Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 83–87

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Electric Power Systems Research

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/epsr

T
Corona loss characteristics of bundle conductors in UHV AC transmission
lines at 2200 m altitude
Huang Shilonga,b, Liu Yunpenga,b, , Chen Shaoshuaic, He Wanglingd, Wan Baoquane, Xu Lihuaf,
⁎

Li Yongjief
a
Hebei Provincial Key Laboratory of Power Transmission Equipment Security Defense, North China Electric Power University, No. 619 North of Yonghua Street, Baoding,
China
b
State Key Laboratory of Alternate Electrical Power System with Renewable Energy Sources, North China Electric Power University, No. 2 Beinong Road, Beijing, China
c
State Grid Hebei Maintenance Branch, No. 98 Fuqiang Road, Shijiazhuang, China
d
WuHan University, No. 16 Luojia Road, Wu Han, China
e
EPRI, No. 143 Luojia Road, Wu Han, China
f
State Grid Xinjiang Electric Power Research Institute, No. 33 Changchun Middle Road, Wulumuqi, China

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Corona loss is the key parameter for evaluating operating economy of ultra-high voltage (UHV) and extra-high
High Altitude voltage (EHV) alternating current (AC) transmission lines and is one of important factors that need to be con-
Corona cage sidered in line design and operation. At present, corona losses of 8 × LGJ-630 conductors, which are commonly
Corona loss used in ultra-high voltage alternating current (UHV AC) double-circuit transmission lines on the same tower, and
UHV AC power line
8 × LGJ-720, and 10 × LGJ-720 bundle conductors with a larger cross-section and more bundle number in
Double-circuit transmission lines on the same
tower
high-altitude areas have not yet been studied. In the paper, the corona losses of the 8 × LGJ-630, 8 × LGJ-720,
and 10 × LGJ-720 conductors were measured under conditions of dryness, artificial moderate rain, heavy rain
and a wet conductor, based on the UHV corona cage built in Ping’an County, Xi’ning, China at an altitude of
2,200 m. By taking typical 1,000 kV UHV-AC double-circuit transmission lines on the same tower as an example,
the electric field strengths on the surface of conductors in the corona cage and the actual lines were calculated.
On this basis, the corona loss of the UHV-AC double-circuit transmission line in a high-altitude area was ana-
lyzed. The research results can provide data reference for constructing UHV transmission lines in high-altitude
areas.

1. Introduction conductor test, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) of the USA
proposed that only a few types of bundled conductor and meteor-
Corona effects, such as corona loss, audible noise, and radio inter- ological factors were considered in recommended formula for pre-
ference could be generated due to corona discharge from AC trans- dicting corona loss: however, with the constant development of con-
mission lines, which influence line operation and the environment. The ductor systems and measurement technology, the measured data of
higher the voltage class, the more significant the corona effects, espe- UHV and ultra-high voltage (UHV) lines demonstrate that the predic-
cially on an ultra-high voltage (UHV) grid. With the development of tion formula shows a large error at low altitudes [8]. Elsewhere [9], the
global energy interconnections, the strong smart grid, with the UHV corona loss of two-bundle conductors was measured in an artificial
power line as its backbone, is mainly used for transmitting clean en- climate laboratory at different altitudes in the 1980s. In other literature
ergy, since the power production center is far away from the load [10], corona loss from a single LGJ-185 conductor was measured by
center, UHV transmission lines will inevitably pass through high-alti- utilizing optical fibre technology. Then, Liu Yunpeng et al. in North
tude areas [1–3]. In high-altitude areas, with the decrease in atmo- China Electric Power University measured corona losses from con-
spheric pressure, the corona onset gradient decreases [4,5], while ion ductors at different altitudes. Firstly, through the simulations in artifi-
mobility increases [6], which significantly increases corona loss [7]. cial climate laboratory in the range of 19 m to 4000 m, corona losses of
At present, much research has been conducted on corona loss from 6 × LGJ-400/50 and 6 × LGJ-500/45 conductors were measured by
AC conductors at different altitudes. In the 1960s and 1970s, based on a using a movable corona cage, thus obtaining corona losses in dry

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (H. Shilong), [email protected] (L. Yunpeng).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsr.2018.10.004

0378-7796/ © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Received 28 July 2018; Received in revised form 1 September 2018; Accepted 1 October 2018
H. Shilong et al. Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 83–87

conditions and at different rainfall intensities [11,12]. Based on corona AC power line. The corona cage with a square cross-section
loss characteristics of conductors under the windy and dusty weather (8 m × 8 m) is composed of a 25 m long measuring section and two
conditions, the corona losses of 6 × LGJ-400/50 and 6 × LGJ-500/45 protective sections on each side of the measuring section, being 5 m
conductors were measured under different wind velocities, dust con- long respectively, so the total length is 35 m. An artificial rain-test fa-
centrations, and dust particle size distribution at three actual altitudes. cility was installed on the top of the corona cage. The conductivity of
They were the ultra-high voltage alternating current (UHV AC) test base rain ranges from dozens to hundreds uS/cm [22], however, the con-
in Wuhan (at an altitude of 19 m), Ping’an County, Xi’ning City, Qin- ductivity of rainwater has no influence on the corona characteristics
ghai Province (at an altitude of 2200 m) and Haiyan County, Haibei [23], in this paper, the water of 300 uS/cm was used. By changing the
Prefecture (at an altitude of 3042 m) [13–15]: however, the data re- amount of inflow water in its pipes, moderate and heavy rainfall were
lating to corona loss from the 8 × LGJ-630/45 conductor commonly simulated. In this study, after conducting corona measurement testing
used in UHV AC double-circuit transmission on the same tower and the under condition of heavy rain, water drops were hung on the surface of
LGJ-720 conductor with a larger cross-section at high altitudes had not the conductors, thus measuring corona characteristics under the con-
been measured. dition of having pre-wet conductors. In the experiment, the HOBO mini-
The corona cage is an important method to research corona effects. type weather stations (HOBO, USA) arranged around the corona cage
In the study on AC corona loss, if the maximum electric field on the were used to record rainfall rate.
surface of the conductors in a corona cage is kept to be the same with By employing the integrated photoelectric corona loss measurement
that on a transmission line, the strength of the corona of the both are system, corona loss from bundled conductors was measured [16]. Op-
the same. As this equivalent condition can be set up very easily, ad- tical pulse triggering guaranteed synchronous acquisition of data ac-
ditionally, the cage wall is much closer to conductors, as low test vol- quisition modules for optical communication at each distal end, over-
tage is applied, high electric field strength around the conductors can coming time delay problems in the acquisition of corona current and
be obtained, so the corona cage is widely used. voltage data.
The corona onset characteristics are the main parameters con-
sidered in the design of the UHV AC power line, however, the corona
2.2. Experimental method
loss characteristics are the main factors considered in the operation of
the UHV AC power line. As a continuation research in Ref. [21], which
For transmission lines, if the no-load current signals and phase
focuses on determining the corona onset characteristics of UHV bundle
voltage of lines were synchronously acquired at the entrance and the
conductors in high-altitude area. This study investigated corona loss
no-load current was capacitive, the corona loss P can be expressed as:
characteristics from 8 × LGJ-630, 8 × LGJ-720, and 10 × LGJ-720
conductors under dry conditions, in moderate rain, heavy rain, and P = U I cos φ (1)
with a wet conductor by using the corona loss monitoring system for
In the experiment, the TRF-800 capacitive voltage divider with a
optical fibre transmission based on the UHV corona cage built in
rated ratio of 3750:1 was used to measure voltage signal U. The current
Ping’an County, Xi’ning City at an altitude of 2200 m. Through this
signal I was acquired through 0.5 Ω high-power and high-precision non-
research, the corona data of three bundle conductors at actual altitudes
inductive resistor. Based on the above measurement system for corona
were firstly obtained. This provides reference for selecting UHV-AC
loss, the voltage and current signals were acquired synchronously. By
transmission lines built in high-altitude areas.
using the sine wave parameter method [17–19] to calculate the angle φ
of the voltage.
2. Experimental arrangement
3. Simulation of electric field strength upon the surface of
2.1. UHV corona cage conductors

By using the UHV AC corona cage built in Ping’an County, Xi’ning The electric field strengths on the surfaces of conductors in the UHV
City at an altitude of 2200 m (Fig. 1) [22], the corona experiments can corona cage, as shown in Ref. [21].
be undertaken on bundle conductor commonly used in 1000 kV UHV The layout of typical 1000 kV UHV-AC double-circuit transmission

Fig. 1. General layout of experimental platform. (a) Corona cage; and (b) Artificial rainfall system.

84
H. Shilong et al. Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 83–87

Table 1
Coordinates of conductors in lines.
Phase conductor and ground X-coordinate (m) Z-coordinate (average
line height/m)

A1 −20.086 76.2
B1 −20.677 54.8
C1 −21.73 33.6
A2 21.73 33.6
B2 20.677 54.8
C2 20.086 76.2
G1 −17.2 94.3
G2 17.2 94.3

4. Experimental results and analysis

4.1. Corona loss: measured data

This experiment measured the corona losses of the three bundle

conductors (8 × LGJ-630, 8 × LGJ-720, and 10 × LGJ-720) under dry
conditions, with wet conductors, and under simulated rainfall (at rates
of 6 mm/h and 12 mm/h), as displayed in Fig. 3.
In theory, when conductors were wet or exposed to rain, the
roughness coefficient of the conductors increased and the corona loss
from the conductors increased accordingly. Fig. 3 shows that, for LGJ-
630 and LGJ-720 conductors under the same voltage, the corona losses
were ranked from small to large under dry conditions, with wet con-
ductors, moderate rain, and heavy rain.
It is observed that, with the increase of voltage, the corona loss
curve of wet conductors had a trend approaching that of conductors
under dry conditions and 10 × LGJ-720 conductor bundles showed the
most significant such trend.
This occurred mainly because, after corona onset on the conductors,
a significant amount of heat was generated due to the corona effect,
which gradually evaporated the water on the surface of the conductors,
thus wet conductors gradually showed a trend approaching that seen in
dry conditions.

4.2. Analysis of corona loss of actual UHV-AC transmission lines

To investigate the corona loss from actual UHV-AC transmission

lines at high altitudes, the experimental voltages for the corona cage
corresponding to surface field strength of conductors in actual lines
were marked in the figure with dotted lines. The corona losses from the
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the layout mode of double-circuit transmission three conductors under different meteorological conditions at high al-
lines on the same tower. titudes were obtained (Tables 3–5).
It is generally considered that annual average corona loss of actual
transmission lines of between 20 and 30 W/m is acceptable. In the fine
lines on the same tower is displayed in Fig. 2.
weather (corresponding to dry conditions), corona loss from these
The conductors were arranged vertically in a drum shape in an in-
conductors was smaller and even zero [18–21]. Elsewhere [20] where
verse phase sequence. One ground conductor G1 was an LBGJ-240-
corona loss from the Huainan–Shanghai 1000 kV UHV double-circuit
20AC with the outer diameter of 20 mm, and the other ground con-
transmission lines on the same tower was estimated, it is considered
ductor G2 was of type OPGW-240 with the outer diameter being
that corona loss mainly resulted from the leakage loss of insulators
20.3 mm. The coordinates of each phase conductor and ground con-
instead of corona discharge from the conductors.
ductor are summarized in Table 1.
It can be seen from Table 3 that the maximum corona loss of the
For three bundle conductors, i.e. 8 × LGJ-630, 8 × LGJ-720, and
8 × LGJ-630 conductor bundle generally used in current UHV-AC
10 × LGJ-720, the structure and composition of conductors has been
double-circuit transmission lines on the same tower was 14.63 W/m
detailed in Ref. [21], finite element software COMSOL was used for
under dry conditions at an altitude of 2200 m, which was a large value
analysis and maximum values were used for each phase conductor in
given the dry condition: however, corona losses under conditions with
the double-circuit transmission lines. In accordance with the data of
wet conductors, moderate rain, and heavy rain were much larger and
surface field strength of conductors in the UHV corona cage, the loading
reached 54.65 W/m, 71.41 W/m, and 90.55 W/m, respectively.
voltage on conductors in the corona cage corresponding to the surface
The corona losses for dry condition shown in Tables 3–5, are
field strength of conductors in the actual lines was calculated and the
varying significantly, it can be explained: with the increase of cross
results are shown in Table 2.
section or bundle number, the field strength E on the surface of con-
ductor decreases at the same applied voltage in power line, as shown in
Table 2, furthermore, the corona onset field strength Eon of the bundle

85
H. Shilong et al. Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 83–87

Table 2
Surface electric field strength of 1,000 kV double-circuit transmission lines on the same tower.
Surface electric field strength of each phase conductor (kV/cm)/Loading voltage on conductors in the corona cage (kV) Surface electric field strength of ground conductor (kV/
cm)

Conductor type A B C G1 (LBGJ-240-20AC) G2 (OPGW-240)

8 × LGJ-630 14.25/355.36 14.06/350.62 13.86/345.64 5.23 5.19
8 × LGJ-720 13.2/349.21 13.24/350.26 13.17/348.41
10 × LGJ-720 11.43/334.21 11.6/339.18 11.35/331.87

Fig. 3. Corona losses of bundle conductors under different conditions (a) 8 × LGJ-630; (b) 8 × LGJ-720; and (c) 10 × LGJ-720.

Table 3 Table 4
Corona losses of 8 × LGJ-630 in UHV transmission lines on the same tower Corona losses of 8 × LGJ-720 in UHV transmission lines on the same tower
under different meteorological conditions at high altitude. under different meteorological conditions at high altitude.
Meteorological conditions Corona loss of each phase conductor (W/m) Meteorological conditions Corona loss of each phase conductor (W/m)

A B C A B C

Dry 14.63 12.10 9.57 Dry 2.06 2.06 1.77

Wet conductor 54.65 49.21 44.14 Wet conductor 14.71 15.58 14.71
Moderate rain 71.41 64.40 59.34 Moderate rain 43.17 44.31 42.88
Heavy rain 90.55 85.07 79.16 Heavy rain 65.61 67.33 65.02

conductor decreases as well, but the corona onset voltage Von increases reduced compared with that from 8 × LGJ-630 conductor, corona
correspondingly [20], leading to the lower corona losses if the applied losses from 8 × LGJ-720 and 10 × LGJ-720 conductors under dry
voltage is same. Therefore, the bundle conductors having larger cross condition were 2.06 W/m and 2.00 W/m, separately. Owing to no
section and more bundle number were widely used in higher voltage- corona discharge occurs on the surface of the conductors, consideration
class power line. For example, the 6 × LGJ500 bundle conductor is maybe the error introduced by the measurement system, the actual
used in EHV AC 750 kV power line, and the 8 × LGJ630 is commonly corona loss is zero.
used in UHV AC 1000 kV power line in the plain area. By taking the A phase as an example, corona losses from 8 × LGJ-
From Tables 4 and 5, it can be seen: the corona loss was significantly 720 conductor bundles were reduced by 73.08, 39.54, and 27.54%

86
H. Shilong et al. Electric Power Systems Research 166 (2019) 83–87

Table 5 Acknowledgments
Corona losses of 10 × LGJ-720 in UHV transmission lines on the same tower
under different meteorological conditions at high altitude. This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation
Meteorological conditions Corona loss of each phase conductor (W/m) of China (51577069, 51277073), National Basic Research Program of
China (2011CB209401) and the National Grid Corporation of Science
A B C and Technology (Grant no. SGTYHT/15-JS-191).
Dry 1.67 2.00 1.41
Wet conductor 9.90 10.99 9.24 References
Moderate rain 30.69 33.09 29.58
Heavy rain 51.26 54.54 49.28 [1] Z. Y. Liu. in Beijing, China.: ‘Ultra-high voltage grid’ Beijing, China: (China
Economic Press, 2005, 1st edn).
[2] M. Zeng, Extra high voltage power grid- key technologies for energy interconnec-
tion, State Grid 10 (2014) 47–51.
compared with those from 8 × LGJ-630 conductor bundles under
[3] Y.B. Shu, Y. Hu, Research and application of the key technologies of UHV AC
conditions with wet conductors, moderate rain, and heavy rain: com- transmission line, Proc. CSEE 27 (36) (2007) 1–7.
pared with the corona losses from 8 × LGJ-720 conductor bundles, [4] J. Tang, J.L. He, Y.P. Liu, Test results and analysis of altitude-change effect on
those of 10 × LGJ-720 conductor bundles decreased by 32.70, 28.91, audible noise of AC corona occurring on conductors with corona test cage, Proc.
CSEE 30 (4) (2010) 105–111.
and 21.87% under conditions with wet conductors, moderate rain, and [5] J.B. Fan, C. Gu, Y. Yin, Altitude correction method for corona onset voltage
heavy rain. of ± 800 kV typical DC equipment, Proc. CSEE 28 (22) (2008) 47–52.
[6] Y.P. Liu, S.L. Huang, L. Zhu, Influence of humidity and air pressure on the ion
mobility based on drift tube method, CSEE JPES 1 (2015) 37–41, https://doi.org/
5. Conclusions 10.17775/cseejpes.2015.00033.
[7] Y.P. Liu, S.H. Huang, S.G. Liu, A helical charge simulation based 3-D calculation
In view of corona loss from UHV-AC transmission lines in high-al- model for corona loss of AC stranded conductors in the corona cage, AIP Adv. 8 (1)
(2018) 015303, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5017244.
titude areas, considering the different meteorological conditions, such [8] V.L. Chartier, Empirical expressions for calculating high voltage transmission line
as dryness, wet conductors, and rainfall, the corona losses from dif- corona phenomena, First Annual Seminar Technical Program for Professional
ferent bundled conductors at actual high altitudes were measured based Bonneville Power Administration(BPA) (1983).
[9] Z.X. Liu, C.H. Lu, The influence of altitude on corona—starting voltages, High
on the UHV corona cage test. Moreover, through simulation of the Voltage Eng. (2016) 1988.
electric field strength on the surface of the conductors actual double- [10] Y.W. Liu, J.H. Li, B. Li, Influence of air density and humidity on the corona per-
circuit transmission lines on the same tower, corona losses from actual formance of conductor, Power Syst. Technol. 14 (4) (1990) 46–50.
[11] S.H. You, Y.P. Liu, F.C. Lv, Calculation and analysis on corona onset voltage of
lines were obtained.
corona cage bundle conductors at different altitudes, Proc. CSEE 32 (4) (2012)
169–177.
1) At high altitude, corona losses from three conductors, i.e. 8 × LGJ- [12] Y.P. Liu, S.H. You, F.C. Wan, 500–kV EHV bundle conductors’ corona onset voltage
630, 8 × LGJ-720, and 10 × LGJ-720 were ranked from low to high calculation and analysis in corona cage at different altitudes, IEEE Trans. Power
Del. 27 (4) (2012) 2090–2097, https://doi.org/10.1109/tpwrd.2012.2202694.
under dry conditions, with wet conductors, in moderate rain, and in [13] Y.P. Liu, L. Zhu, F.C. Lv, Corona onset characteristics of the 750-kV bundle con-
heavy rain. ductor in sand and dust weather in high-altitude area, IEEE Trans. Power Del. 2
2) With the increase in the voltage across the conductors, corona loss (2014) 615–623, https://doi.org/10.1109/tpwrd.2013.2271281.
[14] Y.P. Liu, L. Zhu, F.C. Lv, Corona generated radio interference of the 750 kV AC
from wet conductors gradually approached that in dry conditions. bundle conductors in sandy and dusty weather condition in the high altitude area,
3) As for double-circuit transmission lines on the same tower, the J. Electr. Eng. Technol. 9 (5) (2014) 1704–1711, https://doi.org/10.5370/jeet.
corona loss was greater when selecting 8 × LGJ-630 conductor 2014.9.5.1704.
[15] L. Zhu, Y.P. Liu, Influence of sandy condition on corona loss characteristic of the
bundles in high-altitude areas, while corona losses were within ac- 750 kV bundle conductors in high altitude area, Proc. CSEE 22 (2015) 5924–5932.
ceptable limits when choosing 8 × LGJ-720 and 10 × LGJ-720 [16] Y.P. Liu, S.L. Huang, S.S. Chen, Prediction formula for the corona onset gradient of
conductor bundles. bundled conductors for EHV and UHV AC transmission lines considering the alti-
tude correction, High Voltage Apparatus 53 (10) (2017) 1–6.
4) Through the experiment, corona loss from an 8 × LGJ-630 con- [17] J.S. Frans, M. Andrew, R. Klas, Evaluation, verification and operational supervision
ductor bundle was greater in high-altitude areas, while corona losses of corona losses in Sweden, IEEE Trans, Power Del. 22 (2) (2007) 1210–1217.
from 8 × LGJ-720 and 10 × LGJ-720 conductor bundles was sig- [18] S.H. You, Y.P. Liu, F.C. Lv, X.D. Wan, X.Y. Wu, Research on corona loss of UHV AC
double circuits test line on the same tower under rain, High Voltage Eng. 09 (2011)
nificantly decreased. Only from the perspective of corona loss, for
2149–2155.
double-circuit lines on the same tower in high-altitude areas, [19] Y.P. Liu, S.H. You, Q.F. Wan, W.J. Chen, F.C. Lv, Analysis of corona loss of UHV AC
8 × LGJ-720 or 10 × LGJ-720 conductors were suggested, rather single circuit test line under rain, Proc. CSEE 19 (2010) 114–119.
than the 8 × LGJ-630 conductor bundle widely used in plain areas. [20] S.H. You, Corona Cage-based Corona Loss Characteristics of Conductors for UHV AC
Transmission Line, Ph.D. Thesis, North China Electric Power University, 2012.
[21] S.L. Huang, Y.P. Liu, S.S. Chen, G.Y. Zhou, W.B. Zhuang, Corona onset character-
To select conductors for UHV-AC transmission lines built in high- istics of bundle conductors in UHV AC power linesat 2200 m altitude, Energies (11)
altitude areas, and provide a reference basis for corona loss estimation, (2018) 1047, https://doi.org/10.3390/en11051047.
[22] Yang Fumo, He Kebin, Lei Yu, Chemical characters of atmospheric precipitation in
further research needs to be conducted into the corona loss character- Beijing in years of 2001-2003, China Environ. Sci. 24 (5) (2004) 538–541.
istics of conductors with larger cross-sectional areas (800 and 900 mm2) [23] Zhu Jun, Liu Yunpeng, Zhu Lei, Influence of surface water drop on corona char-
and corona losses from UHV-AC single-circuit transmission lines in acteristics of AC transmission lines, High Voltage App. 51 (1) (2015) 13–17.
high-altitude areas when different conductors are used.

87