EEE 485

Capacitance of Transmission Line

A H Chowdhury, PhD
Professor
Dept. of EEE, BUET
 Capacitance of Transmission Line contd.

• Potential difference between conductors causes lines to be charged same way as

plates of a capacitor when there is a potential difference between them

• Capacitance between conductors = charge per unit of potential difference

C = q /V

• Capacitance between parallel conductors is a constant depending on size and

spacing of conductors
 Capacitance of Transmission Line contd.
• Charge on conductors at any point increase and decrease with increase and
decrease of instantaneous value of voltage between conductors at that point
• Charging current: current caused by alternate charging and discharging of a line due
to an alternating voltage
• Capacitance is a shunt between conductors → so charging current flows even when
line is open-circuited
• Effects of charging current: voltage drop along lines + efficiency + power factor of
line + stability of the system
 Capacitance of Transmission Line contd.

• Gauss's law

Total electric charge within a closed surface = total

electric flux emerging from surface

i.e., total charge within the closed surface equals integral over
the surface of the normal component of electric flux density

• Lines of electric flux originate on positive charges and terminate

on negative charges D f = kE
D f − charge density normal to a surface
k − permittivity of material surrounding the surface
E − electric field intensity
 Electric Field of a Long Straight Conductor
• Long, straight cylindrical conductor in a uniform
medium (e.g., air) isolated from other charges
• Uniformly distributed charge around its
periphery, flux is radial

• All points equidistant from conductor are points of equipotential and have same electric flux
density
• For a cylindrical surface concentric with conductor and x meters in radius
Flux leaving conductor per meter of length q
Electric flux density on = = c / m2
cylinder surface Area of surface in an axial length 1 m 2x

electric flux density q

Electric filed intensity, E = = V/m q – charge on conductor,
permittivity of medium 2xk coulombs/meter of length
 Potential Difference Between Two Points Due to a
Charge
Potential difference between 2 - points (V) = Work (joules/C) necessary to move
one C charge between the points

Electric field intensity (V/m) = Force (newtons/C) on a coulomb of

charge at the point considered
Electric field intensity is a measure
of force on a charge in the field

Between two points the line integral of force in newtons acting on a coulomb of
positive charge
= work done in moving charge from point of lower potential to point of higher
potential
= potential difference between the two points
Potential Difference Between Two Points Due to a Charge
contd.

A long, straight wire • Wire is an equipotential surface

carrying a positive charge • Uniformly distributed charge on wire
of q (C/m)
equivalent to a charge concentrated at center
of wire for calculating flux external to wire
• +ve charge on wire exert repelling force on a E = v/d
+ve charge placed in the field
• Work must be done on a +ve charge to move
it from P2 to P1
Work done to carry test
→ P1 is at higher potential than P2 charge q0 from A to B
WAB = q₀EdAB
→ Difference in potential = amount of work
EdAB = WAB/q0= VAB
done per coulomb of charge moved
Potential Difference Between Two Points Due to a Charge
contd.

A long, straight wire • If charge moves from P1 to P2, it expends energy

carrying a positive charge → Amount of work (newton-m) = voltage drop from P1 to P2
of q (C/m)
→ Potential difference independent of path followed

• To compute voltage drop between two points

→ Compute voltage between equipotential surfaces passing
through P1 and P2 by integrating field intensity over a radial path
between the equipotential surfaces

• Instantaneous voltage drop between P1 and P2

q - instantaneous charge on wire (C/m)

 Capacitance of a Two-Wire Line

• Capacitance between conductors of a two-wire line = charge on conductors per unit

of potential difference between them

q – charge on line, C/m

v – potential difference between conductors, V

Vab = voltage drop due to charge qa + voltage drop due to charge qb

Capacitance of a Two-Wire Line contd.

• Charge qa causes surfaces of equipotential in the vicinity

of conductor b
• Follow the path through undistorted region
• For qa : D1 → ra D2 → D
• For qb : D2 → rb D1 → D
 Capacitance of a Two-Wire Line contd.
qa = - qb for a two-wire line

Capacitance between conductors

If ra = rb = r

Relationship between concepts of line-to-line capacitance and line-to-neutral capacitance

 Capacitance of a Two-Wire Line contd.
Capacitive reactance between one conductor and neutral for relative permittivity kr = 1

reactance from line to neutral for 1 m of line

Capacitance reactance
in parallel along line

X c in ohm-meters
Capacitive reactancetan to neutral for entire length = 
Length of the line in meters to obtain
Capacitance of a 3-phase Line With Equilateral Spacing

• Uniform charge distribution on conductors

• Voltage due only to charges on conductors a and b

Three identical conductors of

radius r of a 3-phase line with • Voltage due only to charge qc =0
equilateral spacing
 Capacitance of a 3-phase Line With Equilateral Spacing
contd.

• Considering all three charges,

• Then,

• qa+qb+qc= 0, so
Capacitance of a 3-phase Line With Equilateral Spacing
contd.

So, →

Phasor diagram of balanced

voltages of a 3-phase line Capacitance to neutral
Capacitance of a 3-phase Line With Equilateral Spacing
contd.

Charging current current associated with capacitance of a line

• Single-phase circuit

• Three-phase circuit

• rms voltage varies along line → charging current not same everywhere

– Generally rated voltage used

Capacitance of a 3-phase Line With Unsymetrical
Spacing

• Transposed line
• Average capacitance of phases are same
• Dissymmetry of untransposed line is slight

Phase- a in position 1,
b in 2, c in 3

Phase- a in position 2,
b in 3, c in 1

Phase- a in position 3,
b in 1, c in 2
Capacitance of a 3-phase Line With Unsymetrical Spacing
contd.

• Assumption same charge on conductor same in every part of transposition

cycle
• Average voltage between conductors a and b,
1  D12 D23 D31 r3 D12 D23 D31 
Vab =  qa ln + q ln + q ln 

6k  r 3 b
D12 D23 D31
c
D12 D23 D31 

1  Deq r 
= qa ln + qb ln Deq = 3 D12 D23 D31

2k  r Deq 

1  Deq r 
Similarly, Vac = qa ln + qc ln

2k  r Deq 

1  Deq r r 
3Van = Vab + Vac = 2qa ln + qb ln + qc ln

2k  r Deq Deq 
Capacitance of a 3-phase Line With Unsymetrical Spacing
contd.

• Assumption same charge on conductor same in every part of transposition cycle

• Average voltage between conductors a and b,

1  Deq r  Deq
+ (− qa ) ln
3
3Van = 2qa ln = qa ln V

2k  r 
Deq  2k r
qa 2k
Cn = = F/m to neutral qa + qb + qc = 0
Van D 
ln eq 
 r 
Effect of Earth on Capacitance of 3-phase Transmission
Line
• Capacitance of transmission line affected by presence
of earth
• Earth is a perfect conductor (i.e. equipotential surface)
• Electric flux from charges on conductor to charges on
earth is perpendicular to earth’s surface
Method of images
• Imagine a fictitious conductor of same size, shape as
Image conductor with equal
but opposite charge over head conductor lying directly at twice the
distance of conductor above ground
Effect of Earth on Capacitance of 3-phase Transmission
Line contd.

• Plane midway between conductors is

equipotential surface
• Electric flux between overhead conductor and
equipotential surface is same as that which
existed between conductor and earth
• So, earth may be replaced by an image
conductor
Effect of Earth on Capacitance of 3-phase Transmission
Line contd.
1   D12 H12   r H2   D23 H 23 
Vab = qa  ln − ln  + qb  ln − ln  + qc  ln − ln 
2k   r H1   D12 H12   D31 H 31 

Considering full transposition,

• Obtain average Vab and Vac

• Calculate Van = (Vab+Vac)/3

• Then, 2k
Cn = F/m to neutral
 Deq   3 H12 H 23 H 31 
ln  − ln 
 r   3HH H 
 1 2 3 

Effect of earth is to increase capacitance of line