INTRODUCTION

Gas Insulated Transmission Lines (GITL) are a means of bulk electric power transmission at
high and extra high voltage. GITL consists of tubular aluminum conductors encased in a
metallic tube that is filled with a mixture of Nitrogen and Sulphur Hexafluoride gases for
electrical insulation. Since the first installation of GITL in 1975, second generation GITL has
been developed which is more economically viable and its design was optimized both for
installation and operation. Where GITL is installed in combination with Gas Insulated
Switchgear (GIS), compact solutions can be delivered. As such GITL can contribute in the
mitigation of power flow problems, reduce the risks of failure of electrical transmission
systems and enable the installation of optimum solutions regarding technical, economic and
environmental aspects. Due to its modular design, a GITL transmission system can cope with
difficult installation requirements as well as it offers further benefits to the service after
installation. Amongst other matters such as 30 years nearly maintenance free service,
particular attention should be drawn on the operational reliability. Wherever bulk power
transmission systems are located in galleries or similar structures or close together, a
potential fire hazard is of particular concern. On top of that it offers also in the event of an
internal failure the ability to maintain the arc and its product completely within the enclosure,
thus delivering a maximum of safety and reliability during operation. The project Limberg II is
mainly an extension of the existing hydro power plant close to Kaprun in Austria. Beside the
installation of the power generation equipment this project is characterized by a 400 kV GIS
located in the cavern and a Gas Insulated Line which connects the GIS with the overhead line
on the top of the transition building. Besides its design inherent advantages the most
supporting factors in relation to the use of a GITL were its reliability and safety in terms of an
operational fire hazard along with the extremely low magnetic field exposure within the
gallery during service. As the gallery route follows an inclination of app. 42, particular
attention is to be drawn on the installation procedure and sequence with consequences for
the site logistics. The project is currently at the stage of detailed planning and engineering for
the construction of the GITL is expected in 2010 after completion of the gallery and related
civil works.

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 HISTORY OF GITL

First generation GITL installed in 1974 at the Hydro Power Plant Wehr in Germany was
started in 1995. The first application of the 2nd generation of GITL has been carried out
between September and December 2000 in PALEXPO, GENEVA. Only in 3 months erection
time the overhead line was brought underground into a tunnel and connected to the net
again in January 2001. The GITL in Geneva, Switzerland, at the PALEXPO exhibition area, is a
typical future application where an existing 300 kV overhead line was replaced by an
underground GITL laid in a tunnel to give space for expansion of a PALEXPO exhibition hall.
The GITL in
this case is only used for power transmission as part of an important overhead line
connecting France with Switzerland.
1st Generation

pure SF6.

aluminium pipes with straight beads

9m long transport units

hand welding

2nd Generation

N2+SF6 gas mixture

spiral welded aluminium pipes

automated orbital welding

ultrasonic welding control procedure

bending of the whole tube possible to radii> 400 m

application of particle traps all along the pipes

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 state-of-the-art monitoring systems

Advantages of 2nd Generation

ADVANTAGES OF SF6-N2MIXTURE

Less harm to atmosphere

Reduced cost
Pure SF6 is very expensive and pollutes environment

PROPERTIES

High dielectric strength at lower cost

Regeneration capacity following a breakdown

High load transfer capacity

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CONSTRUCTION of MODULE

Siemens GITL systems are based on the successful SF6 tubular conductor technology, which
has been around for several decades. GITL consists of a central aluminum conductor with a
typical electrical cross section of up to 5,300 mm2. The conductor rests on cast resin
insulators, which center it within the outer enclosure. This enclosure is formed by a sturdy
aluminum tube, which provides a solid mechanical and electro-technical containment for the
system. To meet up-to-date environmental and technical aspects, GITL are filled with an
insulating gas mixture of mainly nitrogen and a smaller percentage of SF6. The tubes are made
of corrosion resistive aluminum alloy. Due to their modular design the elements can be
combined to deliberate length. Typical GITL installations have a length between 100 m and 60
km. Due to their characteristics, GITL can navigate smooth curves down to 400 meter or sharp
angular direction changes in any deliberate angle. The system comprises mechanical
expansion elements so that internal mechanical stress is kept at a minimum. The tubes are
welded together with a computerized orbital welding process. The seams are 100% ultrasonic
tested to ensure that the system is absolutely gastight. For typical applications up to 400 kV
the insulation gas is composed of up to 80% nitrogen and only 20% SF6. The gas is not
poisonous and can easily be detected. Mostly GITL are used for transmission systems with 345
kV to 550 kV operation voltages and 2500 A to 5000 A operation current. Due to their low
electrical capacitance reactive compensation is not needed in general. The enclosure is solidly
grounded, thus it is safe to touch the GITL without risk and at the same time the
electromagnetic field from the GITL to the environment is reduced to almost zero. A particle
trap is included in the tubes to make an increased lifetime of 50 years or even more possible.

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3. Main Design Feature

The re-design of the gas-insulated transmission

technology

GITL of the second generation reached an overall cost

reduction, compared to the first generation of more
than 50 %. To reach the goal the following steps were
taken:

limiting the variety to only 4 modules,

reducing the number of elements of each
module by high standardized elements,
use of long lengths of each module of typical 12
to 20 m, using Nitrogen N2 as the major
insulation gas,
development of an automated orbital welding
machine, solid grounded enclosed pipes lead to
very low magnetic fields, and adapting the laying
methods of the oil and gas pipelines to the needs
of high voltage equipment.

FIG 1. GITL tunnel layout

Straight welded tube module

Conductor (Figure 3, pos 2)
The conductor must have a low resistance for low transmission losses as well as high
mechanical strength. Therefore it is made of extruded aluminium alloy, which combines
both properties. The conductor is of tubular design. As the current flow in service (AC-duty-
type) occurs mainly in the outer parts of a circumferential cross section, no solid type is
necessary. The interior is filled with N2/SF6- gas-mixture to achieve a simple construction.
The individual conductor- sections are generally jointed by welding.

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Enclosure / Tube (Figure 3, pos 1)
The enclosure is a pressure-resistant housing for the insulation gas and takes up all loads as
bearing-, cantilever and short-circuit-forces. The suitable material is also aluminium alloy. The
individual enclosure-sections are generally jointed by welding to guarantee 100%-gas
tightness and the required mechanical strength

Fig 2. GITL pipeline construction

Particle Trap
On the bottom of the enclosure housing the particle trap is located, which provides a field
less space. Despite all cleanliness measurements particles may occur in the GITL. Due to the
influence of the electric field and under the gravity any particle will move underneath that
particle trap. Thereby the particle will be neutralised, before it will have any negative
influence on the dielectric strength of the GITL. Respectively the particle trap enhances the
reliability of the GITL.
Support Insulator/Post Insulator (Figure 3, pos 5)
In a distance of approximately 12m pairs of support insulators made of epoxy cast-resin are
arranged in an obtuse angle and thus keeping the conductor centred in the enclosure
housing. They are fixed to the conductor and slide on the inside of the enclosure housing to
compensate the different thermal expansions of conductor and enclosure housing.

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Bushing (Figure 3, pos. 4)
The bushing made of epoxy cast-resin is used as a fixed point for the conductor and tightens
in regular distances the conductor position to the enclosure housing, i.e. the conductor will
be kept in axial direction and be prevented from torsion. The bushing is fixed to the
conductor as well as to the enclosure. These bushings may be either gas-tight or
Perforated and have the ability to withstand mechanical stresses
Sliding contact (Figure 3, pos 3a, b)
A sliding contact system is installed at each fix point in order to compensate the differences
of thermal expansion between conductor and enclosure housing. The many years proven
multi-segment-contacts with silver plated contact surfaces are applied.
Elbow modules
Elbow modules are made of cast aluminium. All angles from
4 to 90 are possible. The jointing will be made by flanges

Fig 3. Basic structure of GITL module

Expansion joints
The expansion joint takes up the thermal expansion of the enclosure housing. This
compensator consists of a high grade- steel-corrugated-tube, which is tightened by steel
bonds to take up forces of the gas-pressure. Additionally small shaft settlements and
assembly tolerances are compensated in angular direction. External flexible copper ties
copper ties ensure the electrical bonding of the bellow, so that the circulating current in

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the GITL enclosure housing is able to flow continuously and an impermissible temperature
rise of the expansion joint is avoided.
3.1 N2/SF6 Gas Mixture

Nitrogen N2, Sulphur-hexafluoride SF6, and the mixtures of both are insulating gases known
and used since many decades for high voltage equipment. N2/SF6 gas mixtures are in use since
the 1970ies in high voltage equipment for low temperature application with no problems
reported. So the experience with gas mixtures is very positive. In the case of GITL no
arc quenching capability as used in circuit breakers or disconnectors is used, only insulating
purpose. This allows reducing the SF6 content of values which are in the range of 10 % - 20 %
of the gas mixture, without increasing too much the dimensions and the gas pressure. The
filling pressure of the GITL is 0.7 MPa which is the same as for high voltage circuit breakers,
where the good experience is available. The dimensions of the GITL are chosen with the
premises to limit the maximum electrical field strength in GITL to values below those of
today's high voltage equipment. In a 550 kV GITL the maximum field strength is below 3.5
kV/mm. This low electric field strength makes the GITL a very reliable system, as the more than
30 years of experiences with Gas-Insulated Switchgear and Lines (GITL) shows. World-wide
more than 150 km are installed and no major failure has been reported. Besides the gas
mixture improves the arc burn-trough resistivity of the GITL, because the arcing behaviour in
that gas mixture is different to pure SF6. Tests performed with an arcing current of 63 kA, 0.5
s proved, that there is no burn through of the enclosure housing. Furthermore the erosion of
the enclosure housing was limited, because the footprint area of the arc, is larger compared
to that one in pure SF6.

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Fig 4: Dielectric Strength of SF6/N2 mixture vs. SF6 percentage of the insulating gas
3.2 Orbital Welding

To connect each GITL unit in the past flanges with bolts and hand welding was used on site.
For shorter lengths this joint technology is
appropriate, but if tens of kilometres need to be
built a more automated system is needed. The main
reason for this is that a high rating of repetitive
quality must be reached, not to delay the speed of
laying. Integrated in the automated

Fig 5.Orbital welding of the conductor

Welding is also a 100 % ultrasonic quality check of the weld. The combination of automated
orbital welding and an automated ultrasonic quality check of each weld have been positive

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proven in the project at PALEXPO, Geneva, and Sai Noi, Bangkok, with a more than 99 % first
pass yield. The orbital welding head is shown in Fig. 2 while welding the conductor.

Sulphurhexaflouride (SF6)

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is an inorganic, colorless, odorless, non-flammable, extremely

potent greenhouse gas which is an excellent electrical insulator.SF6 has an octahedral
geometry, consisting of six fluorine atoms attached to a central sulfur atom. It is a hypervalent
molecule. Typical for a nonpolar gas, it is poorly soluble in water but soluble in nonpolar
organic solvents. It is generally transported as a liquefied compressed gas. It has a density of
6.12 g/L at sea level conditions, which is considerably higher than the density of air (1.225 g/L).

Table.1 Technical data of GITL

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ADVANTAGES OF GITL

Low losses-The resistive losses of GITL are lower compared to cables and overhead lines. The
dielectric losses of GITL are negligible. This reduces the operation costs and causes savings.
Due to the large outer diameter, the heat dissipation is better than with cables and GITL
normally do not require sophisticated cooling systems.

Fig 8. Losses comparison between various transmission methods

No electrical compensation

Due to its low capacitance, GITL do not require phase angle compensation even for a system
length of 60 km or more.

Low electromagnetic fields

The conductor current induces in the enclosure a reverse current of the same size.
Consequently the electromagnetic field outside the GITL is negligible. No special shielding is
required even in areas which are critical with respect to EMC (e.g. airports or computer

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centres or in populated areas). The construction of the GITL results in much smaller
electromagnetic fields as much as 15 to 20 times smaller than with conventional power
transmission systems. This makes GITL suitable for completely new routings through
populated areas (e.g. next to hospitals or residential areas, in the vicinity of flight monitoring
systems, etc.). GITL can be laid in combined infrastructure tunnels together with foreign
elements (e.g. close to telecommunication equipment). Thus, GITL provides maximum
flexibility for the planning of transmission networks in EMCsensitive environments, where
magnetic fields have to be avoided. Siemens GITL systems satisfy the most stringent magnetic
flux density requirements, for example, the Swiss limit of 1 T.

Fig. 9 Electromagnetic Radiation Comparison

High safety

If an insulation failure would occur in a GITL, the fault arc would be safely enclosed within the
outer housing. No influence would occur to the outside. The GITL are fire resistant and do not
contribute to fire load. This means optimal protection of persons and environment.

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High reliability

GITL technology has proven its reliability since over 35 years in service without any failure up
to now.

No ageing

The insulation system of GITL shows no ageing phenomena, neither electrical nor thermal.
There is practically no maintenance needed on the GITL for up to 50 years or more.

Operation like an overhead line

The GITL are the ideal addition to overhead lines. The high transmission capability of GITL
allows continuing overhead lines underground with one GITL tube per phase, which minimizes
space consumption. The GITL allow auto-enclosure switching cycles, consequently no major
changes in the operation- and protection schemes of the grid are necessary.

Maintenance free design Thanks to the technological clear-cut, logical design and the use of
high quality materials a practically maintenance free product is achieved which requires
external inspection only. The GITL can stay in operation during regular inspection activities.

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Versatility in application and laying methods

Aboveground installation

GITL installation aboveground is a trouble-free option, even for extreme environmental

conditions. GITL are unaffected by high ambient temperatures, intensive solar radiation or
severe atmospheric pollution (such as dust, sand or moisture). Corrosion protection is not
always necessary. Particularly high transmission power can be achieved with aboveground
installation.

Fig 10. Vertical installation GITL Fig 11. Above ground installation GITL

Tunnel installation

Tunnels made up of prefabricated structural elements are another quick and easy method of
GITL installation. The tunnel elements are assembled in a trench, which is then backfilled to
prevent any long-term disfiguring of the local landscape. The GITL is installed once the tunnel
has been completed. With this method of installation the land above the tunnel can be fully
restored to agricultural use. Only a negligible amount of heat is dissipated to the soil from the
GITL. The system stays accessible for easy inspection and high transmission capacity is
ensured.

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Vertical installation

Gas-insulated tubular conductors can be installed without a problem at any gradient, even
vertically. This makes them a top solution especially for cavern hydropower plants, where
large amounts of energy have to be transmitted from the underground machine transformer
to the switchgear and overhead line on the surface. As GITL systems pose no fire risk, they
can be installed in a tunnel or shaft that is accessible and can also be used for ventilation at
the same time.

Direct burial

Siemens also offers GITL solutions designed for direct burial. These systems are coated with
a continuous polyethylene layer to safeguard the corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy of the
enclosure, providing protection of the buried system for > 40 years. As magnetic fields are
marginal in the vicinity of all Siemens GITL applications, the land can be returned to
agricultural use with very minor restrictions once the system is completed.

Fig 12. Direct Burial GITL

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Fig 13. Worldwide GITL Distribution

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APPLICATIONS

7.1 PALEXPO, Geneva, Switzerland

The first application of the 2nd generation of GITL has
been carried out between September and December
2000. Only in 3 months erection time the overhead
line was brought underground into a tunnel and
connected to the net again in January 2001. In Fig. 3 a
site view shows the delivery of GITL transport units to
the preassembly area.

The preassembly tent has been placed directly under

the overhead line and was positioned directly above
the shaft connected to the tunnel right under the
street. The narrow space between an airport access
road on one side and the highway to France on the
other side makes it only possible to use the space
directly under the overhead line for the site works.
The laying procedure had proven to be applicable
also for long distance connections. With the site
experience the productivity for assembling the GITL
sections could be very much increased from 2
connection per shift and day to 4 connections per shift
and day. These are very positive experiences for
future projects, especially if very long distances for
GITL links have to be carried out. The highly automated
laying process had proven to deliver a very
constant quality over the complete laying time so that
the commissioning of the system could be carried out. FIG.14. GITL Installation Pipelines
. delivery

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without any failure.
In Fig.14 a view into the tunnel shows how the pipes are pulled into the tunnel. The tunnel has
a bending radius of about 700 m. The pipes were easily moved over support structures with
rollers and follow the bending of the tunnel.

7.2 Sai Noi

The Sai Noi substation is an important station for the Bangkok power supply. An extension of
an existing Gas-Insulated Substation (GIS) required also some long connections between the
existing GIS, an existing AIS and the new extended GIS. About 1 km of system length or 3 km
of pipe length had to be installed for this reason. The requirements to the transmission had
been high. At a rated voltage of 550 kV a rated current of 4000 A was needed to fulfil the
requirements of the transmission lines connected to this substation. At the same
time the ambient air temperature was as high as 50 C at the same time the direct sun radiation
was high too. The GITL can fulfil all these requirements and the operation started successfully
in September 2002.
4.3 Future Applications

GITL is a new, future orientated technical solution of upcoming requirements in power

transmission. The non-availability of right of way for new overhead lines in general and the
further increase in demand of electrical energy will generate the need for high power
underground transmission, even over long distances of 100 km and more. This makes the GITL
primary not only a competitor to underground solid insulated cables, but more an
additive technology. Additive in the way when the needed power transmission is high (2000
MVA and more) and the underground transmission length is getting long.

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Two typical examples are
given here.
Example 1:
The metropolitan areas are
growing world-wide. In
the future the majority of
the population on earth will
be living in cities. Therefore,
cities are growing in size
and power demand. The
dimension of metropolitan
areas are reaching
diameters of 50 to 100 km
with a
FIG. 15. GITL in metropolitan area
need of high power underground transmission lines. The GITL can offer a strong, high power
electrical power supply of such metropolitan areas, as it is shown in Fig. 6. The GITL will be
laid in electrical energy tunnels having two systems with 2000 MVA transmitted power in each
system. The tunnel is passing in a diagonal, crossing the whole metropolitan area and is then
connected to ring.

Example 2:
The traffic world-wide is increasing. Existing highways are not sufficient to solve the traffic
problems of the future. This will lead also to long railroad and street tunnels (see Fig. 7). These
tunnels can also be used for electrical energy transmission. The GITL is the only transmission
system available which can be added to public accessible tunnels without increasing the risk for
persons to be injured if an electrical failure happens in the transmission system. The solid metallic
enclosure will keep the impact inside the GITL until
the GITL will be switched off by the protection system.

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Fig. 16: Typical traffic tunnels for railroad and vehicles

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CONCLUSION

The GITL is a high power transmission system designed for the needs of today and the future.
The redesign of the gas-insulated technology available and in use since more than 30 years
has now led to the 2nd generation GITL. Based on the world-wide experience of more than
130 system kilometres installed GITL of the first generation now the 2nd generation GITL
offers gas mixture technology with Nitrogen (N2) as major insulating gas, fast pipeline type
laying technique, very low magnetic fields, and low transmission losses at a more than 50 %
reduced price. The first projects of the 2nd generation GITL at PALEXPO in Geneva,
Switzerland, and Sai Noi in Bangkok, Thailand, have proven the reliability and availability.

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