mm
from oil products

4 5 6
Relative They readily absorbs
moisture, soft and liable to Maximum safe
permittivity
damage due to rough temperature is very
varying between handling and ages when
2 and 3 exposed to light low about 38 C
 Insulating Materials for Cables
Vulcanized India Rubber:
heated upto
150 C Vulcanized
India
Rubber

Pure rubber zinc oxide red lead

high mechanical For low and

strength moderate voltage
cables

The sculpture
reacts quickly
with copper
 Impregnated Paper
Impregnated
Paper

pulped paper
Paraffinic material
high insulation
resistance low capacitance

dielectric strength low cost

4KV / mm .

This reason paper insulation is always

provided protective covering
 Varnished Cambric
Impregnated
and coated

varnish
Cotton cloth

high dielectric
strength kv/cm. permittivity is 2.5 to 3.8

So need some
protection
 Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

good dielectric Up to voltages

strength kv/cm. of 33 KV

high insulation high melting

resistance temperatures

not so good mechanical inert to oxygen and

properties as those of almost inert to many
rubber alkalis and acids
 XLPE Cables (Cross Linked Poly-ethene)
► Good insulating
► Material
properties
temperature range
beyond 250 – 300 C

► low dielectric ► high mechanical

constant strength

► light in ► low water

weight absorption
Conductor
temperature
► ≥66 kV.
 Classification of
cables

insulating number of
voltage
material core
 Based on operating Voltage

1 2 3
Low-tension High-tension Super-tension
(L.T.) Cables (H.T.) Cables (S.T.) Cables
Up to
Up to 11kV From 22kV to 33kV
1000V

4 5
Extra-high Tension Extra Super Voltage
(E.H.T) Cables Cables

From 33kV to 66 kV. Beyond 132 kV.

Based on number of core

Single-core two-core

three-core,
(three and
half)

four-core
Single-core Low Tension Cable
Conductor

impregnated
paper

lead sheath

serving

Stresses developed in the cable for low

voltages (upto 6600 V) is small
 Cables for 3-Phase Service

three-core cable or three single

core cables may be used

deliver 3-phase power

3-core cable (i.e., multi-core construction)

up to 66 kV is preferred due to economic reasons

beyond 66 kV single-core cables are used,

because3-core-cables become too large
and bulky
 3-phase service Cable

1 2 3

Belted Screened cables Pressure cables

cables
upto 11 kV from 22 kV to 66 kV beyond 66 kV
 Belted Cables
lead sheath- moisture
and mechanical injury

Thickness of insulation
between conductor and
Core-stranded conductor sheath
(alluminium or copper) to
transfer the power
paper belt is wound
round the grouped
insulated cores

The gap is filled with

Insulator- impregnated
fibrous insulating
paper-insulation-separate for each
material (jute etc.)
core
 Belted Cables radial
suitable only for
low and medium
voltages
tangential
stresses

electrostati more or less radial

i.e., across the
c stresses insulation
causes local heating,
tangential important for high voltages resulting in the risk of
stresses (beyond 22 kV) breakdown of insulation
These stresses act along the layers of paper insulation and at any moment
set up leakage current along the layers of paper insulation

In order to overcome this difficulty, screened cables are used where leakage currents
are conducted to earth through metallic screens.
 Screened cables

1 2

H-type cables S.L. type cables

In particular
cases

upto 33 kV upto 66 kV
 H-type cables
Conducting belt (copper woven fabric tape)
is wrapped round the three cores

No insulating belt

The electrical stresses are purely radial

and consequently dielectric losses are
reduced

Advantages

1 Posibility of air pockets or voids (vacuous spaces) in the

dielectric is eliminated
2 Metallic screens increase the heat dissipating power of the cable
 S.L. type cables
It is basically H-type cable but the
screen round each core insulation is
covered by its own lead sheath

There is no overall lead sheath but only

armouring and serving are provided

Advantages

Separate sheaths minimize the possibility of core-to-core

breakdown
Bendingof cables becomes easy due to the elimination
of overall lead sheath
Disadvantage
Three lead sheaths of S.L. cable are much thinner than the single sheath of
H-cable and, therefore, call for greater care in manufacture
Limitations solid type cables
Load its conductor temperature increases stretches
the lead sheath which may be damaged

Load the conductor cools and a partial vacuum is

formed within the cable sheath.
If the pinholes are present in the lead sheath,
moist air may be drawn into the cable.

voids are always present in the insulation of a cable- differential

expansion and contraction of the sheath and impregnated
compound
 Pressure Cables

1 2

oil-filled gas pressure cables

cables

Greater than 66 kV

up to 230 kV
 Oil-filled cables

1 single-core conductor channel

2 single- core sheath channel

3 three-core filler-space channels

single-core conductor channel

1 The oil channel is formed at the centre

by stranding the conductor wire around
a hollow cylindrical steel spiral tape.

2 The oil under pressure is supplied to the

channel by means of external reservoir.

Disadvantage
The channel is at the middle of the cable and is at full voltage
w.r.t. earth
So that a very complicated system of joints is necessary.
 single core sheath channel
oil-filled cable

similar to that of solid

cable

oil ducts are provided in

the metallic sheath
 3-core oil-filler cable

Advantages

1 Formation of voids and ionization are avoided

Allowable temperature range and dielectric

2 strength are increased

3 If there is leakage, the defect in the lead sheath is

at once indicated and the
possibility of earth faults is decreased

Disadvantage
high initial cost and complicated system of laying
 Gas Pressure Cables
1 voltage required to set up ionisation inside a void increases as
the pressure is increased

2 if ordinary cable is subjected to a sufficiently high pressure, the

ionisation can be altogether eliminated

3 the increased pressure produces radial compression which tends

to close any voids. This is the underlying principle of gas pressure
cables.
 Gas Pressure Cables
Gas pressure cables, a pressure of about 1.4 MN/m2 (14
atmospheres or 200 p.s.i.) is used
Pipe line type
External
Pressure self-contained high
pressure gas impregnated
Gas Pressure (14
atmospheres) type

Internal high pressure

Pressure gas -filled

Gas cushion

Impregnated
pressurised
Gas Pressure Cables
Pipe line type

Steel
pipe-line
Nitrogen
at 200 p.s.i.

triangular lead
thin metal tape sheath (membrane)
 Pipe line type
The cable manufactured in The steel pipe is laid first,
the usual way and the cable is drawn in
afterwards
the outside is made
triangular, and covered by
a diaphragm lead sheath Nitrogen under pressure
is then introduced into
The pipe is filled with the pipe.
Nitrogen subjected to a The pressure is transmitted
pressure of 200 p.s.i. to the membrane through
the membrane
which is transmitted to the
insulation through the
diaphragm
 Gas Pressure Cables
Advantages

cables can carry more load current and operate at

1
higher voltages than a normal cable

2 maintenance cost is small and the nitrogen gas helps

in quenching any flame.

Disadvantage

the overall cost is very high

 Internal Pressure Cables
Gas filled cables
lead alloy
sheath

Annular
gas passage copper woven
fabric
Paper
reinforcement
impregnation
tape

cotton tape rubber tape

Impregnated pressurised cable
Comparison between Underground & Overhead System
Comparison Between Underground &
Overhead System Cont..
Power loss in the Cable
Power loss in the Cable

The conductor current passing through the resistance of the

conductor - conductor or copper loss

dielectric losses caused by the voltage across the insulation

sheath losses caused by the induced currents in the sheath

Intersheath losses caused by circulating currents in loops

formed between sheaths of different phases

The dielectric loss is voltage dependent, while the rest is current

dependent
 Insulation Resistance of a
Single‐Core Cable
The cable conductor is provided with a suitable thickness
of insulating material in order to prevent leakage current

The path for leakage current is radial through the

insulation

The opposition offered by insulation to leakage current

is known as insulation resistance of the cable.
Insulation Resistance of a Single‐Core
Cable
Consider a single-core cable of conductor
radius r1 and internal sheath radius r2

Let l be the length of the cable and ρ

be the resistivity of the insulation

Consider a very small layer of insulation of

thickness dx at a radius x

The length through which leakage current tends to flow is dx

and the area of X- section offered to this flow is 2π x l. (2πrl)
 Insulation Resistance of a
Single‐Core Cable

Insulation resistance of the hole cable is

Hence length of cable increases its insulation resistance decreases

and vice versa
•
 Capacitance in Single‐Core
Cable
Consider a single core cable with the following data

r = radius of core (m)

R = radius of earthed sheath (m)
q = charge/unit length of cable (C/m)
D = electric flux density = charge density
(C/m2)

Consider an elemental cylinder of radius x and thickness dx,

and of length unity along the cable.
 Capacitance in Single‐Core
Cable

Electric flux density at any point P on the considered cylinder is

Electric intensity at point P,

•
 Capacitance in Single‐Core
Cable

Work done is the potential difference V

between conductor and sheath.

Capacitance of the cable

Sub in eqn(2) then

Capacitance of 3‐Core Cables

It is much more important than that of overhead

line

1 Conductors are nearer to each other and to the

earthed sheath

2 They are separated by a dielectric of permittivity

much greater than that of air
Since potential difference exists between pairs of
conductors and between each conductor and the sheath,
electrostatic fields are set up in the cable

These electrostatic fields give rise to core-core capacitances

Cc

conductor- earth capacitances Ce

The three Cc are delta connected whereas the three Ce are
star connected, the sheath forming the star point
Capacitance of 3‐Core Cables

It is reasonable to assume equality of each Cc and each Ce

The three delta connected capacitances Cc can be

converted into equivalent star connected capacitances

It can be easily shown that equivalent star capacitance Ceq

is equal to three times the delta capacitance Cc

i.e. Ceq =3 Cc
Capacitance of 3‐Core Cables
In order to get the capacitance per phase of a 3 core cable

it is proposed to convert delta connected core into star equivalent

Assumption: that star can maintain zero potential
because load on the cable is balanced
 Capacitance of 3‐Core Cables
C/phase=Ce +3Cc

If Cc and Ce are not specified directly then following

assumptions are made to calculate Cc and Ce

1 Bunch the three cores and measure the capacitance between

bunched core and sheath

2 Connect any two core to the sheath measure the capacitance

between the remaining core and sheath

3 Connect any one of the conductor to the sheath and measure the
capacitance between two remaining conductors
 Bunch the three cores and measure the
capacitance between bunched core and sheath

Cc=0 and all Ce are connected in parallel

Cx=3Ce
 Connect any two core to the sheath measure the
capacitance between the remaining core and sheath

Cy=Ce+2Cc

C/phase=Ce+3Cc

Where Cx is the capacitance between core and sheath

Cy is the capacitance between core and sheath

other two capacitances are connected to sheath
Connect any one of the conductor to the sheath and measure
the capacitance between two remaining conductors

C/phase=2Cz
Dielectric Stress in a Single Core Cable
The voltage difference across the conductor and the sheath of a single core cable
is given by

since x is the only variable, the maximum stress in the dielectric occurs at the
minimum value of the radius x (i.e. x = r).

If x=r

If x=R
Dielectric Stress in a Single Core Cable

Cost of the cable is high so that life of the cable to be

increased for which the stress at the surface of the
conductor need to be reduced
Condition is that

i. The operating voltage should me

same.
ii. The size of the cable should be same i.e R.
 Dielectric Stress in a Single Core Cable

Thus if the overall diameter of the cable is kept fixed, then R/r = e is the condition
for minimum Ex
Dielectric Stress in a Single Core Cable
Under operating conditions, the insulation of a
cable is subjected to electrostatic forces. This is
known as dielectric stress.
The dielectric stress at any point in a cable is in
fact the potential gradient (or electric intensity)
at that point.

Since the radius of the conductor is larger than is

necessary for current carrying capacity,
Dielectric Stress in a Single Core Cable
This value of radius may be achieved by using Aluminium or
hollow conductors.

the dielectric is not equally stressed at all radii, in a cable of

homogeneous insulation.
Maximum stress is an important consideration in the design of a
cable
maximum stress is 5 kV/mm,

then the insulation used must have a dielectric strength of atleast

5 kV/mm

otherwise breakdown of the cable will become inevitable

Grading of the cable
The unequal stress distribution in a cable is undesirable
for two reasons

i. insulation of greater thickness is required which increases

the cable size
ii. it may lead to the breakdown of insulation
Grading of the cable
i. Capacitance grading

ii. Intersheath grading

Capacitance grading
The process of achieving uniformity in the dielectric stress by
using layers of different dielectrics is known as capacitance
grading

the homogeneous dielectric is replaced by a composite

dielectric.

The composite dielectric consists of various layers of different

dielectrics in such a manner that relative permittivity er of any
layer is inversely proportional to its distance from the centre.
Capacitance grading
Let λ be the charge per unit length. If we have one single dielectric
material the gradient at any radius x will be

If we could use an infinite number of materials with varying permittivities given by

the gradient at any radius x now becomes

for a particular operating voltage the overall size of the cable is minimum.

This looks quite all right but practically it is impossible to have infinite number of
dielectric materials with varying permittivities as given above.
Capacitance grading
Consider a cable graded by means of 3 layers of
insulation

In order to secure the same value of maximum

stress in each layer, the maximum stresses in the
layers are equated

Let the voltage across the inner-most layer of

insulation be V1 Then
Capacitance grading- Non Uniform
working stress
If the permittivities are such that ε1 > ε2 > ε3 and the three dielectrics are worked
at the same maximum stress, then

t=thickness
From the above eqn
Capacitance grading
If the cable is working with non uniform working stress

Dielectric material which is having highest product of the permittivity and

dielectric strength is placed near to the core

Where as least product will be placed near to the sheath

Capacitance grading-Uniform working stress

If the cable is working with uniform working

stress, the dielectric material which is having
highest permittivity will be placed near the
surface of the core and the lowest permittivity
will be placed near the sheath.
 Inter-sheath grading
Inter-Sheath Grading makes use of Homogeneous Dielectric.

It is divided into different layers by inserting metallic

Inter-Sheaths between the Core and Outer Sheath

This provides a channel for

charging current.

The metallic Inter-Sheaths are maintained at adequate voltage

levels as they are connected to the Auxiliary Transformer.

The objective now here is to show that the gradient with inter-sheath will be smaller than the
gradient without inter-sheath for the same overall radius and the operating voltage
Inter-sheath grading
the three layers of Insulation are
separated by two Inter-Sheaths at
definite voltages ‘V1’, ‘V2’ and the Core
or Conductor voltage is at ‘V’.

As each Inter-Sheath layer experiences

different Potential levels it can be treated as a
homogeneous single core cable

The surface of the conductor and inter-sheath are maintain different potentials
by using transformer having tapping in the secondary side so that the cable will
work with uniform working stress
Let the thickness of the materials be such that

With this arrangement, the gradient at the

surface of the conductor
Yield strength and ultimate strength
For highly brittle materials, yield strength and ultimate strength
are also same (plastic deformation of brittle materials is
negligible).
Both are basically measurement of stress.

Both are measured in same unit (N/mm2).

Apart from material, its composition, crystal structures,

imperfections, etc., temperature and inbuilt stress (residual
stress) can influence both of them.
 Safety Factor

It is the ratio of ultimate strength to the working tension

into the conductor area.