© 1996-2009 Operation Technology, Inc. - Workshop Notes: Underground Raceway Systems

Underground Raceway
Systems
© 1996-2009 Operation Technology, Inc. - Workshop Notes: Underground Raceway Systems

Raceway Systems
© 1996-2009 Operation Technology, Inc. - Workshop Notes: Underground Raceway Systems Slide 2
Cable Derating Analysis
• Determines the proper size of cables to carry
the specified loads for new systems.
• Calculates maximum cable ampacities for

specific scenarios.
• Examines cable temperatures and

ampacities for existing systems to determine
operating and emergency limits.
Cable Derating Analysis
•NEC Accepted -
Neher-McGrath Method
•IEC 287 Method
Steady-state temperature calculation
Uniform-ampacity cable ampacity calculation
Uniform-temperature cable ampacity calculation
Cable sizing
Transient temperature calculation
Cable Ampacity
Fundamentals
Cable Ampacity is the current a conductor can carry
continuously under the conditions of use without
exceeding its temperature rating.
Heat is generated when current is carried by a

conductor since it must pass through the electrical
resistance of the conductor.
Watts = I2R
Cable Ampacity
Fundamentals
Various thermal barriers:
1. Conductor insulation
2. Air inside a duct
3. Duct wall
4. Soil surrounding an underground duct
5. Additional thermal insulation applied such as
polyurethane
Cable Ampacity
Fundamentals
Heat Transfer Equation
The rate of heat transfer is directly dependent on the difference
in temperature between the conductor (Tc) and the ambient
temperature (Ta)
Tc Ta (I 2 R).RHO
RHO is thermal resistance in degrees Centigrade-cm/watt
Rearranging the terms for I: ( TC TA )

I
( R RHO)
Heat Flow Model
Heat Flow Model
(Generalized)
Installation under an isolated

condition
Installation of groups of three

or six circuits
RHO of Soil = 90
Ta = 20 oC
Heat Transfer Problem
Ultimate Unchanged Surrounding Environment
Adjustment Factor
Heat Flow
Immediate Surrounding Environment
(Actual Installation Conditions)
In actual practice, the surrounding medium in which the cables

are to be installed rarely match those conditions under which
the stated ampacities apply.
Adjustment Factor
Cable Derating is based on a concept of an adjustment
(multiplying) factor that is applied against base ampacity.
The multiplying factor takes into account the differences in the

cable’s actual installation conditions from the base conditions.
I' F x I
I’ = Allowable cable ampacity for the actual installation conditions
F = Cable Ampacity Adjustment Factor
I = Base Ampacity specified by cable manufacturer or NEC under an
isolated condition with a soil thermal resistively (RHO) of 90 and a
specified ambient temperature
Adjustment Factor
Composition
F Ft x F x Fg
th
Ft = Adjustment factor to account for the
differences in the ambient and
conductor temperatures from the
base case
Fth = Adjustment factor to account for the
difference in the soil thermal
resistivity from RHO of 90
Fg = Adjustment factor to account for
cable grouping
Duct Bank Example
I = 375 Amps 350 MCM
I = 450 Amps 500 MCM
Ft = 0.82 Ta from 20 C to 30 C
Tc from 90 C to 75 C
Fth = 0.9 RHO of 90 to 120
Fg = 0.479 350 MCM Cable
Fg = 0.478 500 MCM Cable
350 MCM
F = 0.82 x 0.90 x 0.479 = 0.354
500 MCM
F = 0.82 x 0.90 x 0.478 = 0.354
I’ = 375 x 0.354 = 133 Amps

I’ = 450 x 0.353 = 159 Amps
Neher-McGrath Equation
Tc (Ta ΔTd)
I = Ampacity (kA) I
Tc = Conductor temperature (Deg C) Rdc (1 Tc) Rca'
Ta = Ambient Temperature (Deg C)
Δ Td = Conductor temperature rise due to dielectric loss (Deg C)
Rdc = Conductor dc resistance (μΩ/ft)
Tc = Loss increment due to conductor skin & proximity effects
Rca’ = Thermal resistance between conductor & ambience (Ω-ft)
(1+Tc) is a multiplier used to convert direct current resistance (Rdc) to

alternating current resistance or impedance. For wire sizes smaller than No. 2,
this term becomes insignificant.
Δ TD compensates for heat generated in the jacket and insulation for higher
voltages. It is insignificant for voltages below 2kV.
Neher-McGrath Example
Calculate ampacity of 3/C concentric stranded XHHW insulated copper

cable enclosed in a 1 inch steel conduit. Ta = 40 C
t = insulation thickness From N-M Table VII
From N-M Table VII
2t = 2 x 0.045 in. = 0.09 in. [NEC Table 310-13] a 3.2
b 0.19
DC 0.292 [NEC Table 8, Chapter 9]
1 Inch Rigid Steel Conduit ID = 1.049 in.
DI 0.09 0.292
OD 1.315
DI 0.382
DI From N-M Table VII
Ri 0.012 400 log
DC
Ds 2.16 DI
Ri 0.56
Ds 0.825
Neher-McGrath Example
( n a) Rca Ri Rsd RE
Rsd
Ds b
Rca 17.071
Rsd 9.457 Rdc75 194
Emissivity ( 234.5 90)
E 0.95 Emissivity Rdc90 Rdc75
( 234.5 75)
Ds2 1.315 Conduit OD
Emissivity Rdc90 203.402
9.5 ( n)
RE ( 90 40)
[ 1 1.7 Ds2 ( E 0.41) ] I
RE 7.054 ( 203.5 Rca)
I 0.12 kA with Ta = 30, I = 131 Amps

(Table 310-16 lists 130 Amps, Ta=30)
Cable Sizing
Determines the minimum size for each cable that will carry the
specified load current without violating the cable temperature
limit.
The sizing calculation is an

iterative process involving
adjustment of the cable size
and temperature.
Able to ‘lock-in’ specific

cable sizes that cannot be
changed.
Cable Sizing Example
1. Load WKSHOP-EX4
2. Run Load Flow
3. Update Cable Load Amp
(Study Case)
Cable Sizing Based Voltage Drop
Set Voltage Drop = 2%

Operating Current = 140 A
Optimal Size is Calculated
One Size Smaller is Displayed
Cable Sizing Based on Ampacity
Operating Current = 140 A
Optimal Size is Calculated

One Size Smaller is Displayed
New UGS Presentations
• Project Editor – Presentation – Underground
Raceways - Right-Click – Create New
Double-click
to change
presentation
properties
• Select UGS Mode – Click ‘New Presentation’
UGS Presentation
• UGS presentation is
conceptually a cross-section
of cable raceways.
• Each UGS presentation is a
different cross-section of the
underground system.
• If you delete a raceway from a UGS presentation
into the Dumpster, the raceway can be added to
other UGS presentations as an existing raceway.
• In UGS, each presentation acts independently from
each other.
UGS Edit Toolbar
Existing Heat Sources New Heat Sources

Existing Cables New Cables
Existing Duct Bank RWs New Duct Bank RWs
Existing Direct Buried RWs New Direct Buried RWs
New Conduits for New Locations for
Duct Banks RWs Direct Buried RWs
Display Options
UGS Components
Heat Source
New Duct Bank – RW1
Existing Cable - Pump Cable
Cable 5 cannot fit inside this

conduit and is placed outside
the conduit
Inserting Cables
• Three main methods for adding cables to the existing
conduits:
1. Drag the cable from OLV

using Ctrl+Shift Key
2. Use the Existing Cable button
from the UGS Toolbar
3. Use the Routing Page from
the Cable Editor
Cable Representation
3 Conductor / Cable and

3 Conductor / Phase
Symbol: 1, 2 and 3
1 Conductor / Cable and
1 Conductor / Phase
Symbol: 1A, 1B, 1C
Single Phase Cable
Symbol: 1F, 1R
DC Cable
Symbol: 1P, 1N
UGS Example
Duct Bank
X and Y = 30
Width = 15 Height = 8
Conduit
Conduit Size = 4
Y = 3.35
Pump Cable
From OLV
New Cable
5 kV Kerite 1/C
Operating Load = 200 Amps
Run Steady-State Temp Calc
UGS Large Example
Steady-State Calculation
Calculation Pre-Requisite: All cables have been carrying the specified load
long enough that the heat flow has reached its steady-state and no more
changes of temperature will occur throughout the raceway system.
The cable temperature calculated is dependent on raceway system

configuration, cable loading, and the location of each particular cable.
Alarms and Warnings
Calculated 88.3 C is greater

Calculated 109 C is greater
Multiple Presentations
Same Cables and Heat Source
Uniform Ampacity -
Ampacity Calculation
Approach is based on the equal loading criterion for ampacity calculations.
Calculations determine the maximum allowable load currents when all the cables in
the system are equally loaded to the same percentage of their base loading.
Calculation Procedure
1. Determine initial loading level based on base ampacity.
2 Calculate cable temperature as in steady-state temperature calculation.
3. Check cable temperature values against the cable temperature limit.
If the temperature of the hottest cable is within close range of the temperature limit, the solution has been
reached. If not, adjust the cable loading uniformly at the same percentage, either increasing or decreasing
the loading in order to make the highest cable temperature come closer to the temperature limit. Then go
to back to step 2 to recalculate cable temperature.
The cable allowable current is updated by the calculated ampacity.
Uniform Temperature -
Ampacity Calculation
Approach is based on the equal temperature criterion for ampacity calculations.
Determines the maximum allowable load currents when all the cables in the system have their
temperature within a small range of the temperature limit.
In the case where these conductors are not located in the same conduit/location, they may not have the
same temperature. When this situation occurs, the temperature of the hottest conductor in this cable
branch will be used to represent this cable branch.
Calculation Procedure
1. Determine an initial loading level based on the base ampacity from the Cable Library and using cable
derating factors for the given configuration.
2. Calculate cable temperature as in the steady-state temperature calculation.
3. Check cable temperature values against the cable temperature limit.
If temperature values of all cables are within close range of temperature limit, the solution has been
reached. If not, load change required for the cable temperature to approach the temperature limit based
on the gradient of cable temperature change is determined.
Cable Sizing Calculation
• The Cable Sizing Calculation determines the minimum size of each
cable that will carry the specified load current without violating the cable
temperature limit.
• Only the ‘available’ cable sizes within

the cable library for each selected
conductor will be considered.
• Cables may be excluded if the potential

size of the cable cannot vary.
• The calculation is an iterative process;

adjusting the cable size and then calculating
cable temperatures.
• Once a solution is reached, calculation results will be reported in the

output report. Cables will automatically be changed to the new sizes if
the Update Size option is checked in the Study Case.
Transient Temperature Calculation
Calculates and then plots cable temperature variations as a function of time in accordance to load changes.
(Table of Ampacity versus Time)
Provides a tool to verify operation conditions of the

raceway systems against the cable short-time or
emergency temperature limits.
Transient temperature calculations can be used to
determine the cable peak temperatures during a short-
time interval (usually less than a day), and compare
them against maximum allowable temperatures,
resulting in a more flexible and economical design of
your raceway systems.
The transient temperature calculations are based upon a dynamic thermal model of the raceway system,
constructed mainly from thermal resistance, thermal capacitance, and heat sources.
Thermal resistance is used to represent different thermal layers from cable conductor to ambient soil.
Thermal capacitance is used to represent the capability of each layer to absorb heat.
Example From NEC
NEC Duct Bank (Detail 2)
Depth= 30 in
Fill RHO = 60
1kV NEC Rubber2
1/C CU 3-phase
Magnetic
Class = 100%
Size = 350 AWG
Load = 284.5 Amps
per phase
NEC Duct Bank (Detail 3)
Depth = 30 in
Fill RHO = 60
1kVNEC Rubber2
1/C CU 3-phase
Magnetic
Class = 100%
Size = 750 AWG
Load = 334.9Amps
per phase
(Detail 2) in ETAP
Results for Detail 2
NEC (Detail 3) in ETAP
Results for Detail 3

© 1996-2009 Operation Technology, Inc. - Workshop Notes: Underground Raceway Systems

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

© 1996-2009 Operation Technology, Inc. - Workshop Notes: Underground Raceway Systems

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Underground Raceway

© 1996-2009 Operation Technology, Inc. - Workshop Notes: Underground Raceway Systems

• Calculates maximum cable ampacities for

• Examines cable temperatures and

Uniform-ampacity cable ampacity calculation

Uniform-temperature cable ampacity calculation

Transient temperature calculation

Heat is generated when current is carried by a

RHO is thermal resistance in degrees Centigrade-cm/watt

Rearranging the terms for I: ( TC TA )

Installation under an isolated

Installation of groups of three

In actual practice, the surrounding medium in which the cables

The multiplying factor takes into account the differences in the

I’ = 375 x 0.354 = 133 Amps

(1+Tc) is a multiplier used to convert direct current resistance (Rdc) to

Calculate ampacity of 3/C concentric stranded XHHW insulated copper

I 0.12 kA with Ta = 30, I = 131 Amps

The sizing calculation is an

Able to ‘lock-in’ specific

Set Voltage Drop = 2%

Operating Current = 140 A

Optimal Size is Calculated

• Select UGS Mode – Click ‘New Presentation’

Existing Heat Sources New Heat Sources

New Duct Bank – RW1

Existing Cable - Pump Cable

Cable 5 cannot fit inside this

1. Drag the cable from OLV

3 Conductor / Cable and

The cable temperature calculated is dependent on raceway system

Calculated 88.3 C is greater

Same Cables and Heat Source

The cable allowable current is updated by the calculated ampacity.

• Only the ‘available’ cable sizes within

• Cables may be excluded if the potential

• The calculation is an iterative process;

• Once a solution is reached, calculation results will be reported in the

Provides a tool to verify operation conditions of the

You might also like