Chapter Four

Mechanical Design of Transmission

lines

by
Habtamu A.
Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Bahir Dar Institute of Technology
Bahir Dar University

April, 2024
Outline
 Introduction
 Factors affecting a mechanical
design of the overhead
 Sag and tension calculations
 Effect of wind and ice loading
 Stringing chart
 Sag template

2
 Introduction
 A proper mechanical design is one of the essentials in providing good
service to customers.
 A large majority of service interruptions can be traced to physical
failures on the distribution system, broken wires, broken poles,
damaged insulation, damaged equipment, etc.
 While many service interruptions are unavoidable, their frequency can
be minimized.
- Physical components should be designed to withstand:
- Normal conditions
- Probable abnormal conditions
 Conductors & poles must be strong enough (with safety margin) to
withstand their own weight, plus ice and wind loads.
 Thus, the overhead line should provide satisfactory service over a long
period of time without the necessary for too much maintenance.

3
 The overhead line must have a proper strength to withstand the
stresses imposed on its component and by the line itself.
 These include
 Stresses set up by the tension in conductors at dead end
points,
 Compression stresses due to guy tension,
 Vertical stresses due to the weight of conductors, and
 The vertical component of conductor tension
 The tension in the conductors should be adjusted so that it is well
within the permissible load of the material.
 This will mean in practice that one must allow for an appreciable
amount of sag.

4
 In general, the factors affecting a mechanical design of the
overhead lines are:
1. Character of line route
2. Right of way
3. Mechanical loading
4. Required clearances
5. Types of supporting structures
6. Grade of construction
7. Conductors
8. Types of insulators
9. Joint use by the utilities

5
Main Components of Overhead Lines
 In general, the main components of an overhead lines are:
 Conductors:- which carry electric power from the sending end station
to the receiving end station.
 Supports:- which may be poles or towers and keep the conductors at
a suitable level above the ground.
 Insulators:- which are attached to support and insulate the
conductors from the ground.
 Cross arms:- which provide support to the insulators.
 Shield wires:- which provides grounding and communication services
for the overhead transmission line.
 Miscellaneous items:- such as phase plates, danger plates, anti-
climbing wires, etc.

6
7
Insulator and cross arm

8
Damper

9
Conductor materials
 The conductor is one of the important items as most of the
capital outlay is invested for it. Therefore, proper choice of
material and size of conductor is of considerable importance.
 The conductor material used for transmission and distribution of
electric power should have the following properties:
 High electrical conductivity
 High tensile strength in order to withstand mechanical
stresses
 Low cost so that it can be used for long distances
 Low specific gravity so that weight per unit volume is small
 All above requirements are not found in a single material.
 Therefore, while selecting a conductor material for a particular
case, a compromise is made between the cost and the required
electrical and mechanical properties.
10
Commonly used conductor materials
 The most commonly used conductor materials for overhead lines
are
 Copper,
 Aluminum,
 Steel cored aluminum,
 Galvanized steel and
 Cadmium copper
 The choice of a particular material will depend up on the cost, the
required electrical and mechanical properties and local conditions.
 All conductors used for overhead lines are preferably stranded in
order to increase the flexibility.

11
 Copper
 Copper is an ideal material for overhead lines b/se of its high electrical
conductivity and greater tensile strength
 It is always used in the hard drawn form as stranded conductor.
 Although hard drawn decreases the electrical conductivity slightly yet it
increases the tensile strength considerably.
 The merits of this metal as a line conductor are:
 It has best conductivity in comparison to other metals.
 The conductivity of copper, however depends upon the percentage of impurities
present in it, the more the impurities the lesser will be the conductivity.
 The conductivity of copper conductor also depends upon the method by which it has
been drawn.
 It has higher current density, so for the given current rating, lesser cross-sectional
area of conductor is required and hence it provides lesser cross-sectional area to wind
loads
 The metal is quite homogeneous
 It has low specific resistance
 It is durable and has a higher scrap value
12
Aluminum
 Aluminum is cheap and light as compared to copper but it has much smaller
conductivity and tensile strength.
 Next to copper aluminum is the conductor used in order of performance as far
as the conductivity is concerned.
 Its merits and demerits are:
i. It is cheaper than copper
ii. It is lighter in weight (the specific gravity of aluminum is lower than that of copper,
i.e an aluminum conductor has almost one half the weight of equivalent copper
conductor)
iii. It is second in conductivity (among the metals used for transmission). Commercial
hard-down aluminum wire at standard temperature has approximately 60.6 percent
conductivity in comparison to standard annealed copper wire.
iv. For same ohmic resistance, its diameter is about 1.27 times that of copper.
v. At higher voltages it causes less corona loss
vi. Since the diameter of the conductor is more, so it is subject to greater wind
pressure due to which greater is the swing of the conductor and greater is the sag
vii. Since the conductors are liable to swing, so it requires larger cross arms

13
 viii. As the melting point of the conductor is low , so the short circuit
etc. will damage it.
ix. Joining of aluminum is much more difficult than that of any other
material
 In the modern over head transmission system, bare aluminum
conductors are used (for purpose of heat dissipation) which are
classifies as:
 AAC - All Aluminum Conductors
 AAAC - All Aluminum Alloy Conductors
 ACSR – Aluminum Conductors Steel Reinforced
 ACAR - Aluminum Conductors Alloy Reinforced
Steel
 No doubt it has got the greatest tensile strength, but it is least
used for transmission of electrical energy as it has got high
resistance.
 Bare steel conductors are not used since, it deteriorates rapidly
14
 It has the following properties:
i ) It is lowest in conductivity
ii ) It has high internal reactance
iii ) It is much subjected to eddy current and hysteresis loss
iv ) In a damp atmosphere it is rusted
 Hence its use is limited

Line supports
 The supporting structures for overhead line conductors are various
types of poles and towers called line supports.
 In general, the line supports should have the following properties
 High mechanical strength to withstand the weight of conductors and wind load
etc
 Light in weight without the loss of mechanical strength
 Cheap in cost and economical to maintain
 Longer life
 Easy accessibility of conductors for maintenance 15
 The line supports used for transmission and distribution of electric power are of various
types:
 Wooden poles
 Steel poles
 Reinforced concrete (R.C.C) poles
 Lattice steel towers
1). Wooden poles
 These are made of seasoned wood and are suitable for lines of moderate X- section area
and of relatively shorter span, say up to 50 meters.
 Such supports are cheap, easily available, provide insulating properties and therefore,
are widely used for distribution purposes in rural areas as an economical proposition.
 The wooden poles generally tend to rot below the ground level, causing foundation
failure.
 In order to prevent this, the portion of the pole below the ground level is impregnated
with preservative compounds like creosote oil.
 Double pole structures of the ‘A’ or ‘H’ type are often used (see fig. below) to obtain a
higher transverse strength than could be economically provided by means of a single
poles.
16
 The main objections to
wooden supports are:
(i). Tendency to rot below the ground
level
(ii). Comparatively smaller life (20-25
years)
(iii). Cannot be used for voltages
higher than 20 kV
(iv). Less mechanical strength and
(v). Require periodical inspection

Figure: Wooden poles

17
2). Steel poles
 The steel poles are often used as a substitute for wooden poles
 They posses greater mechanical strength, longer life and
permit longer spans to be used.
 Such poles are generally used for distribution purposes in the
cities.
 This type of supports need to be galvanized or painted in order
to prolong its life.
 The steel poles are of three types
 Rail poles
 Tubular poles and
 Rolled steel joints
3). RCC poles
 The RCC poles have become very popular as line supports in
recent years.
 They have greater mechanical strength, longer life and permit
longer spans than steel poles.
18
Steel and RCC poles

19
 Moreover, they give good
outlook, require little
maintenance and have good
insulating properties.
 Figure below shows R.C.C poles
for single and double circuit
 The holes in the poles facilitate
the climbing of poles and at
the same time reduce the
weight of line supports
 The main difficulty with the use
of these poles is the high cost
of transport owing to their
heavy weight

20
Steel tower
 In practice, wooden, steel and reinforced concrete poles
are used for distribution purposes at low voltages, say
up to 15 kV.
 However, for long distance transmission at higher
voltage, steel tower are invariably employed.
 Steel towers have greater mechanical strength, longer
life, can withstand most sever climatic conditions and
permit the use of longer spans.
 The risk of interrupted service due to broken or
punctured insulation is considerably reduced owing to
longer spans.
 Tower footings are usually grounded by driving rods into
the earth, this minimizes the lightning troubles as each
tower acts as a lightning conductor. 21
22
 Spacing between the conductor
 The most suitable spacing between
the conductors can be arrived at
by mathematical calculations.
 It can only be obtained by empirical
formulae which have been obtained
from practical considerations.

23
 Generally the following formulae is used for obtaining spacing
between the conductors (phases):
D
Spacing (cm)  0.3048 x V  4.010 S
W

Where V = Voltage of system in kV

D = Diameter of Conductor in cm
S = sag in cm
W = weight of conductor in kg/m
 In addition to phase conductors, a transmission line usually
includes one or two steel wires called shield wires.
 These wires are electrically connected to the tower and to the
ground, and, therefore, are at ground potential.
 In large transmission lines, these wires are located above the
phase conductors, shielding them from lightning.

24
25
 Sag in Overhead Lines
 While erecting an overhead line, it is very important that
conductors are under safe tension.
 If the conductors are too much stretched between supports for
trying to save 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 or sag.
 The difference in level between points of supports and the lowest
point on the conductor is called sag.
 Fig. below (i) shows a conductor suspended between two
equivalent supports A and B. The conductor is not fully stretched
but is allowed to have a dip.
 The lowest point on the conductor is O and the sag is S. The
following points may be noted :
26
A. When the conductor is suspended between two supports at the same
level, it takes the shape of catenary. However, if the sag is very small
compared with the span, then sag-span curve is like a parabola.
B. The tension at any point on the conductor acts tangentially. Thus
tension TO at the lowest point O acts horizontally as shown in Fig. (ii).
C. The horizontal component of tension is constant throughout the
length of the wire.
D. The tension at supports is approximately equal to the horizontal
tension acting at any point on the wire. Thus if T is the tension at the
support B, then T = TO.

27
 Sag and Tension Calculations
 The design engineer must determine in advance the amount of
sag and tension to be given to the conductor at a given
temperature, maximum wind and possible ice loading.
 Figure below shows a conductor suspended freely from two
supports, which are at the same level and spaced L meter, takes
the form of a catenary curve.
 This provides the conductor is perfectly flexible and conductor
weight is uniformly distributed along its length.
 When the sag (d) is very small in comparison to span L (i.e., the
conductor is tightly stretched), the resultant curve can be
considered as parabola.

28
Catenary Method
Supports at same Level
 Figure below shows a span of conductor with two supports at the
same level and separated by a horizontal distance L.
 Let O be the lowest point on the catenary
l curve, be the length of
the conductor between two supports.
 Let W is the weight of conductor per unit length (kg/m), T is the
tension of the conductor (kg) at any point P in the direction of the
curves, and H is the tension (kg) at origin O.
 Further, s be the length of the curve between points O and P, thus
the weight of the portion S is ws.

29
 \

Figure: Conductor suspended between supports at the same

level
30
 Tension T can be resolved into two components, Tx, the
horizontal component and Ty, the vertical component.
 For equilibrium,
Tx H (4.2)
Ty ws (4.3)
 Thus, the portion OP of the conductor is in equilibrium under the
tension T at P, the weight ws acting vertically downward, and
the horizontal tension H.
 Figure below shows a triangle, where ds represents a very short
portion of the conductor, in the region of point P.
 When s is increased by ds, the corresponding x and y are
increased by dx and dy, respectively.

31
Therefore, we can write,
dy V ws
tan     (4.4)
dx H H
From the triangle,
( ds) 2 ( dx) 2  ( dy ) 2
2 2
 ds   dy 
  1    (4.5)
 dx   dx 
Using eqns. (4.5) and (4.4), we get
2 2
 ds   ws 
  1   
 dx   H 
ds
dx  (4.6)
2
 ws 
1  
 H 
Intergrating both side of eqn. (4.6)
ds
x 
2
 ws 
1  
 H 
Therefore,
H  ws 
x sinh -1   k (4.7)
w  H 
Where k is constant of integration
32
When x 0, s 0, and hence k 0
H  ws 
 x sinh  1  
w H 
H  wx 
 s sinh   (4.8)
w  H 
L l
When x  , s  ,
2 2
l H  wL 
  sinh  
2 w  2H 
2H  wL 
 l sinh   (4.9)
w  2 H 
Or we can write using Taylor series for sine hyperboilc function
2H  1 wL 1  wL  3 
l      ...
w  1! 2 H 3!  2 H  
or approximately,
 w2 L2 
l L  1  2 
(4.10)
 24 H 
33
 From eqns. (4.4) and (4.8), we get,
dy ws  wx  H  wx 
 sinh   where s= sinh  
dx H  H  w  H 
 wx 
 dy sinh   dx (4.11)
 H 
Integrating both sides of eqn. (4.11), we get,
 wx 
y sinh  dx
 H 
H  wx 
 y  cosh    K1 (4.12)
w  H 
if the lowest point of the curve is taken as the origin, when x 0, y 0,
-H
then K1  , since by the series, cosh(0) 1
w
Therefore,
H   wx  
y  cosh    1 (4.13)
w   H  
01/23/2025 34
 The curve of eqn. (4.13) is called a catenary. Equation (4.13) can also be written as
H   1  wx 
2
 

y  1     ...  1 (4.14)
w  
 2!  H   

or in approximate form,
wx 2
y (4.15)
2H
From figure (triangle),
T  H 2 V 2
2
V 
 T H 1    (4.16)
H
From eqns. (4.16) and (4.4), we get,
2
 dy 
T H 1    (4.17)
 dx 
From eqn. (4.11), we get
dy  wx 
sinh   (4.18)
dx  H 

01/23/2025 35
 From eqns. (4.17) and (4.18), we get
Where
 wx  cosh 2 x 1  sinh 2 x
T H cosh   (4.19)
 H 
 L
whereas the total tension in the conductor at the support  at x   is
 2
 wL 
T H cosh   or (4.20)
 2H 
 1  wL 
2
1  wL 
4

T H  1        ... (4.21)
 2!  2 H  4!  2 H  
The sag or deflection of the conductor for a span of L between supports on the same
 L 
level is  at x  , y d , from eqn. (4.13) 
 2 
H   wL  
d  cosh    1 (4.22)
w   2 H  
or
L  1  wL  1  wL  
3 5
1  wL 
d   .        ...
2  2  2 H  4!  2 H  6!  2 H  
or approximately,
wL2
d (4.23)
8H
01/23/2025 36
 Example
1. A transmission line conductor has been suspended freely
from two towers and has taken the form of a catenary that
has c = 487.68 m. The distance between the two towers is
152 m, and the weight of the conductor is 1160 kg/km.
Calculate the following:
a). Length of the conductor
b). Sag
c). Maximum value of conductor tension using catenary method
d). Approximate value of tension by using parabolic method
Solution
a). Length of the conductor
2H  wL 
l sinh  
w  2 H 
H
Since c 
w

01/23/2025 37
   L 
l 2c  sinh   
  2c  
c 487.68 m, L 152 m
 152 
l 2 x 487.68sinh  
 2 x 487.68 
 l 152.576 m
or by using approximation formula
 w2 L2 
l L  1  2 
 24 H 
 152  
2
 L2 
 l L  1  2 
152  1   m
 24c   24 x 487.68  
2
 
 l 152.615 m

01/23/2025 38
 b). Sag is calculated as
H   wL  
d  cosh    1
w   2H  
  L   H
 d c  cosh    1 Since c 
  2c   w
  152  
 d 487.68  cosh    1
  2 x 487.68  
 d 5.934 m
c). Maximum tension
Tmax w c  d 
1.16 x 487.68  5.934  kg
 Tmax 572.59kg
d). Tension using parabolic equation
wL2
d
8T
wL2 1.16 x(152) 2
 T  kg
8d 8 x5.934
 T 564.55 kg
01/23/2025 39
 Support at different level
Figure below shows supports at different levels with a span
L between two supports whose elevations different by a
distance h.

01/23/2025 40
The sag d1 and d 2 obtained by
wx12
d1 
2T
and
wx22
d2 
2T

Therefore
h d 2  d1
solving for x1 and x 2
L hT
x1  
2 wL
L hT
x2  
2 wL
Note L  x1  x2
41
 Effect of wind and ice loading
 The above formulae for sag are true only in still air and at normal
temperature when the conductor is acted by its weight only
 In actual practice, a conductor may have ice coating and
simultaneously subjected to wind pressure
 Under the severest conditions of ice covering and wind, the
stress over the line is increased to the maximum.
 Under this condition the per unit length of the wire experiences
the following loading w
 The weight of wi the conductor acting vertically downwards
 The ice loading ww acting vertically downwards and
 The wind loading acting horizontally

01/23/2025 42
 Ice Loading:
 Let cross-sectional area of the ice is uniform and r be the
radius of the conductor and t be the thickness of ice
(figure below)
 The volume of ice per unit length

Figure: Ice coated conductor

  
r  t   r 2 .1
2

 2 rt  t 2 .1
If  is the density of ice (912 kg/m 3 ), the weight of ice per unit
length of conductor
wi  2 rt  t 2  kg/m
01/23/2025 43
 Wind Loading
 Let P be the wind pressure in kg/m2; assuming the ice
coating of thickness t, the projected area per unit length
on which the wind is acting is
2 r  t .1 sq.meters
 wind loading w w per unit length will be
ww 2 r  t .P kg/meter
Total vertical loading
w  wi
Total loading (effective load acting on the conductor) is

w  wi   ww2
2
We 
The load factor
q We / w

01/23/2025 44
 Therefore sag can be calculated as
we L2
d i.e T H approximation 
8T

01/23/2025 45
 Example
1. A stress-crossing overhead transmission line has a span of 150
m over the stream. Horizontal wind pressure is 20 kg/m2 and
the thickness of ice is 1.25 cm. diameter of conductor is 2.80
cm and weight is 1520 kg/km, and an ultimate strength of
12900 kg. use a factor of safety of 2 and 912 kg/m3 for the
weight of ice. Using the parabolic method, determine the
following:
a). Weight of ice in kg per meter
b). Total vertical load on conductor in kg/m
c). Horizontal wind force exerted on line in kg/m
d). Effective load acting on conductor in kg/m
e). Sag in meter
f). Vertical sag

01/23/2025 46
 Solution
a). Weight of Ice is

wi  2rt  t 2  kg / m

  1.25 x10 
2
912 x 2 x1.4 x10 x1.25 x10
2 2 2

2865.1325 0.00035  0.00015625 

1.45 kg/m

b). Total vertical load on the conductor is

wT w  wi
1520 kg/km  1.45 kg/m
 (1.520  1.45) kg/m
 2.97 kg/m

01/23/2025 47
 c). Horizontal wind force exerted on the transmission
line is
ww 2 r  t .P kg/m
2 1.4 x10 2  1.25 x10 2  x 20 kg/m
2 0.014  0.0125  x 20 kg/m
1.06 kg/m

d). Effective
2 2
load on the conductor is
we  ww  wT
 1.06 2  2.97 2 kg/m
 9.9445 kg/m
3.154 kg/m

01/23/2025 48
 e). Sag in meter using parabolic (approximate
method) is Ultimate strength
T=
Factor of safety
12900 kg
 6450 kg
2
we L2
d
8T
3.154 x(150) 2

8 x6450
1.3753 m

f). The vertical sag is sag = dcos , but cos = 2.97

Vertical
1.06
2.97
=1.3753 ( )
1.06
= 3.853 m

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 Stringing chart
 For use in the field work of stringing the conductors,
temperature- sag and temperature-tension charts are
plotted for the given conductor and loading conditions.
 Such curves are called stringing charts (see figure below)
 These charts are very helpful while stringing overhead lines

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 Sag Template
 For correct design and economy, the location of structures on
the profile with a template is very essential.
 Sag template is a convenient device used in the design of a
transmission line to determine the location and height of
structures.
 Sag template can be relied upon to provide the following:
1. Economic layout
2. Minimum errors in design and layout
3. Proper grading of structures
4. Prevention of excessive insulator swing
 Generally two types of towers are used:
1. The standard or straight run or intermediate tower
2. The angle or anchor or tension tower

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  The straight run towers are used for straight runs and normal conditions.
 The angle towers are designed to withstand heavy loading as compared to standard towers
because angle towers are used at angles, terminals and other points where a large
unbalanced pull may be thrown on the supports.
 For standard towers, for normal or average spans, the sag and the nature of the curve
(Catenary or parabola) that the line conductor will occupy under expected loading conditions
is evaluated and plotted on template.
 Template will also show the required minimum ground clearance by plotting a curve parallel
to the conductor shape curve.
 For the standard tower and same height, the tower footing line can also be plotted on the
template.
 Tower footing line is used for locating the position of towers and minimum ground clearance
is maintained throughout.
 Figure below shows the sag template used for locating towers. In fact there are no clear-cut
guide lines for locating the tower positions and several other alternatives may be examined.
 Ground clearance depends on the voltage level and table 4.1 gives the span length and
ground clearance at different voltage levels.
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01/23/2025 53
 Thank you for
your attention !