IEEE T&D Asia 2009 1

A Method of Measuring Three Phase Transmission

Line Parameters for Relay Settings
M.Kato,T.Hisakado, Member, IEEE, H.Takani, Member, IEEE, H.Umezaki, and K.Sekiguchi, Member, IEEE,

Abstract—The purpose of this study is to develop a method
to measure transmission line parameters for protection relay
setting. For relaying schemes such as distance relays, current
differential relays and fault locators, it is very useful to ascertain
the precise setting values in service, without the need for setting
calculations prior to installation, and also for the relays to be able
to adaptively change their settings as the system configuration
changes. This paper describes a method of untransposed live line
measurement of the parameters of a three phase transmission
line. We propose a mathematical approach using synchronous
voltages and line currents at both ends of the line in different
states, where two models, the equivalent PI circuit and distributed
constant circuit, are employed. The efficiency and issues are
shown using several simulation examples in MATLAB.
Index Terms—Transmission line, line parameter, protection
relay, fault location, MATLAB, untransposed line, adaptive relay,
Synchrophasor.
I. I NTRODUCTION
example, 500kV transmission line impedances were measured
using a Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) at each line terminal
to manipulate the voltage and current synchrophasors. The
measurements were made for various operational regimes
during a maintenance period to solve impedance determinants
[3]. When compared with the theoretical value determined
using EMTP, the error of the positive sequence impedance was
0.1percent or less. A zero-sequence current produced by the
voltage unbalance was so minute that the measurement error of
zero-sequence impedance was too much to use practically. For
live line measurement, differential equation algorithms were
also proposed, where the mathematical and simulation models
were assumed in the main to be transposed transmission lines
[4].
In this paper, we present methods to measure transmission
live line parameters. In view of asymmetric and untrans-
posed transmission lines, we introduce general solutions of
impedance and admittance matrices for a three phase one

A PRECISE knowledge of line parameters has always been

fundamentally important in determining the appropriate
protective relay setting, fault location, and operation of power
circuit transmission line, using synchronous voltages and line
currents from both ends of the line in different states. In
Section II-A we describe the solution to the equivalent PI
systems. Thus, many analyses and measurement methods have circuit model. In Section II-B the distributed constant circuit
been developed and proposed. As a conventional method, the model is adopted. Section III deals with simulation examples
calculation of line impedances and mutual coupling, using in MATLAB. Finally, we comment on the possibilities of
software tools based on Carson-Polarczhek formula, is well accurate relay setting and adaptive relaying using the method
known and in widespread use. However, the parameters needed proposed.
to calculate the line impedance are many, and the geomet-
rical configuration which is affected by many factors is re-
quired. Moreover, it has been reported that verification of line II. MEASURING METHOD
impedances for more than 50 in-service overhead transmission
The model of a three-phase transmission line with mutual
lines show that the calculated values are a poor reflection of the
impedance is shown in Fig.1 [2].
real values due to asymmetric and untransposed transmission
lines [1]. However, the measurement of overhead lines can
generally be made at the time of commissioning when line Iia Z1,Y1 Ioa
construction has been completed, where a test voltage is ap- Via Voa
plied to one-phase conductor and the current flowing through Iib Z2,Y2 Iob
Z4,Y4
it is measured [2]. The conventional measurement method can Vib Vob
provide precise line parameters but is so time consuming that Z3,Y3 Z5,Y5
the method is difficult to adopt to all transmission lines. Iic Z6,Y6 Ioc
Vic Voc
For this reason, on-line impedance measurement methods
without the application of a test voltage have been studied Fig. 1. The model of a three-phase transmission line with mutual impedance
using GPS based synchronous phasor technology. In Japan,
several related studies were made from the 1990s to 2000s. For
Currents and voltages at both ends of the lines can be written
M. Katou and T. Hisakado is with Department of Electrical Engineering, in vector form as
Kyoto University, Kyoto 615-8510, Japan (e-mail: katou@circuit.kuee.kyoto- ⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤
u.ac.jp, hisakado@kuee.kyoto-u.ac.jp). Via Iia Voa Ioa
H.Takani, H.Umezaki, K.Sekiguchi is with TOSHIBA Corporation, 1, v i = ⎣Vib ⎦ , ii = ⎣Iib ⎦ , v o = ⎣Vob ⎦ , io = ⎣Iob ⎦ .
Toshiba-Cho, Fuchu-shi, Tokyo, 183-8511, Japan (e-mail: hideyuki.takani /
hiroyuki.umezaki / katsuhiko.sekiguchi@toshiba.co.jp). Vic Iic Voc Ioc
 2

A. Equivalent PI circuit degeneracy. If we employ two different states voltages V iy

Fig.2 shows the equivalent PI circuit for a three-phase and V iiy , equation (6) can be expressed by
transmission line.  i  i
iy Vy
= y. (7)
iiiy V iiy
ii in io
T
vi vo
Z The rank of the matrix V iy T V iiy T can be less than or
equal to six.
Y Y
When we perform the forward elimination for matrix
T
T T
V iy V iiy utilizing an appropriate matrix P , the el-
ement

at the sixth
T row and sixth column of the matrix
Fig. 2. Equivalent PI circuit for a three-phase transmission line
P V iy T V iiy T is
  i  
We have assumed that the transmission line is untrans- Vy α V6i V3i − V4i V5i
posed. The line parameters are defined by impedance matrix P =− 2 , (8)
V iiy 66 V1i V4i − V3i V2i
Z(=R+jX Ω) and admittance matrix Y (=jB Ω−1 ) as follows:
⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤ where
Y1 Y2 Y3 Z1 Z2 Z3
Y = ⎣Y2 Y4 Y5 ⎦ , Z = ⎣Z2 Z4 Z5 ⎦ . (1) α ≡ V6ii (V1i V4i − V2i V3i ) + V4ii (V2i V5i − V1i V6i )
Y3 Y5 Y6 Z3 Z5 Z6
+V2ii (V6i V3i − V4i V5i ). (9)
The relationship between the currents and voltages at both
ends of the line are expressed using the following equations: When (8) is not
equal to zero,Twe can obtain y because the
T T
rank of matrix V yi
Vyii is six. If v iy does not have
ii − io = Y (v i + v o ) (2)
the zero-sequence component of the voltages, the following
v i − v o = Zin (3) relationships
⎡ ⎤
Ina V1i V4i − V2i V3i = V2i V5i − V1i V6i = V6i V3i − V4i V5i ≡ β (10)
in = ii − Y v i = io + Y v o = ⎣Inb ⎦ .
Inc are satisfied. In the same way, if v iiy also does not have it, the
following equation can be introduced:
The proposed method assumes employing a synchronization
approach such as GPS or ping-pong techniques to the currents α = (V2ii + V4ii + V6ii )β = 0. (11)
and voltages at both line ends.
For the calculation of Y , When we define (4), equation (2) From (10) and (11) we find that (8) becomes equal to zero.
is transformed into (5). Thus, v iy or v iiy must have the zero-sequence component of
⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤ the voltages.
I1 Re[Iia − Ioa ] V1 Re[Via + Voa ]
⎢I2 ⎥ ⎢ Im[Iia − Ioa ] ⎥ ⎢V2 ⎥ ⎢ Im[Via + Voa ] ⎥
If we can measure
T
the data that the rank of the matrix
⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥ T T
⎢I3 ⎥ ⎢Re[Iib − Iob ]⎥ ⎢V3 ⎥ ⎢Re[Vib + Vob ]⎥ V iy V iiy is equal to six, we obtain y by using the
⎢ ⎥≡⎢ ⎥,⎢ ⎥ ≡ ⎢ ⎥
⎢I4 ⎥ ⎢Im[Iib − Iob ]⎥ ⎢V4 ⎥ ⎢Im[Vib + Vob ]⎥ (4) least squares g-inverse [5]. Then solving (7) gives
⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥
⎣I5 ⎦ ⎣ Re[Iic − Ioc ] ⎦ ⎣V5 ⎦ ⎣ Re[Vic + Voc ] ⎦  i +  i  i T  i −1  i T  i
Vy iy Vy Vy Vy iy
I6 Im[Iic − Ioc ] V6 Im[Vic + Voc ] y= = .
⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤⎡ ⎤ V iiy iiiy V iiy V iiy V iiy iiiy
I1 −V2 −V4 −V6 0 0 0 Y1 (12)
⎢I2 ⎥ ⎢ V1 V V 0 0 0 ⎥ ⎢ Y ⎥ For the calculation of Z, equation (3) can be transformed
⎢ ⎥ ⎢ 3 5 ⎥ ⎢ 2⎥
⎢I3 ⎥ ⎢ 0 −V 0 −V −V 0 ⎥ ⎢ Y ⎥ into
⎢ ⎥=⎢ 2 4 6 ⎥ ⎢ 3⎥ .
⎢I4 ⎥ ⎢ 0 V 0 V V 0 ⎥ ⎢ Y ⎥ ⎡ ⎤
⎢ ⎥ ⎢ 1 3 5 ⎥ ⎢ 4⎥ Z1
⎣I5 ⎦ ⎣ 0 0 −V2 0 −V4 −V6 ⎦ ⎣Y5 ⎦ ⎡ ⎤ ⎡ ⎤ ⎢Z2 ⎥
I6 0 0 V1 0 V3 V5 Y6 Via − Voa Ina Inb Inc 0 0 0 ⎢ ⎥
⎢
⎥
(5) ⎣Vib − Vob ⎦ = ⎣ 0 Ina 0 Inb Inc 0 ⎦ ⎢Z3 ⎥ .
⎢Z4 ⎥
Equation (5) can be written in matrix form as Vic − Voc 0 0 Ina 0 Inb Inc ⎢ ⎣Z5 ⎦
⎥

iy = V y y. (6) Z6
(13)
Voltage matrix V y can be transformed into an upper tri- Equation (13) can be written in matrix form as
angular matrix using the forward elimination process of the
Gauss elimination method. Thus, we find that the rank of the v z = I n z. (14)
matrix V y can be less than or equal to five, regardless of
The rank of the matrix I n can be less
than or equal
 to three. In
the values of v i and v o . It suggests that the measurement T
of voltages and currents for only one state cannot be used the same way, the rank of the matrix I in T I iin T can be less
to determine the admittance vector y because (5) possesses than or equal to five. Thus, we are unable to obtain impedance
 3

vector z by the measurements of voltages and currents with Y 0 = Y Γ−1 = Z −1 Γ (24)

only two states.
If we employ three different sets of state current data I in , and l is the length of transmission lines.
I n and I iii
ii For the calculation of Z and Y , we can obtain non-linear
n , equation (14) can be written as
⎡ i⎤ ⎡ i⎤ simultaneous equations from (21) as follows:
vz In   
⎣ v iiz ⎦ = ⎣ I iin ⎦ z. (15) vi cosh (Γl) sinh (Γl) Z 0 vo
f (Y , Z) ≡ −
v iii
z I iii
n
ii Y 0 sinh (Γl) Y 0 cosh (Γl) Z 0 io

T = 0. (25)
The rank of the matrix I in T I iin T I iii n
T
can be less than
Equation (25) can be written as six complex equations or
or equal to six. If it is six, we can
obtain z. When weperform
T twelve equations with real coefficients, having eighteen un-
the forward elimination for matrix I in T I iin T I iii n
T
using known variables in Z and Y . Therefore we can obtain Z
the appropriate matrix Q, the
element at the sixth T row and and Y by the measurement of only two states, applying the
sixth column of the matrix Q I n i T ii
In
T
Iniii T
is Gauss-Newton method [7] to solve (25).
⎛ ⎡ i ⎤⎞  
In γ −I i I ii + Inb i
Incii III. S IMULATION R ESULTS
⎝Q ⎣ I iin ⎦⎠ =  nc nb  , (16)
ii I i − I ii I i 2
Inb Fig.3 shows the power system for the digital simulation in
I iii
n 66
na na nb
MATLAB. The three-phase power sources are connected with
where • •-Y transformer at both ends of the transmission line. The
i iii ii iii ii i iii ii iii ii parameters of the system are as follows: The line voltage: 275
γ ≡ Inc (Inb Ina − Ina Inb ) + Inb (Ina Inc − Inc Ina )
i iii ii iii ii
kV. The length of the transmission lines: 100 km. The power
+Ina (Inc Inb − Inb Inc ). (17) base: 1000 MVA. XS : j0.1 pu. XR : j0.5 pu. v S is a balanced
Equation (16) must not be equal to zero to obtain z. If both iiin three phase source. We set the true value of Z and Y as (26),
and iiii (27) at the under of the next page.
n do not have zero-sequence components of the currents,
the following relationships
iii ii iii ii iii ii iii ii iii ii iii ii vS vi vo vR
Inb Ina − Ina Inb = Ina Inc − Inc Ina = Inc Inb − Inb Inc ≡ η XS XR
(18)
are satisfied. Similarly, if iin also does not have it, the following
equation is introduced: Fig. 3. The power system for the simulation
i i i
γ= (Ina + Inb + Inc )η = 0. (19)
A total number of 4 simulations were performed with the
From (18) and (19) we find that (16) is equal to zero. Thus
two models described in section II. The simulation process
iin , iiin or iiii
n must contain the zero-sequence currents.
was as follows:

If we can measure Tthe data such that the rank of the matrix
iT ii T iii T
Step1: Set v R to voltages in Table I, where the source v R
In In In is equal to six, we obtain z by using
can be purposely un balanced.
the least squares g-inverse. Then solving (15) gives Step2: Calculate v i , ii , v o and io .
⎡ i ⎤+ ⎡ i ⎤ ⎛⎡ i ⎤T ⎡ i ⎤⎞−1 ⎡ i ⎤T ⎡ i ⎤ Step3: Compute Z and Y using the method poroposed in
In vz I In In vz
⎜ n ⎟ the section II with the calculated values obtained in Step2. In
z = ⎣ I iin ⎦ ⎣ v iiz ⎦ = ⎝⎣ I iin ⎦ ⎣ I iin ⎦⎠ ⎣ I iin ⎦ ⎣ v iiz ⎦
this estimation, we assume that measurement errors are zero.
I iii v iii
z I iii I iii I iii v iii
z
n n n n We have shown the ratio errors between Y , Z and Y t ,
(20) Z t in Table II. The results show that we can obtain line
parameters accurately from three states of data by employing
B. Distributed constant lines the equivalent PI circuit. In the distributed constant circuit
Another solution is to apply a distributed constant circuit model, we can obtain line parameters from two states of data.
model. When we define line parameters as an impedance However, this method needs a larger zero-sequence component
matrix Z(=R+jX Ω/km) and admittance matrix Y (=jB in v R . When we measure three states with the model, we can
Ω−1 /km) as well as (1), we obtain multi-conductor transmis- obtain the precise line parameters with lower level of zero-
sion line equation [6] as follows: sequence component.
   The proposed methods needs some level of zero-sequence
vi cosh (Γl) sinh (Γl) Z 0 vo component for the power system in service. In practice, how to
= , (21)
ii Y 0 sinh (Γl) Y 0 cosh (Γl) Z 0 io deal with zero-sequence components, for example, waiting for
where internal or external faults on the lines, deserves further study.
Γ ≡ (ZY ) 2
1
(22) The solution for double-circuit lines, real-time implementation
and estimation of measurement errors are also issues for our
Z 0 = ΓY −1 = Γ−1 Z (23) further work.
 4

IV. C ONCLUSION [6] C.R.Paul, Analysis of Multiconductor Transmission Lines, New

The results obtained show that the proposed mathematical
approaches are useful for calculating line parameters, pro-
viding general solutions for untransposed lines in service.
One approach is to apply the least squares g-inverse to the
equivalent PI circuit model utilizing three states of the line.
The other is the Gauss-Newton method for the distributed
constant circuit model utilizing two states of the line. The
results also suggest that relaying or fault locating systems can
have precise setting values and adaptively change their settings
when the method is incorporated in the systems.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
York:Wiley-Interscience,1994,pp.206-208.
[7] D.M.Himmelblau,Applied nonlinear programming, New York:McGraw-
Hill,1972,pp.213-216.
B IOGRAPHIES
Masahiro Kato is undergraduate student in Electrical Engineering at Kyoto
University, Kyoto, Japan.
Takashi Hisakado (M’04) received the B.E. and M.E. degrees in Electrical
Engineering II from Kyoto University, in 1993 and 1995, respectively. He
received the Dr. degree in Electrical Engineering from Kyoto University,
in 1997. He is currently Associate Professor of Department of Electrical
Engineering at Kyoto University. His research interests are nonlinear circuit,
power circuit, EMC design, FPGA implementation, signal processing and so
forth. He is a member of IEEJ, and IEICE.

The authors would like to thank Kenichi. Tanomura, At-
sushi. Kasai and Sinji. Iinum for their helpful suggestions and
generous supports.
R EFERENCES
[1] U. Klapper, A. Apostolov, D. Tholomier and S. Richards, ”K-Factor &
mutual coupling correction on asymmetrical overhead lines for optimm
reliability of distance protection,”• •B5-212, CIGRE 2008.
[2] N.Tleis,Power Systems Modelling and Fault Analysis:Theory and Prac-
tice, Great Britain:Newnes,2007.
[3] CIGRE B5 Colloquium 2007 Madrid, Japan contribution to PS3, ques-
tions 7.
[4] Zhijian Hu, Yunping Chen, “New Method of Live Line Measuring the
Inductance Parameters of Transmission Lines Based on GPS Technology,”
IEEE Trans. Power Del. Vol.23, No.3,July 2008, pp.1288-1295.
[5] H.Yanai, ”Some generalized forms a least squares g-inverse, minimum
norm g-inverse, and Moore–Penrose inverse matrices,” Computational
Statistics and Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), 1990, pp 251-260.
Hideyuki Takani received the B.E. and M.E. degrees in electrical engineering
from Gunma University, Japan, in 1990 and 1992 respectively. He joined
Toshiba Corporation in 1992 and has been engaged in the research and
development of protection relays, fault location systems, and wide area
measurement systems. He is a member of IEEJ, IEEE.
Hiroyuki Umezaki received the B.S. degree in science and technology from
Keio University, Tokyo, Japan, in 1988. He joined Toshiba Corporation in
the same year. He has been engaged in power system protection & control
engineering. He is a member of IEEJ.
Katsuhiko Sekiguchi received the B.S. and M.S. degree in communication
engineering from Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, in 1979 and 1981
respectively. He joined Toshiba Corporation in the same year and has been
engaged in the development of protection relays and network computing
applications for power system protection & monitoring. He is a member of
IEEJ, IEEE and CIGRE.

⎡ ⎤
j3.980566 −j0.8780807 −j0.3505168
Yt =⎣ j4.075950 −j0.9314491⎦ × 10−6 Ω−1 /km (26)
j3.820910
⎡ ⎤
10.43184 + j53.89081 5.568746 + j22.38832 5.361719 + j18.58363
Zt = ⎣ 9.875745 + j57.79628 5.153433 + j25.53588⎦ × 10−2 Ω/km (27)
9.566279 + j60.28996

TABLE I
P HASE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN v S AND vR , AND ZERO - SEQUENCE VS POSITIVE - SEQUENCE ( UPPER : PHASE DIFFERENCE ( ◦ ), UNDER : ZERO - SEQUENCE
(%))
v R assumption.1 v R assumption.2 v R assumption.3
Equivalent PI circuit 15◦ 30◦ 30◦
0 0 0.1
distributed constant circuit 15◦ 30◦ -
assumption.1 0 0.1
distributed constant circuit 15◦ 30◦ -
assumption.2 0 1
distributed constant circuit 15◦ 30◦ 30◦
assumption.3 0 0 0.1

TABLE II
M EASURING ERROR OF LINE PARAMETERS
max Y error (%) max Rerror (%) max X error (%)
Equivalent PI circuit 1.57 × 10−9 3.53 × 10−10 −9.21 × 10−11
distributed constant circuit 0.251 68.0 −21.0
assumption.1
distributed constant circuit 4.15 × 10−8 9.30 × 10−5 4.13 × 10−5
assumption.2
distributed constant circuit 2.06 × 10−5 5.49 × 10−7 2.38 × 10−7
assumption.3