a ASPECTS OF ROUTE SELECTION FOR HV TRANSMISSION LINES by D.O. FERN DipMS MIEE FIEAust. MBIM Presented at a joint meeting of the: Institution of Electrical Engineers Institution of Engineers Australia Institution of Radio and Electronics Engineers In Perth on 9 November, 1983.ASPECTS OF ROUTE SELECTION OF H.V. TRANSMISSION LINES Introduction I offer this paper with some feeling of trepidation but also with considerable pleasure because I believe it covers a subject which is in many cases grossly underestimated, and it is also a job from which I have derived a great deal of pleasure at various times. On the face of it the subject is pleasantly non-technical and non-mathematical, but because of this I believe it is liable to suffer from the "garden shed" syndrome. Few people are prepared to have a go at designing a multi-storey building, but everyone is happy to have a go at building a garden shed. The act of route selection itself does not involve any intricate design calculations and it is remote in time from the process of construction, but to do it satisfactorily requires a knowledge of all facets of the design and construction of lines, a factor which I hope will become apparent as the paper proceeds. It is probably best to start by defining a little more closely the task in hand. Regardless of the operating voltage of the line, the task is to secure a route for an overhead power line between two specified points at minimum cost, and maximum reliability, At the lower voltages the line routes are very often predetermined by road alignments and by developments in the area in which we are working, but as the voltage increases the inference is that the distance is increasing and therefore by inference again the degree of development along the route decreases. The final inference is therefore that one's freedom of choice in selecting a route is mich greater.Many of the principles about which we shall be talking are relevant to lines of any voltage, while others tend to assume greater importance as the voltage increases. It is probably because of the relative simplicity of the lower voltage lines that the importance of route selection is minimised in the minds of many people. Even in building lines around the streets one has to be careful of such factors as access to houses, clearances over obstacles both existing and future, the location of stays on angles, directions of entry into often very constricted sub-station spaces, visual impact, traffic hazard and other similar factors. In describing some of the aspects of line route selection this paper is structured around the broader aspect of long distance lines normally running through open country and therefore by inference operating at voltages of say 132,000 volts or more, I would Tike to underline at this point that I am not discussing the details of the line design, nor am I discussing the detailed aspects of construction and subsequent operation, but each of these factors has a part to play in the line route eventually selected. The problems which routing of such lines incur are almost as numerous as the number of lines themselves and I hope the reason for this will become clear, The selection of a line route is the first very preliminary step in a Jong process which eventually concludes with line commissioning, and it has a major influence on both design and construction, It is an aspect which is attracting increasing environmental interest and is clearly one which can have a major impact on the final project cost. This becomes increasingly true as the length of line increases and therefore its cost increases rapidly in relation to the cost of the terminal equipment at sub-stations which is virtually independent of Tine length, I believe it is reasonable to claim that line route selection is an exercise in the art of engineering, rather than the science, which adds to my pleasure because it virtually defies computerisation,Purpose of Line Routing This is almost self explanatory in that it aims to devise a route for a transmission line to interconnect two given points which can be constructed at minimum cost and maximum reliability. Constraints on Line Routing Given that the line has to interconnect two predetermined points, there are three broad categories of constraint which overlap, i.e. economic, engineering and environmental and it is therefore clear at this early stage that the end result must be a compromise. Without attempting to suggest which category the various items should come into, the following points are perhaps the major ones to be considered: Distance Surface and sub-surface conditions Topographical features Vegetation Land Ownership and use Climate . Wind . Ice «Lightning Environmental objections » Visual . Archaeological Mythological Pollution Altitude Access for construction and maintenance Future Developments Roads Dams CommunicationsTo put each of these aspects into context, I think we might run briefly through the typical procedure followed in the development of a theoretical line route which could typically be 200km or more in length. Before proceeding into this stage it might be of interest to note that within Western Australia there are many lines either existing or prospective which have lengths considerably in excess of this, for example, the Dampier to Paraburdoo line is 360km long, the line from Muja to Kalgoorlie will be of the order of 650km, established lines from the Metropolitan area to Geraldton are in excess of 400km and those from Muja to the Metropolitan area just about crack the 200km mark. Procedure for Route Selection Starting from basic principles, you presumably have a starting and finishing point for your line which may or may not be specified in absolute detail. If it is not then there is an ancillary problem which is the selection of a substation site at each end and the selection of this site can have a material bearing on the direction of the line route at least over the initial sections. A large scale map giving principal topographic features and preferably covering the whole of the line route is a very good place to start. The shortest distance between two points is still a straight line and therefore a straight line between your two terminal points on the map is @ good place from which to begin your route selection. Obvious obstructions such as mountain ranges, major rivers, areas prone to flooding, airstrips, national parks, major forested areas and intermediate developed areas are all obstacles which will start to divert your route from the initial straight line. To determine the degree of deviation one needs then to go to larger scale maps which begin to reveal more details of the severity of the obstacle and will probably suggest alternative ways around it.A useful additional tool is a cadastral map showing pastoral lease boundaries which will of course also show the boundary of Crown land. Crown land has the big attraction that negotiation with private land owners is eliminated as one of the variables, but nevertheless, it can still be subject to many other constraints. Having exhausted the series of larger and larger maps a very useful tool is aerial photography. Very large areas of Australia are already covered by aerial photography while of course there are many areas which have not yet been photographed. The arranging of photography is not a difficult exercise and although the cost at first sight appears to be significant the benefits which can accrue far outweigh those costs. Viewed in stereo very much more detail can be gleaned about the severity of ridges, slopes, degree of forestation, degree of flooding likely to occur from rivers and so on. It is very valuable to have the photography done in colour because changes in colour very often reveal changes in soil types or soil conditions, If the photography is done specifically for you it gives the most up to date picture of what exists on the ground, probably far more up to date than the latest map. Onto the aerial photographs you can transpose the various alternatives which have developed from looking at maps. Each of these can be examined in detail, some can be eliminated and some can be noted for closer investigation on site. Satellite images are now fairly readily available and to the practised eye can be a very useful guide to surface and subsurface conditions, though I have no direct experience of their use for this purpose. There is, however, no substitute for seeing the thing in the flesh and the next move, therefore, is to go and have a look at the rough route which has been arrived at both from maps and from aerial photographs. For a line of any length this is obviously best done from the air and is most cheaply achieved in the first instance by using fixed-wing aircraft flying at speeds not exceeding 100 knots and at heights below 500 ft. This soon gives a very good idea of whether the initial route that was picked is going to be practicable and will also highlight the areas which have to be examined in more detail. Ouring such an aerialreconnaissance it is usually possible to form a rough idea of the proportion of different types of land to be crossed; whether it contains major rock outcrops, the degree of vegetation, the presence of unpleasant looking sandy areas with no vegetation, and it also gives a very good opportunity for looking in some detail at the approaches to each of the terminal points. It is fairly clear that in many cases these can be constricted by adjacent developments and a birdseye view is very often a good one as a start to more detailed selection in these areas. Once the fixed-wing reconnaissance is complete the next thing is to get in and look in detail at the areas where there appear to be problems which will require special solution, and this is obviously done either by travelling overland and/or by helicopter; either can be quite exciting and not without some degree of risk. They can take you into areas rarely frequented by man and therefore be a source of great pleasure to anyone who enjoys nature in an undisturbed state, They also offer a good opportunity to take soil resistivitiy measurements and soil samples, both of which will be useful in the design phase. Specific Problem Areas A range of hills is always worth looking at in great detail, to see in which direction the main features are running. If they are at right angles to the direction in which you want to route the line then you are in trouble, particularly if the features are sharp and therefore make access for both survey and construction very difficult. This may be reasonably demonstrated by the Chichester Ranges in the Pilbara whose main features tend to run north-south and the Hamersley Range south of the Chichesters whose main features over a major part of the length tend to run east-west. As well as the obvious physical obstacles there is the problem that with increased altitude the Corona performance of a line, that is the generation of electric fields and ionisation of the air in the vicinity of the conductors, becomes an increasing problem. To overcome this one has to increase the conductor size or to duplicatethe conductors which fairly clearly adds again to the cost of the line construction. Also, with towers at increased elevations there is an increased probability of lightning strike. If these mountains happen to be in an area which has significant cloud cover for long periods of time, then access for fault finding becomes an increasing problem and therefore the availability of the line is clearly affected. In parts of the eastern states there is yet another problem, the incidence of snow and ice, Ice has a nasty habit of building up in concentric layers around conductors producing not only an increased area which in turn produces increased wind loading, but also at times forming into eccentric shapes which can give rise to conductor galloping. Last but not least a nasty habit of ice is that bits of it break up and fall off the line and a sudden release of weight from a conductor causes it to jump and thereby running the risk of clashing with any conductor above it. Also, where there are hills there is a good chance of running into exposed rock which can pose problems for the construction of foundations. If there is a convenient valley running in the right direction, then there is a fair chance that in the bottom there will be enough alluvial material to offer reasonably easy foundation conditions, but this is also the spot favoured by roads and railways, if there are any in the area, and your scope is again limited. The environmentalists also take a vital interest in areas of high ground because of the risk of visual exposure of the line to lines of sight from the surrounding country or from vantage points. The rule of thumb to minimise those objections is to follow the major features of the topography, in other words to follow valleys or ridges and where possible to maintain higher ground as a back-drop to the line. Unfortunately, nature very rarely cuts its valleys in straight lines, but it could be preferable to take a slightly longer route to gain this screening effect and also hopefully to obtain some advantage in the soil conditions rather than to take the shortcut over the top and expose your line to the environmental gaze.Environmental considerations are assuming increasing importance and by this I mean not only the effect of the line on the environment, but similarly the effect of the environment on the Tine. I have spoken about the effect of altitude, but a much more common problem affecting the electrical performance of the line is the one of pollution which can arise either naturally from airborne salt, or through airborne industrial pollutants. In the North West particularly, and in Northern Queensland, the incidence of cyclones is not infrequent and the routing of your line may very well be influenced by the proximity of it to the coast in certain areas. Turning to relatively flat country, nature is not always friendly because it produces things like expanding clays which try to push your towers up out of the ground and cavernous rocks with a hard crust and nothing underneath them. Rivers are an obvious obstacle, but in many cases they can be crossed fairly readily. There are however, those which can be transformed from a trickle to a raging torrent in a very short period and it is necessary when selecting a line route to be conscious of the degree of flooding which can arise. Apart from the flooding there is the problen of floating debris, which if it builds up against the tower and has the full force of flood water behind it can cause the tower to fail, Similarly, the flow of water around unprotected foundations can cause them to become eroded and foundations then fail. The penalty therefore for an injudicious selection of line route, if there is any option, is that foundation costs escalate rapidly, particularly when the cost of mass concrete in a foundation becomes a major consideration as it does in most remote areas. It may be cheaper in the long run to divert around an area of thick vegetation, rather than to clear a trace through it and then have the ongoing costs of keeping the trace clear to avoid later re-growth of vegetation up into the line. Apart from the risk of trees growing into lines there is the attendant risk of fires being started by the clashing of lines either with trees or with each other in high winds. Partial blame for the disastrous bushfires in Victoria earlier this year is a graphic illustration of the consequences of not doing thismaintenance. Again the environmentalists have a say in this because they don't like trees being chopped down but on the other hand the Forestry Department and Bushfire Boards sometimes find your clearing rather handy as fire breaks. In WA we have an additional problem caused by jarrah dieback which the Forestry Department attempts to combat by forbidding access during the wet season and/or requiring stringent hygiene treatment of people and vehicles entering and Jeaving dieback areas. The problem of fire is mutual because fires in the vicinity of HV lines can cause ionisation of the air between conductors and result in electrical flashovers between phases. Bushfires and canefires are examples of this. In the general remarks I said that airfields provided an obstacle to power line routing, This is obvious to a degree, but it is complicated by the clearance surfaces defined by the Department of Aviation which limit the height of structures on the ground within a specified distance of the runways. then thinking in terms of towers which are possibly 30m high, this means that you have to give an airport a fairly wide berth. Some, if not all, of the major airfields are equipped with high frequency radio equipment and with radar and othe navigation aids. These items of equipment are prone to electrical interference and to interference by metallic objects in the line of sight and again the specific requirements of the Department of Aviation have to be borne in mind, 1 also mentioned National Parkss these are in the most cases selected for their natural beauty and it would be hard to claim that a power line running through the middle is going to be an asset in that environment. In my limited dealings with National Parks and T emphasise that this is principally in the North West, I met a very co-operative attitude, which recognised my problems, as readily as I could recognise the constraints placed upon them for development. The existence of a National Park does not necessarily preclude the construction of an overhead line. It depends on the location of the line in relation to the area of particular interest and obviously to the ease with which alternative routes can be selected.Railways can pose limitations which are more severe than one would imagine at first glance. As well as the obvious need to clear the track and trains it may be necessary to afford extra clearance for future electrification. High embankments make matters worse. Communication and signalling circuits running parallel with the track can suffer serious malfunction due to electrical interferences particularly during a fault on the transmission system. This may necessitate a separation of two or three kilometres between power line and track if the two are running parallel. Vandalism is a way of life in some areas and rifle fire can be fairly disruptive if enough insulators are broken. Stolen nuts and bolts and pieces of angle iron are a nufsance too, to say nothing of a stolen conductor which is very popular if it is copper. Giving known trouble areas a wide berth is the best precaution and it may also be the cheapest if you take into account both the cost of repair and loss of revenue over the life of the line. Vandalism of a more serious nature is known as terrorism and transmission lines have been popular targets ‘in several parts of the world. Dynamited towers are an obvious risk and I doubt whether any skill in route selection will avoid it. With progressively increasing voltages there has been growing concern about the physiological effects which may occur. Much work has been done in Russia and the US on lines which could operate at in excess of 1million volts a.c. While current thoughts seem to suggest that initial fears were somewhat exagerated, heart pacemakers have been disrupted by electric fields such as can be generated under fault cond- itions in the vicinity of lines of this voltage, and care needs to be taken to avoid excessive exposure. Even at lower voltages restrictions often have to be placed upon the usage of areas in the close proximity of lines for safety reasons. Such restrictions are among the factors which determine the width of easement required, and where available space is restricted the limitations this places on line routing is obvious. Another effect of the width of easement, when applied to areas of significant vegetation, is that the clearing of the vegetation for the line increases the risk of salinity in run-off water. This is a major reason why lines are not very welcome in water catchment areas.Referring back to the matter of communications equipment, PMG are very sensitive to the location of major transmission lines particularly where the location of towers can threaten underground cables by encouraging and dissipating lightning strikes in the vicinity of the cable, and also to the location particularly of a line of towers in the line of sight of UHF masts. Coming perhaps closer to home in areas which are much more developed than those which I have had in mind up to now, the problem of gaining easements through private property, particularly agricultural property subject to cropping, can be a very real problem. Not unnaturally land owners ask the question - why must it go through my land rather than somebody elses? There is nothing more embarrassing than finding a line which goes in a quite specific direction for a long distance and then suddenly has to divert one side or the other to avoid a property owner who did not in the end give the necessary consent for the line to go through his land. There are other instances where although agreement has been tacitly given, land owners can nevertheless change their minds and again a very embarrassing situation can result. The question of access is one that we have not dealt with in any detail up to now. In selecting the least hostile terrain you have probably attained the best available access, but again the economics of the route may demand that you traverse some areas where access is particularly poor. It is very easy these days to talk in terms of helicopter construction in which materials for construction and personnel for line inspection and fault correction can be flown in by helicopter, In fact helicopters have marked limitations on the weight they can lift. They have further limitations on the areas which they can penetrate in bad visibility and I shall show later in my slides, they are not always successful in the task which they are asked to perform, It is therefore far preferable in selecting a line route to strive all the time for all weather surface access and to use the helicopter as a fall back position should everything else fail.In W.A. the Aboriginal Heritage Act protects aboriginal sites of archaeological and mythological significance. The Aboriginal sites in themselves can be interesting and in my experience are dealt with quite sensibly, those posing the biggest problem being the mythological sites of which no one can ever see much visual evidence. These are the most difficult to avoid because their sphere of influence can be fairly widespread around a particular area and therefore a major detour can become necessary. In the case of archaeological sites it is usually possible to either space the towers out in such a way that they miss the particular site or if it is a site of relative insignificance the Museum will do a sampling of the artefacts in the area and then abandon the site. Each of the constraints that I have talked about so far will or can result in various deviations from your original preferred line route and every time you deviate a line you incur greater cost because of the additional cost of the heavier towers required at angle points. You therefore find yourself thinking forwards and backwards all the time during the route selection, trying to work out the route which is the best compromise between avoiding the obstructions and at the same time giving the smallest number of straight lines between your starting and finishing points. Negotiation of the Easement Having arrived at what appears to be a reasonably economic and practical route, you then start into the phase which can take the greatest proportion of overall time; that is in negotiation with both public and private bodies to secure their approval for survey and construction to proceed, It will be known which pastoral leases or other private properties the line will cross and it is a matter of going and talking to the owner or lease-holder to secure his acceptance of the proposed route, or to agree with him such (hopefully) minor deviations from it as will minimise the impact of the line on his land usage. The question of whether, and how much, compensation will be paid has to be settled at this stage.Having carefully picked the route by maps, photographs, having flown over it, driven over it and become generally very familiar with all of the country through which it passes, one might reasonably expect to be very well down the track in the line route selection. However, it is not only what is in the way now which is a problem but in many cases constraints will be placed by what is proposed for the future and which your crystal ball failed to show you from the outset. Such things as future airports, mining developments, major trunk roads, irrigation dams or water supply dams and major communication facilities may also be vying for the same area as that which the line is to occupy. While the old adage of first come first served may be very attractive, it is not so good when it works in reverse and you are left with the last pick of the available space. PMG, Department of Aviation, Departments of Forests, the Environment, Public Works and Main Roads, Westrail, Metropolitan Water Board and a host of Local Government bodies could all be queueing up for a piece of the action. One solution to most of your problems might appear to be to underground the line, in other words to put it in cable, but when you bear in mind that you don't get anything particularly extravagent in the way of a line for $100,000 per kilometre and an equivalent underground cable may cost you ten times as much, the incentive for staying above ground becomes fairly obvious. Conclusion Even from this brief description I hope you can see the types of conflict which arise. While many specialist and necessarily self interested inputs must be sought and taken into account, the end result must be a power trans- mission line which provides an essential service with the desired reliability at the lowest overall economic cost. The cost is one which is borne by the whole community and the sectional demands and constraints must be weighed in that context.Line route selection is, I believe, an identifiable discipline in its own right and its successful executuion implies the happy marriage of the three basic factors to which I referred earlier i.e. engineering, environmental and economic. The types of problems which can arise, and the essential compromise which results, are all an essential part of what must remain an engineering exercise and specifically an exercise in the art of our profession.