Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Underground Cable Design
Underground Cable Design
Underground Cable Design
Dr Abhinav K Singh
aks@ecs.soton.ac.uk
Session Outcomes
• Describe the functional requirements of each
component within a HV cable system
• Link the installation environment to the cable
design requirements
Construction
Cable Construction
• Conductor – carries load current
• Conductor Screen (or Shield) –
semiconducting polymer to control
electric field
• Insulation – mostly polymeric for
new cable
• Insulation screen – semiconducting
• Sheath – made of lead‐alloy and
provides electric shielding, acts as
water barrier, carries fault current
• Outer layers (polymer jacket and
steel armour) needed to provide
protection from water, abrasion,
corrosion, high mechanical
stresses…
Conductors
Functional Requirements
• What we want:
– High electrical conductivity
– Mechanically strong, but flexible
– Chemically stable
– Easy to handle
– Cheap…
• Normal options:
– Aluminium (lower loads)
– Copper (higher loads)
http://www.prysmian.com.au/about-us/prysmian_country/
Conductor Efficiency
• We desire to have the lowest possible joule
heating loss (to give higher ratings)
• Thus we need to minimise ac resistance:
– Rdc: material selection, conductor size
– Skin effect, ys: stranding design (see OHL slides)
– Proximity effect, yp: stranding design (see OHL slides)
• Techniques:
– Milliken design (for conductors above 2000mm2)
– Oxidised strands
– Enamelled Strands
Milliken Conductors
Skin effect can be further reduced by oxidising or
enamelling the copper strands
(normally only economically viable above 2000 mm2)
Conductor Sizes
• IEC Standard sizes for HV (36<Vm<170kV):
– Normally 150mm2 to 800mm2
• IEC Standard Sizes for EHV (170<Vm<550kV)
– Normally above 630mm2
– Milliken conductors above 1600mm2
– Common (non IEC60228) sizes 1600,2000,2500mm2
IEC 60228 Standard Conductor Sizes
6 mm2 10 mm2 16 mm2 25 mm2 35 mm2 50 mm2
70 mm2 95 mm2 120mm2 150mm2 185mm2 240mm2
300mm2 400mm2 500mm2 630mm2 800mm2 1000mm2
Conductor Selection
• Selecting a conductor size is the starting point for many
steps of cable systems analysis
• Typically determined by the required current carrying
capacity
• Power transferred is determined by V and I
• Maximum voltage limit is determined by insulation
thickness and breakdown strength – fixed by design!
• Maximum current limit is thermally limited, unlike OHL
which are usually limited by voltage drop
– Maximum temperature of dielectric
– Typically 90°C for XLPE cable circuits
– Thus we need to solve a heat transfer problem…
Practicalities
Economics:
• Higher upfront cost (larger conductor)
• Higher operating costs (smaller conductor)
• May wish to conduct whole life costing assessment
(depending on who is paying for the losses)
Installation Effects:
• Larger conductors increase weight, which can lead to
restrictions on installation
• Larger conductor will have bigger minimum bend radius, and
will be more difficult to install
Insulation
Functional Requirements
• Insulate the conductor (at high voltage) from the ground
• Allow thermal losses (from joule heating) to dissipate as
readily as possible
• Maintain mechanical strength under range of expected
operating conditions (e.g. withstand any mechanical pressure
on it)
• Degradation must be as slow as possible, given that the cable
life time may be in excess of 50 years
Old Insulation Materials
• Paper tapes lapped onto
conductor
• Conductor/insulation dried to
remove residual moisture
• Vacuum to remove excess air
• Soaked in oil to impregnate
paper
• Sheath extruded around
insulation
• Armour over sheath applied
Modern Insulation Materials
• Most commonly used material is now XLPE (Cross
Linked Poly‐Ethylene), previously oil‐paper systems
were dominant
• Advantages:
– High electrical breakdown strength
– Chemically durable
– Suitable mechanical properties
– Faster than oil impregnation
• BUT: can’t be recycled, thermal properties not great
Extrusion Process
• Conductor screen, insulation and insulation
screen extruded in one operation
• Insulation is not cross‐linked during extrusion
– This occurs after extrusion by careful control of
temperature (occurs above 200°C)
http://www.campbellwhite.com/AU_Manufacturing.aspx
Construction Process (Polymeric)
• Semiconducting materials and
dielectric extruded
simultaneously (triple
extrusion)
• Continuous Catenary
Vulcanization: conductor hangs
in air from point of extrusion to
ground (potential for sag)
• Vertical Catenary Vulcanization,
cable hung vertically
downwards (requires sharp
bend radii and a large tower)
Properties of Insulating Materials
BICC Cables, Electric Cables Handbook, ed G Moore. Blackwell Science, 1997.
Screen/Sheath
Functional Requirements
• Contain the electric field within the cable
• Provide a return path for fault currents
– Fault level determines the dimension of the screen
– Must be able to carry desired fault current for required
time, without exceeding temperature limits
– Otherwise through faults will thermally damage the cable
system
• May also act as a radial water barrier (to ensure the
long term performance of the insulation).
– This is the primary difference between a “screen” (may not be a
water barrier) and a “sheath” (usually acts as a water barrier)
Sheath Options
• Copper wires – cannot act as water barrier
• Aluminium foil – can act as water barrier to some
extent
• Continuously welded solid aluminium (2‐3mm thick)
– can act as water barrier
• Lead (~3‐5mm thick) – traditionally used option,
especially for wet environment (e.g. undersea cables)
Armour / Protection
Functional Requirements
• Provide mechanical protection from external
impacts (including during installation) –
otherwise cable can get damaged
• Provide reinforcement during the installation
phase (to avoid mechanically loading the
conductor during cable pulling)
• Not all cables have an armour layer
– Adds weight and cost
– Only used if the environment or installation requires it
Armour Options
• Metal tape armour (simple option for smaller, low voltage cables)
• Steel wire armour (longer, higher voltage cables, essential if the
armour needs to bear tensile load) – e.g. three core cables which
connects a wind farm back to the grid
• Protective plastic over‐sheath layer guards against corrosion and
mechanical damage to sheath during installation
Joints
Joints
• Cable lengths limited by transportation and manufacturing
capability
• Joints most likely cause of failures in cable circuits
• Many different types available
• Insulation thickness greater than parent cable – hand made
components
Joints
• Control of electrical stress is essential
• Joints must be constructed with great care to avoid failures
https://www.nkt.com/fileadmin/user_upload/nkt‐06086_Katalog_Hochspannungsgarnituren.pdf
Cable Installation
Buried Cable Installations
• Can be either directly buried or in a
filled concrete trough
• Depth must be sufficient to avoid
accidental damage, but not so deep as
to damage thermal rating (as deeper
the cable, more difficult it is for heat to
get dissipated from ground surface)
• Thermally stable backfill may be
required to meet rating
In Air Installations
• Could be free air, air filled troughs or in specially
constructed cable tunnels
• Need to consider the effects of access, solar
radiation, possible air temperatures, rainfall effects,
etc.
Effect of Installation on Cable
• Conductor size (thermal properties of installation?)
• Sheath design (presence of water?)
– Lead sheath as a full water barrier (heavy)
– Aluminium sheath
– Copper wire/tape screen
• Armouring (mechanical forces?)
– How much tensile force is seen in installation?
• Outer covering (corrosion protection?)
Recommended Reading
• William Thue “Electrical power cable engineering”
Chapters 3,7,8 (available via library search as an e‐
book)
• Total time for above ~2hrs