Mitigation of electric field near overhead transmission lines using electromechanical compensation based on genetic algorithm

The electrical field is a function of both the voltage and the configuration of the overhead transmission line (OTL); thus, mitigation of the electrical field could be achieved by either electrical compensation or mechanical rearrangement of the line configuration. In the mechanical rearrangement method, the conductor positions are optimized under certain constraints so that the electrical field has the minimum possible value. In the proposed research, OTL mechanical rearrangement is improved using electrical compensation based on a genetic algorithm (GA). The electrical compensation is implemented by inserting a combination of passive series and shunt elements in each phase, creating an electric voltage imbalance. GA is an evolutionary optimization algorithm used to minimize the electric field near residences as a fitness function. The positions of conductors and passive-reactive elements are represented as genes. In addition, this paper includes a case study on a 500-kV high-voltage overhead transmission line. The results show that when passive-reactive compensation is combined with mechanical compensation, the lowest electric field can be obtained. Electrical compensation improves the mechanical rearrangement method by approximately 18.6% (the total reduction with mechanical compensation of only about 34% is increased to more than 52% with electromechanical compensation).