E3S Web of Conferences 460, 07008 (2023) https://doi.org/10.

1051/e3sconf/202346007008
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Software package for analysis and design of

overhead power transmission line structures
Anton Tanasoglo1, Igor Garanzha1*, Sergey Bakaev2, and Olesya Kaledina1
1
Moscow State University of Civil Engineering (National Research University), 129337, Moscow,
Russia
2
Donbass National Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DNACEA), 86123, Makeevka,
Russia

Abstract. The article describes an algorithm for calculating wires and

cables implemented by determining the loads on the supports, taking into
account the compatibility of deformations of structural elements of an
overhead power line (overhead line), atmospheric conditions and the
profile of the route for all possible modes of operation of overhead lines.
Wires and cables are exposed to the load from their own weight, as well as
additional impacts in the form of horizontal wind load and the weight of
icy deposits. Using the reduced equation of state of the wire (lightning-
proof cable), the amount of tension in the operational state is determined if
the voltages in the initial state and the values of loads and temperatures are
known. It is revealed that for small spans, the voltage value is greatly
influenced by temperature, and for large spans by load, which means there
must be such a boundary (critical) span value at which the influence of
temperature and load on the voltage value will be the same. As a result,
software has been developed to solve the problem of determining the
stress-strain state of wires and cables and collecting loads on overhead line
supports. The developed calculation subsystems can function
independently or be included in the software package as components
written in the algorithmic language FORTRAN. In contrast to the
traditional calculation, emergency loads for anchor-corner supports are
determined not only in the ice regime, but also at minimum and average
operating temperatures. The calculation in the software package allows us
to consider the alternate breakage of all phases of wires and cables in both
the left and right spans.

1 Introduction
Currently, about 600 thousand km of 110 kV overhead power transmission lines on
metal supports are operated in the power systems of the CIS countries, the total weight of
which reaches 5 million tons [1-4]. The massive nature of the construction of overhead line
supports raises the issue of increasing the efficiency, durability and reliability of energy
construction, therefore, finding ways to save additional steel during the construction of
high-voltage lines and revising existing standard projects is an important task [5-7].

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
E3S Web of Conferences 460, 07008 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202346007008
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Rapid and effective improvement of overhead line supports is possible through their
optimization and automation of design, including: creation of a computational model of
overhead lines as a single network and an algorithm for its solution; study of loads from
wires and cables when they work together with support structures depending on terrain and
atmospheric and climatic conditions; analysis of the stress-strain state of live wires,
lightning protection cables, guy ropes, a trunk of the support and foundations when they
work together; optimization of their structural forms taking into account the requirements of
efficiency and manufacturability; creation of a system of automated one-stage design [2,3,
8-10]. That is the reason the creation of a settlement complex is an urgent task.

2 Materials and methods

Consider The algorithm for calculating wires and cables implements the determination
of loads on supports, taking into account the compatibility of deformations of overhead line
structural elements, atmospheric conditions and the profile of the route for the required
number of modes of operation of the power line.
Wires and cables suspended on the supports of the overhead line are under the constant
action of evenly distributed along the length of the vertical static load from its own weight.
In addition, additional loads can act on them – vertical from ice and horizontal from wind.
All possible combinations of climatic conditions are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Design modes of wires and cables

Design Load
Combination of climatic conditions
modes number γ

1 2 3

I The wires and cable are covered with ice, temperature 7

is minus 5ºС, wind speed during icy conditions

II The wires and cable are covered with ice, temperature 3

is minus 5ºС, no wind

III Максимальный скоростной напор ветра, 6

temperature is minus 5ºС, no ice
IV Average annual temperature, no wind and ice 1

V Temperature is plus 15ºС, no wind and ice 1

VI Lowest temperature, no wind and ice 1

VII Maximum temperature, no wind and ice 1

VIII Temperature is minus 15ºС, wind speed during 8

installation 6,25 kg/m2, no ice

Temperature is plus 15ºС, wind speed pressure during

IX thunderstorm surges (q = 0,1 qmax ; if q < 6,25 kg/m2, 9
то q = 6,25 kg/m2

X Temperature is minus 15ºС, no wind and ice 1

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The voltage change in the wire (cable) under changing atmospheric conditions
(temperature and load) is described by the well-known equation of state of the wire (1)
[9,11-13]:
 2 El 2  2 El 2
   0  0 2   E  (t  t0 ) (1).
24 2
24 0
The essence of the calculation is to compare the voltages operating in the design modes
of the wires with the permissible voltages [8,15, 16]. The stresses that occur in wires or
cables when exposed to the highest load or lowest temperature should be less than the
tensile strength. The ratio of the tensile strength σULT to the allowable stress σMAX is called
the safety factor (2):
 ult
k (2).
 max
In addition, the voltages at the average annual temperature should be limited from the
vibration conditions of the wire. Therefore, in the RFEI, the permissible voltages in wires
and cables are set for three initial conditions: a) at the highest load; b) at the lowest
temperature; c) at the average annual temperature.
It follows from equation (1) that for small spans, the voltage value is greatly influenced
by temperature, and for large spans by load. It follows from this that there must be such a
boundary value of the span at which the influence of temperature and load on the voltage
value will be the same. Such a span is called critical (in wire calculations, it is customary to
call this span the second critical span and denote l2k). The critical span in which the voltage
in the wire reaches acceptable values at low and average annual temperatures is called the
first critical span and is designated l1k. If the voltage in the wire reaches the permissible
values at the average annual temperature and at the highest load, then the corresponding
span is called the third critical and is designated l3k .
To calculate the values of the critical span between any modes I and II, it is necessary to
substitute into the equation of state of the wire (1) the values of voltages σ, loads γ and
temperatures t corresponding to these modes (3) [13, 17-19]:
 I2 Elk2  2 El 2
I    II  II 2k   E  (t  t0 ) (3).
24 I 2
24 II
Solving this equation with respect to lk, we obtain the general formula of the critical
span (4):
 II  II   I   E  (tII  t I )
lk
 
I E   II    II  
2 2
(4).
     
24   I    I  
 
Using formula (2), the values of all three critical spans can be calculated by substituting
the required values of modes I and II.
Substituting into formula (2) the normalized RFEI values of permissible stresses at
minimum temperature, maximum load and average operating temperature σМ, σН и σЭ, we
obtain the formulas of critical spans, convenient for practical use, given in Table 2.
Knowing the voltages for the modes listed in Table 2, we determine the wire sag arrows
[6, 8, 20, 21].
Next, the lightning protection cable is calculated from the condition of observing the
distances between the wire and the cable in the middle of the span, required by the RFEI for
reasons of lightning protection at a temperature of + 15 ° C and without the presence of
wind.
Figure 1 shows the sagging curves of the wire and cable at the same heights of the cable
racks.

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Next, we determine the loads of emergency modes using the method of calculating the
reduced tightening of the wire (cable). We calculate vertical and horizontal loads on
overhead line supports for normal and emergency modes. We calculate the mounting
arrows of the sag of wires and cables [24, 25].

Fig. 1. Wire and cable sag curves at the same heights of cable stands

Table 2. Recommendations for determining the type of equation for calculating overhead line wires
[6, 22, 23]
The ratio of the
Possible options for the ratio of existing span
Type of state’s equation
critical spans to the critical
one
1 2 3

1.  2 El 2  12 El 2
l < l1k    М    E  (t  tМ )
24 2 24 М2

 2 El 2  2 El 2
l1k < l < l3k  2
  Э  1 2   E  (t  tЭ )
24 24 Э

 2 El 2  Н2 El 2
l > l3k    Н    E  (t  t Н )
24 2 24 Н2

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2.
 2 El 2  2 El 2
l < l2k    М  1 2   E  (t  tМ )
24 2
24 М

 2 El 2  2 El 2
l > l2k  2
  Н  Н 2   E  (t  t Н )
24 24 Н

1 2 3

3.
 2 El 2  2 El 2
l < l3k    Э  1 2   E  (t  tЭ )
24 2
24 Э

 2 El 2  Н2 El 2
l > l3k    Н    E  (t  t Н )
24 2 24 Н2

4.
 2 El 2  2 El 2
l < l1k  2
  М  1 2   E  (t  tМ )
24 24 М

 2 El 2  2 El 2
l > l1k  2
  Э  1 2   E  (t  tЭ )
24 24 Э

3 Results and discussions

3.1 Software package for analysis wires and cables of overhead line supports
The Based on the described methods, a software package for the calculation and design
of power transmission line structures has been developed. It is a system of computer-aided
design tools designed for high-quality design of optimal supports, increasing the
productivity of designers, reducing design time, cost-effectiveness and reliability of project
solutions.
The complex includes: a subsystem for calculating wires, cables and collecting loads on
supports; a subsystem for calculating and optimizing bearing metal structures of supports as
part of a single network; a subsystem for technical and economic analysis of overhead line
structures; a dialog subsystem for automated design of metal structures of overhead line
supports. It consists of separate object-oriented software blocks and a universal complex
that works with specialists in an interactive mode. Most of the developed programs are used
in the calculation of structures. The rest of the programs are used for the actual design or
construction.
The complex performs the following calculations:

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– analysis of static power, temperature and deformation effects of live wires, lightning
protection cables of overhead lines, taking into account many loads, design limitations and
requirements of the Rules of electrical installations;
– collection of loads on the support from wires and cables, loads from the action of wind on
the support and the own weight of metal structures as part of a single overhead line
network;
– static calculation of spatial trusses for many loads using linear elastic finite element
models;
– static calculation of cable-rod systems according to a deformed scheme for many loads
with flexible guy ropes;
– construction of envelope plots of moments and transverse forces for the trunk and
traverse supports with guy ropes;
– analysis of the calculated forces in the elements of cable-rod structures;
– determination of stresses and load-bearing capacity of elements;
– analysis of nodes, elements and auxiliary metal structures;
– analysis of technical and economic indicators of metal structures of overhead line
supports;
– analysis optimization of the parameters of the geometric scheme, the type of grid and the
pre-voltage of the transmission line supports;
– analysis development of working drawings at the DMS (Detailed Metal Structures) stage,
taking into account the design limitations and requirements of the factory manufacturing
technology.
Analysis and optimization procedures determine the efficiency indicators of the
projected object, but they have relatively little effect on the economic indicators of the
design process itself: its labor intensity, cost, duration, and quality of the final
documentation. The problem of improving the quality of the design process as a whole is
inextricably linked with the problem of its complex automation, the solution of which
allows to dramatically reduce the labor costs of designers to perform routine operations,
proceed to the formation and release of final project documents by CAD tools, link the
problems of design systems and automated production and process control systems.
This section describes a comprehensive program for automating the design of metal
structures of high-voltage power transmission lines, consisting of interconnected
subsystems.
The subsystem for calculating wires and cables implements an algorithm for calculating
wires and cables and determining loads on overhead line supports, taking into account
atmospheric conditions and the profile of the route, as well as collecting wind loads on the
structure of the support and on the own weight of metal structures.
3.2 Design model of a high-voltage power transmission line as a single
system
In the developed software package, a high-voltage power transmission line acts as a
calculation model as a single system, taking into account the joint work of structural
elements. On this basis, a methodology for optimizing overhead line supports has been
developed, as well as loads from live wires and lightning protection cables, which are
crucial, have been studied.
The use of the new calculation model is carried out in stages: the first stage is the
calculation of wires and cables in order to clarify the loads on the supports, the second stage
is the calculation of support structures taking into account the spatial model and the
specified loads from wires and cables.
A part of the power transmission line is taken as a model: the anchored section is the
distance between adjacent anchor supports. For example, consider a single-chain high-

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voltage line consisting of two anchor supports and the n-th number of intermediate supports
located between them, to which three live wires and one lightning-proof cable are
suspended (Fig.2). The wires and cables are rigidly fixed to the anchor supports and are
subject to gravity, and they are hung freely to the intermediate supports through an
intermediate the element is a garland of insulators. The supports are affected by the
concentrated force formed when the wire breaks, and the evenly distributed load from the
wires and cables. After loading, the equilibrium of the system in the deformed state will
occur when the deformations of the wires and cables are equal to the deformations of the
support structures.
The considered examples showed that the reduced (decreased) gravity in the span
adjacent to the emergency one will be the greater the farther away from the anchor support
the wire breakage occurred.
For the calculation of wires of large transitions, approximate dependencies adopted in
the calculation of wires based on the replacement of a chain line with a parabola are
unacceptable. Studies have allowed us to establish that when calculating the voltages in
overhead line wires on flat terrain, the error does not exceed 3%, and an approximate
method can be used, but when determining the sag arrows and the dimensions of the
approach of the wire to the spars of ships or the ground, it cannot be neglected.

Fig. 2. OHPL design model

At the second stage of consideration of the computational model, the stress-strain state
of the metal structures of overhead line supports is investigated in order to further optimize
them.
The problem of optimal overhead line design is formulated as follows. To find the
geometric parameters of the network with varying coordinates of the system and topology
at specified cross-sections with minimizing mass or cost while meeting regulatory
requirements and design constraints.
The conducted research allowed us to propose the following methodology for the
application of various mathematical methods and their sequence: first, the optimal type of

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lattice was determined, then the optimization of geometric parameters was carried out by
the following methods with the correction of the lattice type by a combinatorial algorithm.
3.3 General principles for preparing initial data
All the initial information necessary to perform the calculation must be prepared by the
user by entering data according to the algorithm shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3 shows a sample of filling in the source data file for calculating the wire and
lightning cable.

Fig. 3. Schematic block diagram for analysis the stress-strain state of wires, cables and loads on
supports

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The file includes the following data: unit load from its own weight, specific gravity of
icy deposits, physical and mechanical characteristics of the wire and cable, permissible
stresses at average operating and minimum temperatures, permissible stresses at maximum
load, coefficients of contraction and splitting of the wire and cable in accordance with the
RFEI.
The following data is entered in tabular form: the number of the anchored section, the
numbers of spans and supports. For each support and spans, the following are specified:
span length, foundation height, height from the top of the foundation to the lower traverse,
height between the lower and middle traverse, between the middle and upper traverse,
dimension from the ground to the wire, the difference between the marks of the cable and
the traverse, length and standard weight of the garland of insulators of the wire, length and
standard weight of the garland of insulators the cable, the absolute ground level, the
coefficients of flexibility of the support and the distribution of forces, the angle of rotation
of the route.
The subsystem also allows you to perform calculations of typical supports for averaged
conditions, with the calculation of standard wind loads.
It is convenient for the individual design of new power transmission lines for specific
atmospheric and climatic conditions and a known route profile, it is effective in the
reconstruction of existing power transmission lines.
All information previously prepared by the user and the calculation results are stored in
computer memory and on a floppy disk for a fairly long time. The user has the opportunity
to call from the data bank and correct any part of the previously entered information
through the computer display.
A system for designing overhead line supports by modeling in a personal computer has
been developed. The system includes solid-state modeling, development of detailed
drawings, wiring diagrams and computer control assembly. A software package has been
developed to create a support model and form drawings of parts and wiring diagrams from
it. The control assembly of the support section in the form of a solid-state model is shown
in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4. Solid model of support

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The veracity of the application software package is analyzed: when recalculating typical
overhead line supports, when optimizing from different starting points and achieving the
same optimal project, during automated design and manufacture.

4 Conclusions
1. Software has been developed to solve the problem of determining the stress-strain
state of wires and cables and collecting loads on overhead line supports.
2. The developed calculation subsystems can function independently or be included in
the software package as components written in the algorithmic language FORTRAN.
3. In contrast to the traditional calculation, emergency loads for anchor-corner supports
are determined not only in the ice regime, but also at minimum and average operating
temperatures.
4. The calculation in the software package allows us to consider the alternate breakage
of all phases of wires and cables in both the left and right spans. During the calculation,
both the standard emergency load according to the RFEI and the reduced emergency load
are calculated, taking into account the influence of the flexibility of the support, the length
of the insulator garland, the span and the height difference of the profile for adjacent
supports.

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