Mechanical Design of

Transmission Lines
Farhan Mahmood
EED, UET Lahore.
1

Main Considerations in the

Mechanical Design

The main considerations in the mechanical

design of an overhead transmission line are:

Adequate clearance between conductor and ground

High mechanical strength of the conductors
Tension or working stress of the conductor <
ultimate tensile strength

Ultimate tensile strength = F.O.S working

stress
2

Basic Design Considerations

While erecting an overhead line, it is

important that conductors are under safe
tension.

If the conductors are too much stretched

between supports to save the conductor
material, the stress in the conductor may reach
unsafe value and in certain cases, the
conductor may break due to excessive tension.
In order to permit safe tension in the
conductors, they are not fully stretched but are
allowed to have a dip.
3

Few Important Terms in the

Mechanical Design

TENSION, a force tending to stretch

or elongate a conductor.

ULTIMATE
TENSILE
STRENGTH,
maximum
stress,
which
a
conductor can withstand without
failure.
4

Few Important Terms in the

Mechanical Design

SAG, the vertical distance (d)

between the mid-point of a
conductor to the line joining the
two supports level.

Few Important Terms in the

Mechanical Design

CATENARYS CURVE, When the conductor is

suspended between two supports at the same
level, it takes the shape of catenary's curve.
However, if the sag is very small as compared
with the span, then sag-span curve is
parabola.

Few Important Terms in the

Mechanical Design

SPAN, the horizontal distance (L)

between
the
two
adjacent
supports.

Points to Remember

The following points are to be noted,

The tension at any point on the conductor

is tangent to that point
The horizontal component of the tension
is constant throughout the length of wire.
The tension will be maximum at the
supports and minimum at the lowest
point of the curve.

Factors affecting Sag

SAG plays a very important role in the mechanical design of an

overhead line. It is not a good practice to provide either too high or
too low sag.

Sag (Too Low)

1. Tension in the conductor is too
high

Sag (Too High)

1. Tension in the conductor is too
low

2. Less
conductor length is
2. More conductor length is
It is always desired that tension and sag should be as low as possible,
requiredwhich is not possible simultaneously.
required
Sag ------>
wire & high 3.
tension
3. LowerLow
supports
aretight
required
Higher supports are required
High Sag ------> loose wire and low tension
Therefore, a COMPROMISE is made between the two.

Factors affecting Sag

The factors affecting the sag of a

conductor strung between supports
are

Weight of conductor
Distance between the supports (span
length)
Working tensile strength
Temperature
10

Sag Calculations

A conductor
AOB of
length l is suspended at
two towers A and B and A
are spaced L unit apart.
Let O is the lowest point
of the wire. Consider a
length OP of the curve
length s.

w
=
weight/unit
length,

H = tension at point O

T = tension at point P,

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Sag Calculations

Three forces are acting on it

Horizontal tension H at the lowest point

Weight ws of OP acting through its center of gravity
Tension T at point P along tangent to the curve at P.

For equilibrium, horizontal forces in one

direction must be balanced by horizontal
forces in the other direction. Same is true
for vertical forces.
12

Sag Calculations
Let be the angle which the
tangent at P makes with the
horizontal.

T sin
T cos

ws

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Components of Tension
(1)
.(2)
Dividing equation 1 by 2 we
get

.(3)

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Length

..(4)

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Length

From equation 3 we have

So eq. 4 becomes

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Length
Integrating both sides , we have

Where A is the integration constant

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Length
Using intial values as
x=0
s=0
we get
A = 0,
So we have,

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Length
.(5)

19

Calculation of Sag
As we know that

So,

Since

20

Calculation of Sag

or
Integrating both sides we have

21

Sag Calculations
Where B is the Integration constant
Using initial values

x=0

y=0
We get

B = -H/w

So,

22

Sag Calculations

This equation is called the equation of catenary

On Expanding we get

23

Calculation of Tension
Neglecting high powered terms we get

The tension at point P is,

24

Calculation of Tension

When x=L/2 , y is equal to the sag or deflection d

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Calculation of Length
Using the equations,

After putting the value of H from expression of d into l,

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Solve Example
The weight of a overhead
conductor of a line is 4.0 N/m. The
ultimate strength is 8000 N. If
safety factor is 4 and span length
is 160 m, find (a) sag and (b) total
length of the line between spans.

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Solution

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Continued

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Supports at different levels

(unsymmetrical span)

30

Continued

Let P1 and P2 are two points at heights h1 and h2 from the

ground respectively,

where h is difference between the elevations of two

supports.
If the span length is L, x1 + x2 = L. Therefore,
31

Continued

32

Continued

33

Solve Example
An overhead transmission line conductor has the
following data
Weight = 0.35 kg/m;
Maximum allowable strength = 800 kg;
Safety factor = 2;
Span length = 160 m.
Supports are at different levels where one support
is at 70 m from the ground. Find the minimum
clearance from the ground and the minimum point
of the catenary from the supports when the
second support is at (a) 40 m and (b) 65 m.
34

Solution

35

Continued
This shows that the minimum point
lies outside of the span is 134.29
m from the lower span. Therefore,
the minimum ground clearance is
40 m that is the height of lower
support.

36

Continued

37

EFFECT OF ICE- AND

WIND-LOADING

1.
2.
3.

The sag and tension of lines are

different in normal weather conditions.
Since lines are designed for all the
conditions, it is important to calculate
the sag and tension during the ice- and
wind-loading conditions.
Conductor weight
Ice Loading
Wind Loading
38

Conductor Weight
The weight of the conductor acts
vertically downwards and depends
upon the type of the conductor
used. The weight of the conductor
per unit length is available from
the table giving the mechanical
characteristics of the conductor.
39

Ice Loading

In snowy areas, ice is deposited on

the conductors and its accumulation
on the conductor affects the design
of line,

By increasing the weight per unit length.

By increasing the projected surface area
subjected to wind pressure

In calculations, it will be assumed

that ice is uniformly on the surface
of the conductor.
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Ice Loading

Cross-section area of conductor = d2 / 4

Cross-section area of ice coated conductor = (d +
2t)2 / 4
Cross-section area of ice

41

Ice Loading
If density of ice = i
Weight of ice Wi = Ai i
Total weight of conductor per unit length WT = W +
Wi

42

Combined effect of wind &

ice

Projected area of the conductor = (D+ 2t) x 1

ww = (D + 2t) kg/m
Where is the wind pressure per unit area acting in a
direction normal to the direction of span
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Effective Loading

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Assignment

An ACSR conductor has the following data:

normal copper area = 120 mm2 size = (30 +
7)16.30 mm; weight = 0.4 kg/rn, tensile strength
= 1250 kg, safety factor = 5. If span length is
200 m, find
Sag in still air
Sag, if the conductor is covered with 0.5-cm
thick ice (ice density of 915 kg/rn3)
Sag (total and vertical), if the conductor is
covered with ice of 0.5-cm thickness and a wind
pressure of 10 kg/rn2 is acting on the projected
area.
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Solution

46

Continued

47

Continued

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Continued

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