TADP 548 Electrical Aspects of TLine Design

Course Information: The course covers several electrical design aspects of transmission line to ensure acceptable reliability, safety and code compliance for transmission facilities. Topics: Introduction to electrical aspects, rules and requirements, design criteria & voltage levels, conductor selection & ratings, design clearances with reference to National Electrical Safety Code (NESC), insulation design, lightning and insulators contamination, EMF fields, corona, induction coordination, grounding requirements for transmission lines, grounding measurement methods and upgrading of transmission lines.

Students will work extensively with case studies in this course, understanding how electrical aspects can change with different design criteria.

Recent Student Evaluations:

  • I do feel that I will be able to apply much of what I learned over the last eight weeks to some of my everyday tasks. I believe the information was very useful to practicing transmission line design engineers.
  • I do feel that I can now discuss as well as apply the knowledge gained in this course to transmission line design. I also feel that I now know where to find governing standards and to find additional information to expand on what was presented.
  • I enjoyed learning new items which I never imagined played so a big part in the design, such the insulators section.
  • Favorite part - I was really glad to learn the theory behind insulator selection and get some basics in grounding, these were things I had not been exposed to before.

Course Description/Objectives: In Week One, students will learn the rules and requirements regarding the electrical aspects of transmission line design.  They will also gain an overview of design criteria, voltage levels and conductor selection.  Weeks Two and Three cover the topic of clearances.  Students will study the electrical aspects to transmission line clearances.

In Week Four, students will learn the electrical characteristics of transmission line insulation, including flashover and switching surges.  They will also study mechanical strength and electrical aspects of insulators.  Then, in Week Five, students will gain an introduction to EMF fields, corona, and radio and TV effects.  They will also learn audible noise limit standards and study induction coordination.

Week Six introduces grounding in transmission line design.  Students will study grounding in regards  to transmission line design, including grounding for steel and wood poles, guy wires and switch structures.  They will also cover grounding measurements.

In Week Seven, students will be given a final case study and select conductors, calculate insulation and clearances and EMF values.  Week Eight will focus on the final project and special topics of electrical aspects of transmission line design.