444 IEEE Transactions on Power Apparatus and Systems, Vol. PAS-97, no.

2, March/April 1978
A NEW THERMAL RATING APPROACH:
THE REAL TIME THERMAL RATING SYSTEM FOR
STRATEGIC OVERHEAD CONDUCTOR TRANSMISSION LINES
PART III
STEADY STATE THERMAL RATING PROGRAM
CONTINUED- SOLAR RADIATION CONSIDERATIONS
MURRAY W. DA VIS, Senior Member, IEEE
The Detroit Edison Company
Detroit, Michigan

ABSTRACT Total Solar Radiation Reaching a Surface at the Earth

For the first time, equations and computer programs are developed to Global radiation, solar radiation, insolation, and total short wave radiation
show how the solar radiation received by an overhead transmission line is are other terms for total solar radiation Qt, the total solar energy reaching
dependent on the conductor sag or slope. In the past, the overhead line has the earth's surface. Qt is the sum of the direct or beamed radiation QB and
been assumed to lie in a horizontal plane with respect to the earth for the sky or diffuse radiation QD. Diffuse radiation is also termed scattered radia-
entire span length. Mathematical relationships for determining the sun's posi- tion or indirect radiation. Beamed radiation is that solar radiation received
tion in terms of solar azimuth and solar altitude, as a function of latitude, from the sun which comes through the atmosphere on the earth's surface
declination and hour angle are formulated and a polar plot is constructed to without change of direction. Diffuse radiation is that solar radiation received
show the apparent path of the sun during the day for each month. Two dif- from the sun after its direction has been altered by reflection and scattering
ferent methods are presented to determine the angle of incidence between via air particles and other particles in the atmosphere. The amount of total
the sun's ray and the normal to any sloped cylindrical surface oriented at any solar radiation received on a surface depends on: (1) the solar constant, (2)
azimuth angle. Plots are provided to indicate the variation in the angle of atmosphere attenuation, (3) diffuse radiation (cloud and earth albedo), (4)
incidence and the direct component of solar radiation absorbed as a func- direction of beam radiation and (5) orientation of the receiving surface and
tion of solar time for four general transmission line azimuths and five slopes \ angle of incidence.
at one latitude and declination. In addition, plots are drawn for the total solar
radiation received by a conductor on a typical clear day as a function of both Solar Constant: The solar constant3 IO is defined as the amount of energy
the span length and any sag or slope for both minimum and maximum diffuse | per unit time which reaches a unit area of plane surface placed perpendicular
radiation conditions for four general transmission line azimuths at one lati- to the sun's rays outside the atmosphere at the mean sun-earth distance. It
tude and declination. It is shown that the conductor slope can have as much is generally expressed in cal/cm2 min, where 1 gram cal/cm2 min equals 1
of an effect on the total radiation as does the solar adsorption constant. 4angley/min. The most extensive investigation of the solar constant has been
I made by C. G. Abbot et. al.4 and published in theAnnals of the Astrophysical
INTRODUCTION > Observatory of the Smithsonian Institution from 1908 to 1942. The solar con-
The solar radiation absorbed by an overhead conductor has normally been stant obtained by Moon5 of 1322 W/m2 (1.896 cal/cm2 min) was later revised
computed from simplified formulae, primarily because it is normally the )by Johnson6 to 1395 W/m2 (2.000 cal/cm2 min). The most recent proposed
smaller of the two heat quantities gained by the conductor. Under heavy i, standard value of the solar constant based on spacecraft measurements7 is
loaded conditions, the internal heat generated from within the conductor, 1353 W/m2 (1.940 cal/cm2 min) or 429.2 Btu/ft2h (125.7 W/ft2). The estimated
or 2R, is many times larger than the solar heat gained, while for unloaded error in this value of the solar constant is + 1.5 percent. The value is based
lines, the solar radiation represents the only heat gained. The latter condi- on measures made from high altitude balloons, X-15 aircraft and the Mariner-
tion is of course of very little interest in the thermal rating of lines. Although9 Mars probe during the period 1967 to 1970. The sun-earth distance varies ac-
there has been considerable effort devoted toward evaluating, through lab- cording to the seasons of the year, being a minimum around January 4 and a
oratory tests, the solar absorption constant aC for new and weathered copper maximum around July 5. The solar constant is the largest of 1400 W/m2 on
and aluminum conductors, no one has attempted to determine how the solar January 4 and the smallest of 1309 W/m2 on July 5, while for the mean dis-
heat absorbed is affected by conductor slope. tance on April 4, and October 5, the constant is 1353 W/m2. This leads to vari-
In Part I of the Real Time Thermal Rating System' (see Fig. 8, Part I) ref- ations in the solar constant of ±+ 3 percent.
erence was made to the weather station which monitors many meteorological
parameters including direct or beamed radiation QB and sky or diffuse radia- Q
tion QD. It was also stated in Part II2, under equation (21), that once QB, QD
and ac are known, then the total radiation may be computed. This, of course, N. AUTUMNAL OR AUTUMN EQUINOX
was based on the presumption that the angle of incidence can be calculated SUN OVER EQUATOR
once the solar altitude, conductor slope, and the difference between the solar POLAR AXIS
and conductor azimuths are given. The purpose of this paper is to develop AXIS
the needed mathematical expressions so that the angle of incidence and the
T OF
resulting total radiation absorbed are ascertained.
EQUATOR

+232'0275
\~~~~~~~~~~LN

WINTER SOLSTICE SUMMER SOLSTICE

DEC 21 SUN OVER JUNE 21 SUN OVER
F 77 525-9. A paper recan ended and approved by T. OF CAPRICORN T. OF CANCER
tte l: theTresmissim
IEEE Transmisicn and Distribution Ca.nttee of365.25
Distributon Cczimittee of\ DAYS VERNAL OR SPRING EQUINOX
the IEEE Power Engineering Society for presentaticn3 MARCH 22 (APPROX)
at the I: PES Sumer Meeting, Mexico City, Mex., SUN OVER EQUATOR
July 17-22, 1977. Mnuscript submitted ?ebniary 1,
1977; made available for printing March 30, 1977. Fig. 1. Earthasobservedfromsun,describingterminologyandsymbols.
0018-9510/78/0300-0444$00. 75 C) 1978 IEEE
 445
The distribution of the solar constant as a function of wavelength is the to space. The clouds can reflect to space about 23 percent while the ground
extraterrestrial solar spectrum. Over 95 percent of the solar energy is con- and atmosphere contribute about 2 percent and 9 percent, respectively. The
tained in the wavelength range 0.3 to 2.6 Am. A complete tabulation of the average albedo of clouds is about 50-55 percent and some observations show
Extraterrestrial Solar Spectral Irradiance Standard Curve for the wavelength that the albedo of clouds may vary from a few percent to over 80 percent, de-
range .115 to 50.0 pAm is given in reference8. pending on the type and thickness of the cloud cover9. The albedo of a body
is the fraction of incident radiation which is reflected by the body. Because
Atmosphere Attenuation: The radiation at normal incidence (perpendicular of this large variation in the cloud albedo, Norris13 found that it was virtually
to the sun's rays) received at the surface of the earth is subject to wide varia- impossible to use cloud information to predict solar radiation over periods
tions because of changes in the solar constant, differences in atmospheric of time less than a day. The albedo of the earth's surface has a very wide range
scattering by air molecules, water vapor, and dust and differences in atmos- of values. Forests which can trap solar energy have very low albedos (3-10
pheric absorption by 02, 03, H2O and CO2. Detailed studies and papers cov- percent), whereas, snow or ice has a very high albedo (46-86 percent). The
ering atmospheric scattering and absorption are included in references 5-11 albedo of large water surfaces depends on the sun's zenith. If Oz = 00, the
and only a brief summary is provided here. According to Fritz'0 only the rad- albedo is only 2 percent but for Oz = 650, the albedo becomes 10 percent.
iation of wavelengths between .29 and 2.5 ,m is transmitted through the at-
mosphere and undergoes variations due to scattering and absorption. The
X-rays and other very short wave radiations of the normal incident radiation APPARENT PATH OF
/SUN IN SUMMER
on the earth's atmosphere are absorbed in the ionosphere by nitrogen and
oxygen and most of the ultraviolet is absorbed by ozone. The strong absorp-
tion by CO2 and H2O depletes the radiation with wavelengths greater than
2.5 ,um.
Moon5 suggests that the scattering due to air molecules occurs according
to the theory of Rayleigh and that the monochromatic transmission factor
associated with atmospheric scattering may be written
SOLAR
Ta,X = o-0.00380/X4 (1) ALTITUDE o I- PATH OF SUN
/ TOWER LINE INTERSECTS THE
HORIZON NORTH OF
where X is the wavelength in micrometers, air mass m = 1, and the barometric /cY-c< / /THE E-W LINE BECAUSE
pressure is 760 mm. The air mass is defined as the ratio of the mass of air in SUNS AZIMUTH Y_ IS POSITIVE IN SUMMER
a column of unit cross section along the path of the solar rays through the / uS/ HORIZONTAL PLANE
atmosphere to the mass of air in a direct radial or vertical column, where the
vertical path at sea level is unity. Therefore, when the sun is directly over-
head or at zenith (GZ = 0), m = 1. m = Sec OZ for all zenith angles except Fig. 2. Diagram of angles for determining the solar beamed radiation on
when m > 3, or Oz = 70',12 where account has to be taken of the curvature transmission line conductors sloped at any angle and oriented at
any azimuth.
of the solar ray due to refraction in increasingly denser atmospheric layers.
Moon also developed a transmission factor due to dust scattering of the form

Td - 1 -0.0353/XO.75 (2)
where m = I and number of dust particles is 800/cm3. The transmission factor
for the scattering effect due to water is
TWX = 10-O-.75/X2 (3)
for zenith sun and with 20 mm of precipitable water above the observer. The
total effect due to scattering is, by the Bouguer relation,

TXS =[ (TaX) p/760

(Td) CI800 (TwX) ]/20 m
(4)
where Trs is the monochromatic atmospheric transmittance for beam radia-
tion for scattering only, p is the total pressure (mm), d is the dust concentra-
tion at ground in particles/cm3, and c is the depth of precipitable water (mm).
The absorption of solar radiation in the solar spectrum is due to ozone in
the infrared. Beyond 2.3,um there is heavy absorption by H20 and CO2
and hardly any solar radiation is transmitted. The monochromatic transmit-
tance for beamed radiation due to absorption and scattering is then
T=xs Tox Tcx
TX (5)
where rok is for ozone and TrOx is for water vapor. From (1) through (5) the
normal incident radiation can be calculated for any amount of water vapor,
ozone and dust in the atmosphere and Moon shows good agreement with 8i 90- an - S = 90- 70.450- 301 _ - 10.450
direct measurements. an = 9go- + 8 = 90°-43° + 23.45°= 70.450
Diffuse Radiation: Although Moon provides an estimate of the normal inci-
dent radiation or beamed radiation received at the earth's surface, it was
noted that aportion of the energy is scattered, some of which is returned to the
sky while the remaining reaches the earth in the form of diffuse radiation.
Fritz'0 provides an excellent discussion of diffuse radiation as affected by
cloud cover, particles of water and dust. The total energy which reaches the
earth from the sky varies depending on solar altitude a. For example, the dif-
fuse on a horizontal surface is about 16 percent of the total on a clear day Fig. 3. Section of the earth atmeridian of transmission line tower (if tower
line is oriented in N-S direction and conductor is sloped s =300 at
when the sun is high and about 37 percent ofthe total when a=10° About 35 per- towerlocated43°Nlatitude, then at 12:00 solarnoon on June21, 8
cent of the normal incident radiation on the earth's atmosphere is reflected back = 23027WI, an = 70.450 and M = 10.450)
446
In general, it is not practical to estimate the radiation on a surface at the
an = 900 - 4 + 8 (6)
earth from the knowledge of the extraterrestrial radiation, therefore, it is more
common to rely directly on measurements of the incident and diffuse radiation. above the south horizon.

Direction of Beam Radiation: A brief discussion of the sun's position is
needed in order to evaluate the direction of the beamed radiation. In Fig. 1,
the earth is seen by an imaginary observer on the sun which rotates once in
365¼ days around the sun's ecliptic axis. The plane of the earth's rotation
is called the plane of the ecliptic. The earth is also spinning about its own axis,
but this celestial axis points to the celestial pole, and is tilted 23027½1 with
respect to the sun's ecliptic axis. The effect of the earth's tilted axis is clearly
seen by an observer who stands on the Tropic of Cancer. On June 21, at noon,
he sees the sun directly overhead but on December 21, the noon sun appears
to him to be approximately 43 degrees above the horizon. These two periods
during the earth's orbit around the sun are referred to as the summer solstice
and the winter solstice, respectively. A point in the northern hemisphere
will have its longest period of daylight at the time of the summer solstice and
its longest period of darkness at the winter solstice. The two neutral points
in between, when the earth's axis is perpendicular to the line joing the earth
and the sun, are the equinoxes, coming around March 22 and September 21.
On these dates, day and night are of equal length. The position of the sun's
center from any place at any time is determined by trigonometric calculation
of either its altitude angle a or the complement 900 -a (its zenith angle) and its
horizontal azimuth angle y from true south. In referring to Figs. 2 and 3 and
consulting the list of definitions below1417, it can be seen that the sun's alti-
tude at solar noon an is from Fig. 3,
4 = the latitude of the conductor as determined by the angular distance
north or south of the equator, measured by the arc of the meridian of the
conductor contained between the conductor and the equator. With the
equator as the origin, the latitude is measured from 00 to 900 north or
south. North latitude will be taken as positive and south latitude as nega-
tive, degrees.
8 = the angular position of the sun at solar noon with respect to the plane
of the equator. This angle is referred to as the apparent declination. In
the northern hemisphere this declination is 00 at the time of the
equinoxes; at the summer and winter solstice, + 23027h' and - 23027h',
respectively.
s = the angle between the horizontal and the conductor, positive when
tipped to the south and negative when sloped toward the north in either
hemisphere.
y = the azimuth angle, which is the arc of the horizon intercepted between
the local meridian and an adopted zero point. The zero point is consid-
ered as south, positive direction being toward the east and negative
toward the west. y = azimuth of sun and Yc = azimuth of conductor.
a= the hour angle with solar noon being zero. Each hour is equivalent to
15° of longitude with mornings being positive and afternoons negative,
that is (c = 15° for 11:00 am and =-=15° for 1:00 pm).

91300
?O SOLAR ALTITUDE, AZ'IMUTH AND TIME
FOR 430 NOFRTIH LATITUDE 130
(AZIMUTH'S FOR SUINRtI-SES AND SUNSETS) >

ptO29~~~12 00

4jo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C
-110
-1> ' o

6
68 m89a
m 0.000 MAR.22 | Co
3pm ~ ~~pm Y=89.720 SEPT.21
0

goo m 9Om V e~~~~~~~~~~~~

682a0 800
608

Fig. 4. Solar altitude and azimuth for 430 N latitude-azimuths for sunrises and sunsets.
 447
&j = the angle of incidence of beam radiation, the angle being measured be-
tween the sun ray and the normal to the conductor.
OZ= the zenith angle or the angle between t-he sun's beam and the vertical.
a = the solar altitude or the angle between the beam from the sun and the
horizontal, that is 90'-OZ. an is the solar altitude at solar noon.
Since the earth is small in relation to the distance of the sun, then a negligible
error is introduced if the axis is translated to the location of latitude 4) as shown
in Fig. 2 and is inclined at an angleO4 to the N-S horizontal"'. When we convert U,n
from celestial to terrestrial coordinates, the solar altitude at any time is given E
w
w
by, w
E
Sin a = Cos OZ = Cos Cos w Cos + SinO4 Sin (7)
z
The azimuth position y' 0
This relationship can also be found in references 19-22 .

of the sun is also given in terms of latitude, declination and hour angle by, 4

0 0
Sin Cos w-Cos O Tan6 (a w
'Y a
~~~~Sinl wa)8
or in terms of 6, co, and a by,

Sin y =
Cos Sin cw
(9)
Cos a

The zenith angle of the sun must be 900 at sunrise, therefore (7) can be solved

for the sunrise hour angle cws or

CoswWS Sin in
8-=-Tan 4)Tan 8 (10)

The day length Td, in hours, may be obtained directly from the sunrise hour Fig. 5. True solar time of sunrise and sunset-duration of sunshine and
decilnation for 430 N latitude.
angle, since both the sunset and the sunrise hour angles are measured from
solar noon and are therefore equal. From (10), A computer program was written using (7), (9), (10), (11) and (12) and polar
plots showing the sun's position each hour of the day for the mnidpoint of each
Td =-2asr2 ccoCos-Tanan4 Tan 6) (11I month were generated for the latitude ranging from 300 N to 450 N. These
15 15
sixteen latitudes approximately cover the entire United States, and the polar
The direction of beamed radiation or the position of the sun relative to a hori- plot for 430 N latitude, representing the average latitude of The Detroit Edison

zontal plane on the earth can now be described by (7), and (9) in terms of 4), Company service area, and the exact location of the Real Time Thermal

co, and 6, where is the only term yet to be defined in mathematical form. Rating project is shown in Fig. 4. Notice that the solar altitude, as computed
From Cooper19, the declination is approximated by, from the simplified formula of (6) for June 21 at solar noon and 430 N latitude,

is 70.450 which is the same as that shown in Fig. 4 for the same conditions.

23.45 Sin 284+n )360] (12) The amount of solar radiation received by an overhead transmission line will

vary considerably from summer to winter as seen by comparing the solar

where n is the day number of the year. altitude in the summer at 12 Noon (June 21, a 70.450) with that at the same

time in the winter (December 21, a =

23.550). Furthermore, from Fig. 4, there
are wide variations between the summer and winter sunrise or sunset azi-

muths. The sun rises north of true east almost 330 (a = 122.960) on June 2 1,

+16

~~~~~EQUATION OF TIME

+10

+ 8-

+ 6-

+ 4-

5 15 25 5 15 25 5 15 25 5 25 5 25 5 25 5 15 25 5 15 25 5 15 25 5 15 25 5 15 25 5 15 25

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Fig. 6. Equation time, apparent minus mean.

448
while for December 21 the sun rises south of true east 330 (y = 57.040). This
means that the duration of possible sunshine will reach its maximum on June
21 or about 15 hours when 8 = 23.450 and becomes only about 9 hours on
December 21 when 8 = -23.45°. From the same computer program the time
of sunrise and sunset, as well as the declination and duration of sunshine at
430 N latitude for the midpoints of each month are provided and this data
is shown plotted in Fig. 5. Similar data and curves are displayed in references
17,23,24

It should be noted that the time value substituted into (7), (8), (9) and (10) is
in terms of the hour angle or true solar time. This time does not agree with
standard time or local clock time. The meteorological station of the Real Time
Thermal System measures the beamed and diffuse radiation as a function of
local clock time and must be corrected so that the exact position of the sun
and the angle of incidence to the transmission line can be determined. The
corrections applied to standard time to obtain true solar time consist of two
values. First, there is the constant correction for difference in longitude be-
tween the location in question and its standard meridian. This results in allow-
ing 4 minutes of time for each degree difference in longitude from the standard
meridian and the correction is plus if the station is east of the meridian and
minus if west. This constant correction is then algebraically added to the cor-
rection for the equation of time (E.T.) shown in Fig. 624. The second correc-
tion takes into account the perturbations in the earth's orbit and rate of rota-
tion. For the eastern standard meridian of 75'W longitude (Lo), the solar
time is computed by the following,
Solar time = standard time + E.T., minutes
+ 4 (75°W Lo - Lolo,al), minutes (13)

Orientation of the Receiving Surface and Angle of Incidence: As seen from

Figs. 2 and 3, the angle of incidence 01 depends on the position of the sun, the
azimuth of the surface or transmission line yc and the slope of the conductor Al =+9O0-(Y-Yc) c3 = c, + e. A3=1800-Bi
s. For the simplified case, at solar noon, where the transmission line is oriented C, = s b3 = 900 - a A4= 900
in a N-S direction yc = 0 (see Fig. 3) and sloped toward the south at the point
of attachment on the tower, 01 is given by, bi = 900 b3 = C3
Fig. 7. Determining the angle of incidence.
Oi = 90 - an -S, (14)
where an is defined by (6). However, when yc 4 0 and the conductor is sloped Table I below shows various forms of (16) for different conductor
s 4 0, as in Fig. 2, the relationship for determining Oi becomes more complex. orientations.
In the case of the overhead transmission line, the conductor is suspended
between two points and follows a catenary curve. The conductor is therefore TABLE I
a continuously changing sloped cylindrical surface and 01 at any one point
0axis For Different Conductor Orientations
along its length is the angle between the normal plane to the conductor at that
point and the sun's ray. The remaining portion of the paper describes how to Condition: Cos Oaxis =
determine 01 and explains what effect conductor slope and conductor azimuth 'y Ec = °0 Cos (a + s) (18)
have on the total radiation received and absorbed by this surface.
Beamed Radiation Absorbed by the Conductor Y - -YC = 900 - Sin a Sin s (19)
In general, the amount of solar radiation falling on a surface depends on two 5 =O0 Cos a Cos (y - Yc) (20)
factors, that is the obliquity of the rays relative to the surface and the length of
the path of the rays through the atmosphere, both of which depend on the s =90 -Sin a (21)
solar altitude. It has already been shown in the previous section that the total
radiation consists of two parts, beamed and diffuse. The intensity of the in- From (15), (16) and (17), the energy absorbed by the conductor, due to the
cident radiation per unit area falling on the surface of a conductor is equal to beamed radiation component only, may be written as,
QB Cos 01 in watts per ft2. Therefore, the energy absorbed (Qs) in watts per
unit length of conductor (ft) due to beamed radiation is Qs = ac Ap QB Sin I arc Cos [ - Sin a Sin s

Qs = ac Ap (QB Cos 01), (15) + Cos a Cos s Cos (y - Yc) I t (22)

where Ap is the conductor projected area in ft2 per lineal foot and ac is the
conductor solar absorption constant. To assess the change in °s and oi as a function of solar time, slope, and
conductor azimuth for one latitude and declination, the following procedure
In the Appendix two methods were given for finding 01. It was shown that was developed. Because there is a multitude of variations in conductor span
if O1 is found from the complement Oaxis that the number of steps to the solu- length and sag which would result in sizeable deviations in the range of s, it
tion diminish to only two. Utilizing Fig. 7, and the Law of Cosines For Sides, was decided to select the one conductor size used on the ECAR System which
it was proven that the angle between the axis of the conductor and the sun's possessed the highest and lowest span length to sag ratio, L/S.25 This analysis
ray, or Oaxis, is given by, resulted in choosing the 795 kcmil ACSR 26/7 conductor which had a high
value of L/S = 162.16 or s = 1.410, and a low value of L/S = 3.83 or s = 46.220.
Cos Oaxis = - Sin a Sin s The greatest slope value at the tower of 46.220 was associated with a 2200 ft
+ Cos a Cos s Cos (y - Y C) (16) span which had a final sag at 60'F equal to 573.87 ft. From this, five fixed
slopes of 00, ±+200 and ±+46° were deemed representative of the span. Another
and variable in (22) which varies over a wide range is OB. Here a constant value of
= 900 - Oaxis (17) loo W/ft2 was selected. The choice of QB = 100 W/ft2 is a convenient one, for

the Q5 results can be interpreted as what percent of the beamed radiation is
actually absorbed by the 795 kcmil ACSR 26/7 conductor. Finally, four gen-
eral transmission line azimuths were used (i.e. yc = 0°, 900, - 450 and + 451,
and ac was set at 0.7. Equations (7), (9), and (22) were incorporated into
another computer program, and the curves drawn from the data derived there-
from, are portrayed in Figs. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. The results of this exercise
are summarized in the following statements:
s = 0: (See Figs. 8 and 9)
(1.) The maximum absorbed radiation is only approximately 6.5 percent of
the incident beamed radiation.
(2.) As would be expected, 61 is zero at 12 Noon for yc = 900 and Qs reaches
its maximum. Also note that from (6) and (14) 01- is close to 200, which
agrees with 61 in Fig. 8 at 12 Noon for yc = 00.
(3.) When yc = 00 there is a small fluctuation in Q5 from 5 am to 7 pm due
to a small change in 61. This of course is partially due to the fixed value of
QB; actual values of QB would accentuate the curve, especially in the
early morning and late afternoon as will be shown later.
(4.) Large deviations are seen in Qs for Yc = 900, 45', and +450, where
61 ranges over almost 700 from 5 am to 7 pm. There is a 225 percent varia-
tion in Qs. Note also that the maximum Qs does not occur at 12 Noon for
Yc = -45° and +45° but at 10:45 am and 1:15 pm, respectively. Qs and
61 are similar for Yc = -450 and +450, in that Qs or 61 in the am for Yc =
449
-45° is the same as Qs or Oi in the pm for Syc = +450, obtained by sub-
tracting the pm time for the latter from 12 Noon to get the time in the
am where Qs or 01 for yc = -450 is the same.
s = + 20: (See Figs. 10 and 11)
(1.) Notice that the maximum Qs for Yc = 900 no longer occurs at 12 Noon
as was the case when s = 0. Furthermore, there is a 330 percent differ-
ence in the two Qs values for s = +20° and s = -20° at 7 am and 5 pm,
respectively. There is a less marked change (only 55 percent) in Qs when
Yc = +450 or -450
(2.) The difference in Qs for s = +20° and s = -20° remains quite small
when Yc = 0°.
s = ± 460: (See Figs. 12 and 13)
(1.) When the conductor is sloped at ±+460 very large changes in Qs occur,
no matter what conductor azimuth is chosen, ranging from the smallest
of 123 percent when yc = 0 to 617 percent when yc = 900.
(2.) The time when Qs peaks is moving farther away from 12 Noon.
The purpose of this section was to show the magnitude of Qs as a function of
angle of incidence, slope and transmission line azimuth when QB remains
constant.

7
Cs=900(EAST-WEST TRANSMISSION LINE)
7 S=0°, = + 430, JUNE 21, 8 23.45°

4- / \80
~~~~~~~~~~~70 3
CY^ 3-t >/ t 60 0

6e,
2 _ 40
s / 30
I 89, S=00\\\ 20
0 0~~~\
7c=0 (NORTH-SOUTH TRANSMISSION LINE)
S 0°, + 430, JUNE 21, 8.23.450
7-
QS,S:00
6

5-
900 4- 900
3: 4 80 80
o; 70 a 70
60
50
,. 40
30
20
10
0
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
am NOON pm am NOON pm
SOLAR TIME SOLAR TIME
Fila. 8. Qs and 01, for s 0,
=
yc = O' and 90'. Fig. 9. Os and 0-1 for s 0, -yc
= = 45' and + 45'.
450
Beamed and Diffuse Radiation Absorbed by the Conductor
To obtain a more realistic assessment of the heat absorbed by an overhead
conductor, a number of refinements were made to the calculations given in
the previous section. First, account must be taken of the variation in the
beamed radiation from sunrise to sunset and the diffuse radiation component
must be included. Only five fixed values of slope were assumed to be repre-
sentative of the entire span in the latter case. The change in Qs as a function
of slope and solar time is a more desirable resultant, because the data can
then be applied to any transmission line.
Before the diffuse component is added to (22), it is first necessary to discuss
how diffuse radiation is measured. Pyranometers measure global or total
radiation Qt, while pyrheliometers measure direct normal incidence radiation
QB. Given these two instruments three outputs are provided.
QD = Qt - [ QB Cos (900 - a)] * (23)
For detailed descriptions of these instruments consult references 26-32. From
(23), the diffuse radiation is found on a horizontal plane surface, however, the
overhead transmission line is a cylindrical surface. Therefore, if the conductor
were located near the ground then the diffuse received will be at least I2/2 times
the measured horizontal diffuse radiation. This assumes that the distribution
of diffuse is uniform over the whole visible sky hemisphere. According to
Heywood33, the diffuse radiation is, in fact, not uniformly distributed for
clear sky, but is more intense towards the sun. Although unlikely, if the
albedo below the conductor is unity, then the diffuse radiation would become
7TQD. Equation (22) may now be written as,
c= 90 (EAST - WEST TRANSMISSION LINE)
7 S=+200, - 20° 4= +43°, JUNE 21, 8 =23.450
6
Qs = ac Ap[ B Sin a arc cos [ - Sin a Sin s
+ Cos a Cos s Cos (y-yc) t + aD ] I (24)
where 2T QD a<QD < TQD.
2
In general, the direct radiation is dependent on solar altitude, but varies
considerably due to atmospheric attenuation factors. To obtain average clear
sky values for QB to be substituted into (24), the standard proposed by Moon5
and plotted in Fig. 14 was adopted. This standard curve is based on d = 300
dust particles/cm3, 2.8 mm Ozone, co = 20 mm precipitable water vapor,
p = 760 mm, and m = 2. The diffuse radiation is based on cloudless days
where the observed normal incidence values closely approximated Moon's
standard34 for normal incidence. A computer program was written using (7),
(9), (12) and (24) and the data from Fig. 14. Plots were constructed using the
same conductor size (795 kcmil ACSR 26/7), and four general transmission
line azimuths (Yc = 00, 90°, ± 450), where 8 = 23.45°, and 4 = +43°. Figures
15, 16, 17, and 18 show the relationship of Qs as the slope changes from 00 at
midspan to 46.22° at the tower and solar time ranges from 5 am to 7 pm. Notice
that two scales are provided at the bottom of each graph, one for span length
(ft) and the other for slope (degrees). From these graphs it is possible to deter-
mine the range of Qs for any span length and sag. The dotted curves refer
to the case when the diffuse is a maximum (r QD) and the solid curves are for
IT QD. By making reference to these graphs the following remarks are
2
tabulated:

5
900
$-- 4 80 -

70
0D
0 3 60 0
50
2 40
e.
30
20
10
0
7c'YO(NORTH-SOUTH TRANSMISSION LINE)
0r
S = +20°,-20°, * a +43°, JUNE 21, 8 = 23.45°
7

Q, s -+200
6

5
L ~~~~Qs,S= -201 90O
- $.0
34 80 80
0
a 70 70
60 60
50 50
2 9~s -200 40 A9'
30
20
-... 8t,s=+200 10
r
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0
am NOON pm am NOON p m

SOLAR TIME SOLAR TIME

Fig. 10. Qs and 6i for s = _±200, Yc = 00 and 90°. Fig. 11. Qs and Oi for s = ±+200, Yc = - 45° and + 45°.

Yc = 0: (See Fig. 15)
(l.) Notice that the total radiation for 12 Noon does not peak at midspan,
but when X = +400 ft or s = 20.780. This is because Oi is at a minimum,
or from (14) 01 = 90 - n- s = 900 - 70.450 - 20780 = 1.23°. Futher-
more, it should be noted that at the far end of the span (X = - 1100 ft),
Os reaches a minimum. This represents a variation in Qs between these
two points of approximately 97 percent.
(2.) Only from 5 am/7 pm to 8 am/4 pm does the heating of the conductor
appear somewhat uniform throughout the span.
Yc = + 900: (See Fig. 16)
(1.) In general, when Yc = 900, there is a much more dramatic fluctuation in
Qs along the span, than when yc = 0°. For example, at 4 pm the minimum
of only 1 W/ftis found at 800ft (s = 37.19a), while at X = -1100 ft, Qs =
5.67 W/ft, or a deviation of 467 percent.
(2.) The only radiation curve symmetric about the midpoint (s = 00) occurs
at 12 Noon and represents the only time when slight variations along
the span exist. In general, the positive slopes receive the greatest energy
in the morning, whereas the negative slopes receive the greatest energy
in the afternoon.
Yc = ±+450: (See Figs. 17 and 18)
451
(1.) The curves for 7 pm (Fig. 17) and 5 am (Fig. 18) are nearly constant,
because their angles of incidence are approximately the same for all
slopes. See Figs. 9, 11, and 13.
(2.) Large variations in Qs are still seen, especially in the early afternoon,
for Yc = - 450 and in the late morning for Yc = + 450. For example, at
2:00 pm, Yc = - 450, the difference between the peak and minimum Qs
represents a 159 percent change.
CONCLUSIONS
It has been reported by many investigators that the solar absorption con-
stant for aluminum conductors may vary over a wide range. House and
Tuttle35 have quoted .23 for a new conductor and .97 for a blackened conduc-
tor. Others36 have indicated that this constant may vary from .6 to 1.0.
Birkebak and Hartnett37 have shown through two different methods of meas-
urement that the absorption may range from .33 to .59 for new and specially
prepared surfaces. If the largest range is selected, this represents a change
of 320 percent. It has been shown in the analysis presented in this paper that
the deviation in the absorbed solar radiation along a transmission line can
range from 97 percent for yc = 0° to 467 percent for Yc = +90°. From the
equations derived herein it is now possible to include the effect of conductor
slope in computing the solar energy absorbed by same. This completes a
major portion of the steady state computer program which is an integral part
of the Real Time Thermal Rating System. Thermal radiation considerations
will be detailed in Part V.

7 c =+450 (N.WEST-S.EAST TRANSMISSION LINE)

S =+460,-46°, 0=+43*, JUNE 21, 8 =23.450

6 QSSz+

5
9010

-
4 80
U
3:
~~~~~~~~~~~~70
Cy3OQ, S= +46* 60
Of ~~~~~50
2 ~~~~~~~~~~~40
/" Q5Os,S=-46,1 \ - 30
, S-46
, =-46 %
20
% ;__, s10
C 0
YC =-450C N.EAST- S.WEST TRANSMISSION LINE)
0 S =+460,-461~, #=+43, JUNE 21, 823.45.1
7
Qs, S +461
6-

5-

"I.
9010
Sc 4 ~~~~~~~~~~80
a
3 G8,S=+460 60

2 % 4
%%% ~ ~ Qs,S=-461 \ 30

10
v 0
,/Gi,S=-461 N
0
:)R C. f
r
7 o
a a If% I11I
IVu mz I1
1-3
z
113 7
4A 5K &6 177 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
am NOON pm am NOON pm
SOLAR TIME SOLAR TIME
Fig. 12. Gs and Oi for s =
-l-'46'0 yc = 0' and 90'. Fig. 13. Qs and Oi for s = + 46°' yc =-45° and + 45°.
 @tOso~0- cm
452
Step 1. From (7), (9) and (12): ca = 58.4801°, y = -61.3311° et) = -30°
and 8 = 23.4498.
90
Step 2. From the Law of Cosines For Angles: Find B1.
Cos B, = - Cos C1 Cos A1 + Sin C1 Sin A1 Cos b1,
3 80
z
where C1 = s = +20°, b1 = 90', and A1 = 900 - (y - Yc)
0 = 73.6689'
$ 7070 B1 = 105.321'.
cr
-j Step 3. From the Half-Side Formulas: Find c1
60
Cot 1/2C1 Tan R
Cos (ar -C1)
-

where a- = 1/2 (A1 + B1 + C1) and

j40 0U 14

0 X
F Cos (a- Aj Cos (a- B1) Cos (o- CI ]
w - Cos C-
o AZ
cl = 20.77040
/ ~~~~~~~~~~0
Step 4. Find 61, the side between the intersection of the normal plane to
the conductor and the sun's ray.
61 = 90' - a - c1 = 10.7495'.
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90
SOLAR ALTITUDE a
Step 5. Find C3 or the zenith angle OZ.
Fig. 14. Direct normal incidence and diffuse radiation for clear sky.
C3= c1 + 61 = 31.51990
OZ= 90' - a = 31.5199'
APPENDIX Step 6. From the Law of Cosines For Sides: Find a3.
Method 1. Determining From the Normal to the Conductor Cos a3 = Cos b3 Cos c3 + Sin b3 Sin c3 Cos A1,
Example: Find 6j at 2:00 pm on June 21, when the azimuth of the conductor where b3 = C3 = OZ
lies in a northeast-southwest direction (Yc = - 45') sloped 20' to
the south (s = + 20'), at 43'N latitude. See Fig. 7 for clarification a3= 36.5307'
of symbols.
8.0

lOam a 2pm
7.0 8am& 4 pm lam aI&pm -
9am 3 3pm

_ 12 NOON

5.0 ,>/ IO~~~~~1am ai 2pm

3~~~~~~~~~~~~O -.0 -O-O ---

a 0

-x (ft)
-700 -600 -500 -400 -300 -200 -100
I I I

-35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

-SLOPE (DEGREES) + SLOPE (DEGREES)
Fig. 15. Total radiation absorbed by 795 kcmil ACSR 26/7 on a clear day, June 21, 8 = 23.45', 4 = +43' and lYc = 0.
 453
8.0

7.0

5.01
4-

3~ 4.0;
0
a

3.0

2.0 1

7.0

6.0

5.0

~4.0

3.0

-x (ft) +x (ft)

-1000 -900 -800 -100 -600 -500 -400 -300 -200 -100 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100
I I l I I I I
1
-45 -40 -35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
-SLOPE (DEGREES) + SLOPE (DEGREES)
Fig. 16. (Top) yc = 90°; Fig. 17. (Bottom) Yc= -45°; total radiation absorbed by 795 kcmilASCR 26/7 on a clear day,

June 21, 8 = 23.45°, 0 = + 43°.

454
Step 7. From the Haf-Angle Formulas: Find B3. Step 1I. From the Law of Sines: Find 6i.
Tan 1/2B33 Tan r Sin 0; Sin a4
Sin (E bj) Sin C4 Sin A4
where I = 1/2 (a3 + b3 + c3) and where A4 = 900
r Sin (Y. - a) Sin (E - b3) Sin ( - c3) 1/2 Oi = 10.36320
Tan r =
_ ~~~~Sinl; Method 2. Determining Oi From the Complement Oaxis
83= 57.44090
If the angle between the axis of the conductor and the sun's ray (Oaxis) is
Step 8. Find A3. found, then 61 = 900 - Oaxis and the solution is reduced to two steps. Again,
the example in Method 1 will be used. See Fig. 7.
A3 = 1800 - B,
A3= 74.67900 Step 1. From the Law of Cosines For Sides: Find Oaxis.
Cos Oaxis = Cos (900 - a) Cos (900 + s)
Step. 9. From the Law of Cosines For Angles: Find C4.
+ Sin (900 - a) Sin (90 + s) Cos (y - yc)
COS C4 = - Cos A3Cos B3 + Sin A3 Sin B3 Cos 61
= - Sin a Sin s + Cos a Cos s Cos (y - Zc)
C4 = 48.9726°
where y - yc = - 16.3311.
Step 10. Find a4.
Oaxis = 79.63680
- Cos a Cos (a - A3) 1 /2 Step 2. Find 6O.
Cos (o --B) Cos
Tan A2a4=
(o- C)j
-
0j = 900 - 79.63680
where (Y = 1/2 (A3+ B3 + C4) or
a4= 13.79510
O1 = 10.36320
Note: a4 could have been obtained using formulae in Step 3,
but Step 10 formulae eliminate finding Tan R.

3
a;

I -x (ft)
-1100 -1000 -900 -800 -100 -600 -500 -400 -300 -200 -100
I , I I , II
-45 -40 -35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
-SLOPE (DEGREES) +SLOPE (DEGREES)
Fig. 18. Totalradiationabsorbedby795kcmIlASCR2617 on a clear day, June21, 8=23.45° 4= +43° and yc= +45°.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author wishes to express his appreciation for the assistance of David L.
Lauderbaugh in preparing the computer programs that made much of this
analysis possible.