Compute RLC Parameter
Compute RLC Parameter
power_lineparam
Compute RLC parameters of overhead transmission line from its conductor characteristics and tower
geometry
Syntax
power_lineparam
LDATA = power_lineparam('new')
LDATA = power_lineparam(LDATA)
LDATA = power_lineparam('MYLINEDATA')
power_lineparam(LDATA,'BLK')
power_lineparam('MYLINEDATA','BLK')
Description
power_lineparam opens a graphical user interface (GUI) to enter the line parameters and return the electrical R, L, and C line
parameters. You can also activate this GUI from the Powergui block dialog box by selecting Compute RLC Line Parameters.
LDATA = power_lineparam('new') returns a structure variable with default line geometry parameters. You can use LDATA as a
template variable to configure a new line geometry and to compute RLC line parameters.
LDATA = power_lineparam(LDATA) computes the RLC line parameters for the geometric line parameters in the LDATA structure.
The returned structure contains both geometric data and computed RLC line parameters.
LDATA = power_lineparam('MYLINEDATA') computes the RLC line parameters for the geometric line parameters in the
specified file. 'MYLINEDATA' is the name of a MAT file. The MAT file must contain a structure variable of the same format as
LDATA variable, or you can generate it using the function GUI.
The power_lineparam function computes the resistance, inductance, and capacitance matrices of an arbitrary arrangement of
conductors of an overhead transmission line. For a three-phase line, the symmetrical component RLC values are also computed.
The following figure shows a typical conductor arrangement for a three-phase double-circuit line. This line configuration illustrates
the various line parameters you enter in the GUI.
For a set of N conductors, power_lineparam computes three N-by-N matrices: the series resistance and inductance matrices [R]
and [L] and the shunt capacitance matrix [C]. These matrices are required by the Distributed Parameter Line block for modeling
N-phase asymmetrical lines and by the single-phase PI Section Line block. power_lineparam also computes the symmetrical
component RLC parameters required by the Three-Phase PI Section Line block. For two coupled conductors i and k, the self and
mutual terms of the R, L, and C matrices are computed using the concept of image conductors [1]
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The conductor self-inductance is computed from the magnetic flux circulating inside and outside the conductor, and produced by
the current flowing in the conductor itself. The part of flux circulating inside the conducting material contributes to the internal
inductance Lint, which is dependent on the conductor geometry. Assuming a hollow or solid conductor, the internal inductance is
computed from the T/D ratio where D is the conductor diameter and T is the thickness of the conducting material (see the figure
Configuration of a Three-Phase Double-Circuit Line). The conductor self-inductance is computed by means of modified Bessel
functions from the conductor diameter, T/D ratio, resistivity, and relative permeability of conducting material and specified
frequency [1].
The conductor self-inductance can be also computed from parameters that are usually found in tables provided by conductor
manufacturers: the Geometric Mean Radius (GMR) or the "Reactance at one-foot spacing."
The GMR is the radius of the equivalent hollow conductor with zero thickness, producing no internal flux, giving the same self-
inductance. The conductor self-inductance is then derived from the GMR using the following equation.
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= radius of conductor
= relative permeability of conducting material
The GMR obtained from this equation assumes a uniform current density in the conductor. This assumption is strictly valid in DC.
In AC, the GMR is slightly higher. For example, for a 3 cm diameter solid aluminum conductor (Rdc = 0.040 Ω/km), the GMR
increases from 1.1682 cm in DC to 1.1784 cm at 60 Hz. Manufacturers usually give the GMR at the system nominal frequency
(50 Hz or 60 Hz).
The reactance Xa at 1-foot spacing (or 1-meter spacing if metric units are used) is the positive-sequence reactance of a three-
phase line having one foot (or one meter) spacing between the three phases and infinite conductor heights. The reactance at one-
foot spacing (or 1-meter spacing) at frequency f is related to the GMR by the following equation:
The conductor resistance matrix at a particular frequency depends on the DC resistance of the conductor corrected for skin effect
and ground resistivity. Both the resistance matrix and the inductance matrix are dependent on the ground resistivity and
frequency. Correction terms for the R and L terms as developed by J.R. Carson in 1926 [2] are implemented in
power_lineparam.
The default parameters are for a single-circuit three-phase line with two ground wires. You enter your own line parameters in three
different sections:
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The upper-left section where you enter general parameters (units, frequency, ground resistivity, and comments)
• The table of conductor types defining the conductor characteristics for each type (bottom section)
• The table of conductors specifying the line geometry and the conductor types (upper-right section)
Units
In the drop-down list, select metric if you want to specify conductor diameter, GMR, and bundle diameter in centimeters and
conductor positions in meters. Select english if you want to specify conductor diameter, GMR, and bundle diameter in inches
and conductor positions in feet.
Frequency
Specify the frequency in hertz to evaluate RLC parameters.
Ground resistivity
Specify the ground resistivity in ohm.meters. A zero value (perfectly conducting ground) is allowed.
Comments
Use this text box to type comments that you want to save with the line parameters, for example, voltage level, conductor types
and characteristics, etc.
For a simple AC three-phase line, single- or double-circuit, there are usually two types of conductors: one type for the phase
conductors and one type for the ground wires. You need more than two types for several lines in the same corridor, DC bipolar
lines or distribution feeders, where neutral and sheaths of TV and telephone cables are represented.
If you select T/D ratio, the internal inductance is computed from the T/D value specified in the table of conductors, assuming
a hollow or solid conductor. D is the conductor diameter and T is the thickness of the conducting material (see the figure
Configuration of a Three-Phase Double-Circuit Line). The conductor self-inductance and resistance are computed from the
conductor diameter, T/D ratio, DC resistance, and relative permeability of conducting material and specified frequency.
If you select Geometric Mean Radius (GMR), the conductor GMR evaluates the internal inductance. When the conductor
inductance is evaluated from the GMR, the specified frequency does not affect the conductor inductance. You must provide the
manufacturer's GMR for the desired frequency (usually 50 Hz or 60 Hz). When you are using the T/D ratio option, the
corresponding conductor GMR at the specified frequency is displayed.
Selecting Reactance Xa at 1-foot spacing (or 1-meter spacing) uses the positive-sequence reactance at the specified
frequency of a three-phase line having 1-foot (or 1-meter) spacing between the three phases to compute the conductor internal
inductance.
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Conductor GMR
This parameter is accessible only when the parameter Conductor internal inductance evaluated from is set to Geometric
Mean Radius (GMR). Specify the GMR in centimeters or inches. The GMR at 60 Hz or 50 Hz is usually provided by conductor
manufacturers. When the parameter Conductor internal inductance evaluated from is set to T/D ratio, the value of the
corresponding GMR giving the same conductor inductance is displayed. When the parameter Conductor internal inductance
evaluated from is set to Reactance Xa at 1-foot spacing or (1-meter spacing), the title of the column changes to the
parameter name.
Conductor DC resistance
Specify the DC resistance of conductor in ohms/km or ohms/mile.
Bundle diameter
Specify the bundle diameter in centimeters or inches. This parameter is not accessible when the Number of conductors per
bundle is set to 1. When you specify bundled conductors, the subconductors are assumed to be evenly spaced on a circle. If
this is not the case, you must enter individual subconductor positions in the Line Geometry table and lump these
subconductors by giving them the same Phase number parameter.
Angle of conductor 1
Specify an angle in degrees that determines the position of the first conductor in the bundle with respect to a horizontal line
parallel to ground. This angle determines the bundle orientation. This parameter is not accessible when the Number of
conductors per bundle is set to 1.
Conductor
Lists the conductor or bundle identifiers. Phase conductors are identified p1, p2,..., pn. Ground wires are identified g1,g2,..., gn.
Phase
Specify the phase number to which the conductor belongs. Several conductors may have the same phase number. All
conductors having the same phase number are lumped together and are considered as a single equivalent conductor in the R,
L, and C matrices. For example, if you want to compute the line parameters of a three-phase line equivalent to a double-circuit
line such as the one represented in the figure Configuration of a Three-Phase Double-Circuit Line, you specify phase numbers
1, 2, 3 for conductors p1, p2, p3 (circuit 1) and phase numbers 3, 2, 1 for conductors p4, p5, p6 (circuit 2), respectively. If you
prefer to simulate this line as two individual circuits and have access to the six phase conductors, you specify phase numbers
1, 2, 3, 6, 5, 4 respectively for conductors p1, p2, p3, p4, p5 and p6.
In three-phase systems, the three phases are usually labeled A, B, and C. The correspondence with the phase number is:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,.... = A, B, C, A, B, C A, B, C,...
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You can also use the phase number to lump conductors of an asymmetrical bundle.
For ground wires, the phase number is forced to zero. All ground wires are lumped with the ground and they do not contribute
to the R, L, and C matrix dimensions. If you need to access the ground wire connections in your model, you must specify these
ground wires as normal phase conductors and manually connect them to the ground.
X
Specify the horizontal position of the conductor in meters or feet. The location of the zero reference position is arbitrary. For a
symmetrical line, you normally choose X = 0 at the center of the line.
Y tower
Specify the vertical position of the conductor (at the tower) with respect to ground, in meters or feet.
Y min
Specify the vertical position of the conductor with respect to ground at mid-span, in meters or feet.
The average height of the conductor (see the figure Configuration of a Three-Phase Double-Circuit Line) is produced by this
equation:
Instead of specifying two different values for Ytower and Ymin, you may specify the same Yaverage value.
Type
Specify one of the conductor or bundle type numbers listed in the first column of the table of conductor characteristics.
Selecting Load typical data allows you to load one of the following line configurations:
Save
Saves your line data by generating a .mat file that contains the GUI information and the line data.
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The frequency and ground resistivity used for evaluation of the R, L, and C matrices are displayed first. Then the computed RLC
parameters are displayed.
Note
The R, L, and C parameters are always displayed respectively in ohms/km, henries/km, and farads/km, even if the
English units specify the input parameters.
If the number of phase conductors is 3 or 6, the symmetrical component parameters are also displayed:
• For a three-phase line (one circuit), R10, L10, and C10 vectors of two values are displayed for positive-sequence and zero-
sequence RLC values.
• For a six-phase line (two coupled three-phase circuits), R10, L10, and C10 vectors of five values containing the following RLC
sequence parameters are displayed: positive-sequence and zero-sequence of circuit 1, mutual zero-sequence between circuit
1 and circuit 2, positive-sequence and zero-sequence of circuit 2.
Selected block
Confirms the block selection. The name of the selected block appears in the left window.
RLC Matrices
Downloads RLC matrices into the selected block.
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Sequences
Downloads RLC sequence parameters into the selected block.
Create a report
Creates a file, XXX.rep, containing the line input parameters and the computed RLC parameters. The MATLAB editor opens to
display the contents of the XXX.rep file.
Close
Closes the Display RLC Values window.
Examples
These examples illustrate the inputs and outputs of the power_lineparam GUI.
The first example uses a simple line consisting of two conductors spaced by 1 meter at an average height of 8 meters above a
perfect ground (ground resistivity ρg = 0). The two conductors are solid aluminum conductors (resistivity ρc = 28.3 10−9 Ω.m at 20º
C) having a 15-mm diameter.
As ground is supposed to be perfect, the off-diagonal terms of the R matrix are zero and the diagonal terms represent the
conductor resistances:
The self- and mutual- inductances are computed as follows. The ΔL correction terms are ignored because ground resistivity is
zero.
In the power_lineparam GUI, make sure that the specified frequency is 50 Hz. Select T/D ratio for computing the line
inductance. Do not select Include conductor skin effect.
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The displayed GMR value (0.58433 cm) is the GMR value that you must use to include the change of conductor inductance due
to frequency. This GMR value is slightly higher than the theoretical DC value (0.5841 cm). This 0.04% increase is due to skin
effect at 50 Hz which produces a nonuniform current distribution. In this case, the line parameters are evaluated in DC because
we are not including the skin effect.
Click Compute RLC line parameters. The Display RLC Values window opens. Compare the RLC matrices with their theoretical
values.
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The PI model for a 1-km line is obtained from the R, L, and C matrices. The PI RLC values are deduced from the self- and
mutual- terms of the R, L, and C matrices. Subscripts s and m designate the self- and mutual- terms in the R, L, and C matrices.
= = = 0.1601 Ω/km
= = = 1.583 mH/km
You can also vary the ground resistivity and the frequency. Observe their impact on the resistance and inductance of the
conductor and of the ground return.
Vary the ground resistivity from zero to 10000 Ω.m while keeping the frequency constant at 50 Hz. You should get values listed in
the following table. The expressions Rs-Rm and Ls-Lm represent respectively the resistance and the inductance of the conductor,
whereas Rm and Lm are the resistance and the inductance of the ground return.
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When the ground resistivity varies in a normal range (between 10 Ω.m for humid soil and 10 000 Ω.m for dry, rocky ground), the
ground resistance remains almost constant at 0.05 Ω/km, whereas its inductance increases from 1.15 mH/km to 1.83 mH/km.
Now select Include conductor skin effect and repeat the computation with different frequencies ranging from 0.05 Hz to 50 kHz,
while keeping a ground resistivity of 100 Ω.m.
Impact of Frequency (Ground Resistivity = 100 Ω.m; with Conductor Skin Effect)
This table shows that frequency has a very large impact on ground resistance but a much lower influence on ground inductance.
Because of skin effect in the ground, when frequency increases, the ground current flows closer to the surface, reducing the
equivalent section of the ground conductor and thereby increasing its resistance. As ground current travels at a lower depth at
high frequencies, the loop inductance of conductor plus ground return (or self-inductance Ls) decreases.
Because of conductor skin effect, frequency has a noticeable impact on conductor resistance from a few hundreds of hertz, but a
negligible impact on conductor inductance. At nominal system frequency (50 Hz or 60 Hz), the increase of conductor resistance
with respect to DC resistance (0.1601 Ω/km) is only 0.3%.
This example corresponds to a 500-kV, three-phase, double-circuit line. Using the Load button, load the Line_500kV_2circ.mat
line configuration saved in the typical line data. The following figure is power_lineparam GUI:
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Power is transmitted over six phase conductors forming the two three-phase circuits. The line is protected against lightning by two
ground wires. The phase conductors use bundles of three subconductors. Subconductors are located at the top of an equilateral
triangle of 50 cm side, corresponding to a 57.735 cm bundle diameter. This line configuration corresponds to the one shown in the
figure Configuration of a Three-Phase Double-Circuit Line.
Phase numbering has been set to obtain the line parameters of the three-phase line equivalent to the two circuits connected in
parallel. Click Compute RLC line parameters to display the R, L, and C matrices and sequence parameters.
The positive-sequence and zero-sequence parameters of the transposed line are displayed in the Display RLC Values window in
the R10 and L10 vectors:
You can also get the parameters of the two individual circuits and have access to the six phase conductors. Change the phase
numbers of conductors p4, p5, and p6 (circuit 2) to 6, 5, 4, respectively. The positive-sequence, zero-sequence, and mutual zero-
sequence parameters of the transposed line are:
As the line is symmetrical, the positive- and zero-sequence parameters for circuit 2 are identical to the parameters of circuit 1.
References
[1] Dommel, H., et al., Electromagnetic Transients Program Reference Manual (EMTP Theory Book), 1986.
[2] Carson, J. R., "Wave Propagation in Overhead Wires with Ground Return," Bell Systems Technical Journal, Vol. 5, pp
539-554, 1926.
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See Also
Distributed Parameter Line | PI Section Line | Powergui | Three-Phase PI Section Line
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