First, it’s essential to understand that most countries in worldwide, including Asia and Europe, use 220V and 50 Hz, whereas 60 Hz is utilized in fewer countries, including the United States, sections of Japan and Saudi Arabia.
As we all know, the journey of electrical power starts at power generation stations, where the frequency is determined by the speed of the rotating portion, which is then determined by the mechanical power input. 60 Hz requires more mechanical power than 50 Hz, which means more fuel is necessary, resulting in higher operational expenses.
Next, we move on to the second stage, which involves boosting the voltage of the generated power with transformers. Iron losses will increase at 60 Hz and can be classified into two types:
• Eddy current losses.
• Hysteresis losses
Eddy Current Losses
Eddy current losses are related to the square of the frequency (f^2), whereas hysteresis losses are proportional to the frequency (f). As a result of the iron losses, the transformer core will heat up more at 60 Hz than at 50 Hz.
Furthermore, when the frequency increases, the size of the transformer reduces, as shown by the equation
E = 4.44 fNAB
where B - Magnetic flux density & A - Cross-sectional area of the transformer core.
Assuming E, N, and B remain constant, the core area A is inversely proportional to frequency.
This indicates that a transformer at 60 Hz will be smaller than one at 50 Hz, because transformer size is determined by the core area, which is inversely proportional to frequency.
For power transmission lines, inductive reactance (X) is exactly proportional to frequency, with
X = 2πfL
As a result, at 60 Hz, inductive reactance will be higher than at 50 Hz, resulting in larger voltage drops down the transmission line (IX), lowering transmission efficiency.
Furthermore, the skin effect increases with frequency, implying that the effective cross-sectional area for current flow reduces as frequency increases, increasing line resistance, because resistance is inversely proportional to cross-sectional area. This increases the resistance R.
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