WEEK 6 Power System Transmission & Distribution BSEE

Sag in OHTL, Sag Calculations, & Design

Numericals.
SAG IN OVERHEAD LINES
- Sag is level difference
between lowest point on
conductor and point of
support of conductor on
pole.
- Clearance is distance of
lowest point on conductor
w.r.t ground.
- Span is distance between two poles.
- Height of conductor at support point is equal to sum of sag
& clearance.
- Spacing is the distance between two conductors.
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WEEK 6 Power System Transmission & Distribution BSEE

(1) Tight Connection of conductor between two poles

(Observations, Merits & Demerits)
(i) Sag = 0
(ii) Clearance = Height of conductor at support point
(iii) Required less conducting material
(iv) No need of extra height to get proper clearance
(v) Cost of transmission decreases
(vi) High tension in conductor may break the conductor
(vii) Failure of line due to breakdown of conductor
(2) Loose Connection of conductor between poles
(i) Sag ≠ 0
(ii) Clearance < height of conductor at support point on
pole.
(iii) Required more conducting material
(iv) Need of extra tower height to get proper clearance
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WEEK 6 Power System Transmission & Distribution BSEE

(v) Tension is very low

(vi) No chance of mechanical breakdown
- Sag should be kept minimum to reduce conductor
material and avoid extra pole height for sufficient
clearance from ground level.
- Tension in line conductor depends on conductor weight,
wind effects, ice loading and temperature variations.
Considerations for Sag Calculation
1. Conductors between towers form catenary shapes, U-
shape or Parabola shape.
2. At the lowest point of the conductor, tension always
works horizontally. The vertical component of tension at
the lowest point on conductor will be zero.
i.e., At point ‘O, TV = 0 & T = TH
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WEEK 6 Power System Transmission & Distribution BSEE

3. Horizontal tension is the same at all points along the

conductor.
4. Tension at supporting points is horizontal tension.
5. Tension (T) in Conductor is Kg. If tensile strength (Kg/m2)
is given, then tension (T) is given as:
T = Tensile Strength × Cross-sectional area of conductor
= Kg/m2 × m2 = Kg
6. Weight of Conductor per Unit Length (w) is Kg /m.
If specific gravity (Kg/m3) of material is given, then
Weight of conductor material = Specific gravity (Kg/m3)
× Cross-sectional area of conductor (m2) = Kg/m
7. Span Length (L) & sag (S) are measured in meter (m).
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WEEK 6 Power System Transmission & Distribution BSEE

Sag Calculations
Case-1: When two supports are at equal levels

A & B = two supporting

points of a conductor.
O = lowest point of the
conductor w.r.t ground.
𝒍𝒍 = length of span
𝒘𝒘 = weight of conductor
per unit length
T = tension in the conductor
P = point on the conductor from midpoint (O)
x = horizontal distance of point P from point O
y = vertical distance of point P from x-axis
x, y = co-ordinates of point P
- Let the curvature length OP is very small and equal to x.
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WEEK 6 Power System Transmission & Distribution BSEE

- Two forces acting on portion OP of conductor are:

1. Force-1: Weight of the conductor (wx) acting at a
distance x/2 from point O
Moment (torque) of weight (wx) = F × distance
= wx. x/2 = wx2 /2
2. Force-2: Tension T acting at point O
Moment (torque) of tension = F × 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 = T y

As both the moments remain the same for the static

conductor in air, these moments at point O will be equal
because of constant gravitational force.
T y = wx2 /2
y = wx2 /2T
If x = 𝑙𝑙/2 then y = S
Therefore, S = w (𝑙𝑙/2)2 /2T = w𝑙𝑙2 /8T
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WEEK 6 Power System Transmission & Distribution BSEE

Sag Calculations
Case-2: When two supports are at unequal levels

w𝑥𝑥 2
y=
2𝑇𝑇
w𝑥𝑥 2
S=
2𝑇𝑇
𝑤𝑤 𝑥𝑥12 𝑤𝑤 𝑥𝑥22
𝑆𝑆1 = , 𝑆𝑆2 =
2𝑇𝑇 2𝑇𝑇

𝑥𝑥1 + 𝑥𝑥2 = 𝑙𝑙 … (i)

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WEEK 6 Power System Transmission & Distribution BSEE

_________________________________________________________
** These two formulas are only applicable when there is no
ice coating on conductor, conductor is still in air, no wind
pressure and with normal temperature.
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WEEK 6 Power System Transmission & Distribution BSEE

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WEEK 6 Power System Transmission & Distribution BSEE

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WEEK 6 Power System Transmission & Distribution BSEE

Factors Effecting the Sag

1. Weight of Conductor: Sag is directly proportional to

weight of conductor.
2. Span Length: Sag is directly proportional to square of
span length.
3. Tension: Sag is inversely proportional to tension in the
conductor.
4. Tensile Strength: Sag is inversely proportional to T.S.
5. Temperature: Sag is directly proportional to atmospheric
temperature.
6. Wind: Sag is proportional to wind speed.
7. Ice Loading: Sag is directly proportional to ice loading.

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WEEK 6 Power System Transmission & Distribution BSEE

Effect of Ice Loading & Wind on Conductor

- In hilly areas, accumulation of ice formed on conductor
has the following effects on transmission line design:
(i) Increases weight per meter of line.
(ii) Increases surface area of line subject to wind pressure.
- Weight of ice acts vertically downward i.e., at right angle
to the surface of conductor.
- Wind force or pressure acts horizontally on the conductor.
- Total force on the conductor is the vector sum of vertical
force (ice weight) and horizontal force (wind pressure).

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WEEK 6 Power System Transmission & Distribution BSEE

a) Angle of Conductor due to wind & ice load.

- Conductor moves away from vertical position to new
angle due to wind load. This is the angle through which the
conductor slants away.

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WEEK 6 Power System Transmission & Distribution BSEE

𝑤𝑤 𝑥𝑥 2 𝑤𝑤 𝑙𝑙 2
b) Normal sag, 𝑆𝑆 = =
2𝑇𝑇 4𝑇𝑇
c) Slant Sag: Slant means to turn/incline away from original
vertical sag. When ice and wind act on the conductor, it
slants (inclines) from the lowest point. Now this sag is
called a slant sag.
𝑤𝑤𝑡𝑡 𝑥𝑥 2 𝑤𝑤𝑡𝑡 𝑙𝑙 2
Slant Sag, 𝑆𝑆𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = =
2𝑇𝑇 4𝑇𝑇

𝑤𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒, 𝑤𝑤𝑡𝑡 = �𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤2 + (𝑤𝑤𝑐𝑐 + 𝑤𝑤1 )2

d) Vertical sag can be found from slant as,

𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝜃𝜃 = =
𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆
𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽𝑽 𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺𝑺 = 𝑺𝑺𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔 𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪𝑪

- When 𝜃𝜃 = 0, vertical sag = slant sag

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WEEK 6 Power System Transmission & Distribution BSEE

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WEEK 6 Power System Transmission & Distribution BSEE

Mechanical Considerations in Design of OHT

1. Tower Height Vs Span Length
Span length ↑; tower height ↑; cost ↑; lightning hazards
↑; hence smaller span length is preferred.
2. Conductor clearance to ground
- Clearance should be appropriate for hot & cold seasons,
for ice loading and wind pressure.
- Clearance should be according to IEEE standards against
voltage levels.
3. Sag & Tension
- Tension increases when temperature decreases & as a
result sag decreases.
- Ice loading and wind loading will stretch the line causing
a decrease in sag and an increase in tension.

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WEEK 6 Power System Transmission & Distribution BSEE

4. Conductor Spacing

- The spacing of conductors should be so such so as to

provide safety against flash-over when wires are swinging
in wind.

- Proper spacing depends on span length, voltage, and

weather conditions.

- Light weight wires should be given more spacing as

compared to heavy weight conductors.

- Use of spacers between conductors eliminates these

dangers.
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