Line

Supports
 Line Supports
• Line Supports carry overhead line and keep the conductors at a suitable level above the ground (which is called clearance).

• Supports may be poles and towers.

Properties of the supports:

• High mechanical strength to withstand the weight of conductors and wind loads etc.

• Light in weight without the loss of mechanical strength.

• Cost effective and economical to maintain.

• Longer life.

• Easy accessibility of conductors for maintenance.

 Line Supports: Classification

Line Supports

Electrical Poles Electrical Towers

• For supporting the small voltage (not • For carrying the high voltage (above 115
more than 115 kV) transmission lines kV) transmission lines.

• Usually made up of • Such types of towers are made up aluminum or

steel which gives them strength for supporting
(1) Woods the high voltage heavy electrical conductor.
(2) Concrete
(3) Steel

• The choice of supporting structure for a particular case depends upon the line span, line voltage, cost and location.
 Electrical Poles
Properties Wooden poles Steel poles Concrete poles
Mechanical Less mechanical strength Greater mechanical strength, and Greater mechanical strength and permit
strength & and therefore relatively permit longer spans to be used than longer spans than steel poles.
span shorter spans (50 m) wooden poles.
Cost and Cheap, easily available, Need to be galvanized or painted Require little maintenance and have
insulating provide insulating properties periodically to prolong its life and good insulating properties.
properties prevent them from corrosion and
hence maintenance cost is high.
Voltage level Suitable for lines of Used for higher voltages. Used for higher voltages.
moderate cross sectional
area and cannot be used for
voltages higher than 20 kV.
Life Tendency to rot below the Longer life of at least 30 years Longer life.
ground level. Therefore
comparatively smaller life
(20-25 years) and require
periodical inspection.
Application Can be used for distribution Can be used for distribution Use of concrete poles is suitable and
purposes in rural areas. purposes in city areas. Can be used preferred in the coastal zones.
as the substitute for wooden poles.
A & H type wooden poles to increase the
Holes in the concrete poles to reduce the weight
mechanical strength
 Steel Towers

• For long distance transmission at higher voltage, steel towers are invariably employed.

• Steel towers have greater mechanical strength, longer life and permit the use of longer spans.

• The risk of interrupted service due to the failure of insulators is considerably reduced owing to longer spans.

• Lightning troubles and breakdowns are reduced considerably as the tower footing are grounded into the earth.
Insulators
 Insulators

• The insulators provide necessary insulation between line conductors and supports and thus prevent any leakage and
unwanted current flow from conductors to earth.

Properties of the insulators:

• High mechanical strength in order to withstand conductor load, wind load etc.

• High electrical resistance of insulator material in order to avoid leakage

currents to earth.

• High relative permittivity of insulator material in order that dielectric strength

is high.

• The insulator material should be non-porous, free from impurities and cracks
otherwise the permittivity will be lowered.

• High safety factor.

 Insulator materials

• Porcelain
• Glass
• Synthetic resin
 Glass vs. Porcelain
Nowadays glass insulators have become popular in transmission and distribution systems. Glass insulator has numbers of
advantages over conventional porcelain insulator.

• Glass insulator is mechanically stronger than porcelain when under

• Moisture more readily condenses on the
compression; in tension it has about the same strength as porcelain.
surface of glass insulator.
• Dielectric strength of glass is much higher than that of porcelain
(between 500 kV/cm and 1000 kV/cm).
• The mechanical durability of glass insulators
against bending forces is slightly less than
• Glass insulator has a lower coefficient of thermal expansion than
that of ceramics.
porcelain thus minimizing the strains due to temperature change.

• As it is transparent in nature this is not heated up in sunlight as

porcelain. It is also easier to detect a damaged glass insulator than a
porcelain unit.

Dielectric strength of porcelain is 12-28 KV/mm. Ultimate mechanical strength is 690 mn/sq-m (compression) and 48 mn/sq-m (tension)
 Types of Insulators

• Pin type insulators

• Suspension type insulators
• Strain insulators
• Shackle insulators
 Pin Type Insulators
• Pin type insulators consists of a single or multiple shells.

• Multiple shells are provided in order to withstand more voltage stress.

• They are secured on the cross arms of the pole to carry power lines.

• There is a groove on the upper end of a pin insulator for housing the conductor. Conductor wire is
passed through this groove and secured by binding with the same wire as of conductor.

• Pin insulators are used in distribution systems up to 33 kV voltage level. Beyond operating voltage
of 33 kV, the pin type insulators become too bulky and hence uneconomical.

Galvanized steel pin

 Causes of Insulator Failure
• Insulators are required to withstand both mechanical and electrical stresses.

• The electrical breakdown of the insulator can occur either by flash-over or puncture.

In flashover, an arc occurs between the line conductor and insulator pin (i.e., earth). Dirt,
pollution, salt, and particularly water on the surface of a high voltage insulator can create a
conductive path across it, causing leakage currents and flashovers. In case of flash-over, the
insulator will continue to act in its proper capacity unless extreme heat produced by the arc
destroys the insulator.

In case of puncture, the discharge occurs from conductor to pin through the body of the insulator
due to excessive voltage level. When such breakdown is involved, the insulator is permanently
destroyed due to excessive heat. In practice, sufficient thickness of porcelain is provided in the
insulator to avoid puncture by the line voltage.

The ratio of puncture strength to flashover voltage is known as safety factor i.e.,
Safety factor of insulator =Puncture strength/Flash-over voltage

It is desirable that the value of safety factor is high so that flash-over (continuous process) takes
place before the insulator gets punctured (ultimate failure). For pin type insulators, the value of
safety factor is about 10.
 Suspension Type Insulators
• In suspension insulator, numbers of insulators are connected in series to form a string.

• Each insulator of a suspension string is called disc insulator because of their disc like shape. The number of discs in series
would obviously depend upon the working voltage. Each unit or disc is designed for low voltage, say 11 kV. For instance, if the
working voltage is 66 kV, then six discs in series will be provided on the string.

• The line conductor is carried by the bottom most insulator.

• The suspension type insulators are generally used with steel towers.
 Advantages of Suspension Type Insulators
• Suspension type insulators are cheaper than pin type insulators for voltages beyond 33 kV.

• Each unit or disc of suspension type insulator is designed for low voltage usually 11 kV. Depending upon the working voltage,
the desired number of discs can be connected in series.

• If any one disc is damaged, the whole string does not become useless because the damaged disc can be replaced by the
good one.

• The suspension arrangement provides greater flexibility to the line. The connection at the cross arm is such that insulator
string is free to swing in any direction and can take up the position where mechanical stresses are minimum.
 Strain Insulators

• At a dead end of a transmission line or at a corner or sharp curve,

the transmission line is subjected to a great tensile load (strain). In
order to sustain this great tension, strain insulators are used at dead
ends.

• When the tension in lines is exceedingly high, as at long river spans,

two or more strings are used in parallel.
 Shackle Insulators

• In early days, the shackle insulators were used as strain insulators. But now a days, they are frequently used for low voltage
distribution lines. Such insulators can be used either in a horizontal position or in a vertical position.

• They can be directly fixed to the pole with a bolt or to the cross arm. The conductor in the groove is fixed with a soft binding
wire.