Research and Design of DC500kV Optical Fiber

Composite Submarine Cable

Wenjie Mei, Wenlin Pan, Tao Chen, Guanghui Song, Jian Di

Department of Research and Development
Hengtong Submarine Power Cable Co., Ltd
Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
892897377@qq.com

Abstract - According to the project capacity requirement,
the selection of system operating voltage level, the type of
insulation material and the highest operation temperature of
cable, simulation analysis by the current capacity capacity
finite element software, then get the conductor DC resistance
requirements, combined with the need of project laying
environment, get the design of the appropriate conductor and
structure and size finally. Reference to the maximum electric
field strength of the insulating material, design of the
appropriate insulation layer thickness, make the insulation
wire core Laplace field strength to meet the insulation
requirements, at the same time to ensure the insulation
temperature between inside and outside less than 20
at least.
The material selection and thickness determination of the
other process, must follow the rules of environmental
requirements, international and domestic standards, the
thickness is calculated by assuming diameter algorithm, and to
meet the customers’ needs add the optical fibers in the right
location of the submarine cable, get the design of DC500kV
large conductor section optical fiber composite DC submarine
cable finally.
Index Terms - HVDC; optical composite submarine cable;
abnormal shape wire; insulation thickness
I. INTRODUCTION
Because of the advantage of no limit in transmission
capacity and distance and realizable interconnection between
non-simultaneous networks [1], HVDC system can be widely
applied in long distance (crossing the sea) power transmission,
high-capacity electricity transmission and interconnection
between regional networks. When DC submarine cable is
integrated with optical fiber cable, the cost of separate
installation of optical fiber cable will be saved. Besides,
communication, early warning and temperature monitoring
which can guarantee submarine cable safe operation will also
be realized. Due to the advantages of submarine composite
cable, research and developing of this cable becomes a
tendency. After finite element analysis of current rating by
and other layers can be designed according to international
and national standards. The optical fiber unit will be put on the
suitable position. This article mainly introduces the design
methodology for a project with a scheme of two circuits of DC
500kV composite submarine cables with total capacity 2GW
and maximum operating temperature 70
.
II. CONDUCTOR DESIGN OF DC SUBMARINE CABLE
Cable conductor can be divided into 4 types, stranded
compacted shaped conductor (sector or tile), stranded
compacted circular conductor, Milliken conductor and hollow
conductor [2]. Milliken conductor is usually made up of 4 or 5
segments. Because of the compaction coefficient is normally
below 0.9, the water proof performance is not very good and
this conductor is always applied to land cable. The hollow
conductor is usually applied for self-contained oil-filled cable.
For example, SZ stranding will result in large gap between
wires and poor water-proof performance. Besides, the self-
locking construction is adverse to the production of flexible
joint, which is not suitable for XLPE insulated submarine
cable at present. For a 500kV large cross-section DC
submarine cable, only compacted circular conductor can be
applied.
Based on the design conditions, the value of current rating
is 2000A. After combining the finite element analysis by
simulation software and the national standard [3], the DC
resistance of conductor at 20
is 0.009Ω/km. After analyzing
two design mentality and six design schemes by theoretical
calculation and CAD simulation, scheme e with a diameter
52mm and cross-section 2000mm2 is finally selected. The
detail design of conductor refers to Design and Optimization
of Large Cross-section Conductor in Submarine Cable [4].
Please see the following table I.
TABLE I
The Structure Design of Circular Compact Conductor with Abnormal
Shape Copper Wire
Center Drums /NO. Radius/heig Cross- Width/heigh

simulation software based on the capacity, maximum

operating temperature, rated voltage and environment, the
parameters of conductor will be obtained. Then, the insulation
 ht/mm sectional t
submarine cable is bended, twisted or suffered from other
area/mm2
Every layer Design mechanical damage during the laying and operating process,
insulation thickness should be more than 26mm. In
consideration of the accessories requirements, it is
1 1 2.6 21.23 — recommended that the thickness of insulation is 28mm.
Finally, the insulation thickness is derived after a series of
6 6 3.9 18.58 1.667 electrical, mechanical and aging test.

12 10 3.9 20.71 1.648

Copper rod
with 18 15 3.9 20.18 1.524
diameter
5.2mm
24 20 3.9 19.91 1.460
30 24 3.9 20.57 1.479
36 29 3.9 20.32 1.442
III. DESIGN OF THE INSULATION FOR DC SUBMARINE CABLE
A. Theoretical basis
XLPE insulation thickness has a direct influence on the
cable quality and service life. At present, the breakdown
strength is the main factor affecting the selection of insulation
thickness. The thicker the insulation, the more nonuniformed
the electric field distribution. The thicker the insulation, the
lower the utilization factor. The thicker the insulation, the
more easily the insulation breakdown. In addition, during the
practical operation, the thicker the insulation, the bigger
temperature difference it will cause between inside and
outside of insulation. Space charge will be induced and
accumulated due to the large temperature difference, as a
result, which cause partial distortion of electrical field and
finally break the insulation. Also, the space charge will induce
water-tree and electrical-tree which will break the insulation
down after they grow up to a certain extent. The thinner the
insulation, the large laplace stress it will cause. When the large
laplace stress exceeds the maximum allowable value of the
insulation, the insulation will breakdown as well [5].
According to the GB/T 22078.2, the conductor screen which
approximate thickness is 2.5mm consists of semi-conductive
tape and extruding semi-conductive layer which approximate
thickness is 2.0mm [6]. Considering the margin of current
rating for system, the value 2100A is appropriate. The
maximum normal operating temperature is 70
for the
conductor insulated by the material LS4258DCE from
borealis. In the DC system, the maximum electric stress which
the insulation can withstand is 30kV/mm. The temperature
difference should not exceed 20
between inside and outside
of the insulation according to the design experience. Based on
these parameters, the appropriate insulation thickness can be
calculated.
B. The insulation thickness for DC submarine cable
Through the theoretical calculation, the insulation
thickness of DC 500kV submarine cable is 26mm. However,
due to the large cross-section and great weight of conductor,
the stress and strain on the insulation will increase when the
IV. DESIGN AND SELECTION OF METALLIC SHEATH AND
OUTER SHEATH
A. Theoretical basis of selection for metallic sheath and
outer sheath
According to third part of TICW7.1~4-2012, lead sheath
is used as a metallic screen. Extruded outer sheath should be
applied on the lead sheath. There also should be a layer of
anti-corrosive material on the surface of lead sheath [7]. Type
E lead alloy is an inert material with good creep resistance,
high density, good radial water-proof and anti-corrosive
performance that is widely applied in domestic. Lead is also
the only material that shall be applied as the metallic sheath of
submarine cable, which is stipulated by national standard.
Bitumen, as an anti-corrosive layer should be coated on the
surface of lead sheath by melt casting.
All cables must have outer sheath because it can prevent
the armor from corrosion, abrasion and being locked during
installation [8]. Thermoplastic compound (such as PVC, PE or
zero halogen material) or elastomer compound (such as
polychloroprene, chlorosulfonated polyethylene or similar
polymer) can be applied as outer sheath according to specific
conditions. By comparing the properties of different polymers,
polyethylene is selected as outer sheath of this DC submarine
cable because the polyethylene material has a good water-
proof performance and no voltage will be induced on the
sheath. Based on the manufacturing technology, MDPE is
finally selected as the outer sheath.
B. Design of semi-conductive water blocking tape
Semi-conductive water blocking tape is applied on the
insulation screen, which is used not only to prevent the water
penetration along the cable but also to prevent the core from
being damaged by high temperature during the insulation
extruding process. After overall consideration, two layers of
semi-conductive water blocking tapes are applied to keep
electrical touch between the insulation screen and metallic
screen. The size of water blocking tape is 0.5mm in thickness
and 80mm in width. The overlap is not less than 15% of the
width. After tested during practical manufacturing process, it
can totally meet the requirements of water-proof and core
protection.
C. Calculation of metallic sheath thickness
The calculation of fictitious diameter D refers to the annex
A [9] in standard GB/T 12706.3 and technical specification of
National Cable Quality Supervision and Inspection Center
[13]. The thickness of longitudinal water-proof layer can be
neglected. However, the biggest cross-section area of
conductor which can be found in annex A is 1600mm2. For
conductor with cross-section area 2000mm2, the fictitious
diameter is 52mm.
The diameter over insulation core D and the nominal
thickness of lead sheath T1 can be calculated as follows:
D=dL+2ti+3.0 3-1
T1=0.03D+1.1 3-2
where dL—fictitious diameter of conductormm
ti —nominal thickness of insulationmm
T1—thickness of lead sheathmm
Set the value of dL=52.0mm and the diameter over
insulation core can be obtained from the formula 3-1,
D=111mm.
Based on the above formula 3-2, the thickness of lead
sheath is 4.4mm after correction.
D. Calculation of outer sheath thickness
The calculation of fictitious diameter D1 refers to the
formula in annex A of standard GB/T 12706.3.
D1  D
2 T1
(3-3)
T2  0.03D1
0.6
where D1—fictitious diameter over lead sheathmm
T2—thickness of outer sheathmm
Based on the above formula 3-3, the thickness of outer
sheath is 4.2mm after correction.
V. DESIGN OF OPTICAL FIBER UNIT
During the power transmission process, it is always
accompanied with the requirement of communication for
submarine cable. At present, because the power grid is not
smart enough, it is possible that a massive power outage which
also last for a long time will occur if the fault location
couldnt be found in time. In this condition, the sensing
technology of optical fibers is required to locate the fault.
With this technology, the integrated optical fiber unit can
monitor the temperature around the position where it is and
then deduce the conductor temperature by software. The
whole cable can be monitored all the time and it is reminded
to adjust the operational parameters of cable in time. As a
result, the faults can be prevented and reduced. In conclusion,
an optical fiber composite submarine cable should be designed
not only to meet the requirement of communication, early
warning and temperature monitoring, but also saves the
installation cost of communication cable.
In this design, optical fiber cable is placed on the plastic
sheath. The type and number of optical fiber cable is selected
according to customers requirements. Based on the
production capacity of optical fiber cable manufacturer and
submarine cable manufacturer, optical fiber cable is placed
between PE tubes. The diameter of PE tube and optical fiber
cable is 6mm and 4.8mm respectively, which makes the
external force mainly act on the PE tube and prevents optical
fiber cable from damage.
VI. DESIGN OF INNER BEDDING
Big crushing pressure will be caused on the optical fiber
unit due to the steel wires when the cable is stretched. It is
necessary to design a layer of Polypropylene yarn under the
steel wire armor as cushion. At the same time, to prevent the
Polypropylene yarn embedded in the layer of optical fiber
unit, two layers of binder tapes are applied with 0.2mm in
thickness. The diameter of Polypropylene yarn is usually
2.0mm.
VII. DESIGN OF ARMOR AND OUTER SERVING
A. Material and diameter of armor
According to TICW 7.3-2012 and GB/T 3082, galvanized
steel wires are applied as armor materials. Taking
consideration of necessary tensile strength during installation
and manufacturing technology, a layer of galvanized steel
wires with diameter 6.0mm are selected as the armor of 500kV
DC submarine cable, which is also the many years of
manufacturing experience in submarine cable for Hengtong
Submarine Power Cable Co., Ltd.
B. Material and diameter of outer serving
During the transportation of submarine cable, the outer
serving over the armor is used to protect it from damage.
According to TICW 7.3-2012, the outer serving of submarine
cable is always a layer of fiber materials with approximate
thickness 4mm. In this design, two layers of polypropylene
yarns which are applied on the steel wire armor, is used not
only to reduce the corrosive speed of the steel wire but also to
protect the steel wire from damage. To keep the polypropylene
yarns bonded together, bitumen with a thickness 0.5mm is
coated both on the steel wire and first layer of polypropylene
yarn. The thickness of every layer of polypropylene yarn is
2.0mm, which meets the requirement in TICW7.3-2012. At
last, we get the construction of 500kV DC submarine cable,
which cross-sectional drawing is in Appendix-A.
VIII. CONCLUSION
Circular compacted conductor with shaped wires have
many advantages, such as high compaction coefficient, good
water-proof performance and low requirement on frame type
stranding machine. It is superior to the circular conductor with
circular wires on manufacture and design. The length of lay
has no effect on conductor with circular wires. However, the
influence of length of lay on conductor with shaped wires
need further research.
The thickness of insulation in this design mainly takes
considerations of the breakdown level of material, technology
level of accessory and limit of materials. There are many other
factors which can’t be considered at present and will be
researched during the production of flexible joint, voltage test
and simulate operation after the cable is finished. In addition,
finite element can also be used to test whether this cable meets
the long-time operation requirement.
This DC 500kV, 2000mm2 submarine cable, where
circular compacted conductor with shaped wires firstly
applied, the calculation of insulation thickness and electrical
stress and the theoretical basis of remaining layer design can
be used for reference to other DC submarine cable with other
size.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Thank you for Hengtong Submarine Power Cable Co.,
Ltd give me a chance to do this work, and also thank you Mr
Pan’s help during I design the cable conductor. My colleague
also give me lots advises when I need them.
REFERENCES
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modification of working temperature and breakdown characteristics for
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41214-1227.
[2] Qiao Yue-chun, Li Jie-hao, Design of wire and cable structure[M] ,China
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[3] General Administration of quality supervision inspection and quarantine
of the people`s republic of China GB/T 3956-2008  Cable
conductor ,State Standard of the People's Republic of China,China
Electric Power Pressed,2009-11-01.
[4] Mei Wen-jie,Yang Hong-liang, Li Chun-mei, Design of Special-shaped
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613-15.
[5] Zheng Xiao-quan,Xie An-sheng,Li Sheng-tao, Electrical branches
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Physica sinica , 2007,56
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power cables of rated voltage 500kV (Um=550kV) and their
accessories ,State Standard of the People's Republic of China, China
Electric Power Pressed,2009-11-01.
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Appendix-A

Fig.1 DC500kV submarine optical composite cable DC-HYJQ41-F 500kV 1×2000mm2+12B1

TABLE II
Structure chart of DC500kV submarine optical composite cable DC-HYJQ41-F 500kV 1×2000mm2+12B1

NO. structure Description thickness /mm Outside diameter /mm

1 Conductor Diameter of conductor Φ52.0 52.0±0.5

Semi-conductive banging water blocking tape 1×0.3 /

Semi-conductive blocking

2 tape
Semi-conductive polyester tape 1×0.2 /

Conductor screen Conductor screen 2.0 /

3 XLPE insulation XLPE Insulation 28.0 /

4 Insulation screen Insulation screen 1.5 116.0±1.5

5 Water blocking Semi-conductive water blocking 2×0.5 /

6 Lead alloy Lead alloy sheath 4.4 /

7 Over sheath PE outer sheath 4.2 136.2±2.5

8 Lap covering Non-woven fabrics 1×0.2

9 PE tube PE tube Φ6.0 /

10 Optical unit Fiber optic cable Φ4.8 /

11 Inner layer Non-woven fabrics and PP rope 2×0.2+Φ2.0

12 Metal armoring Galvanized wire Φ6.0 /

13 Outer layer PP rope 4.0 173.4±4.0

Appendix-B

Fig.2 HOUC-2 LW 20G652D+4G651/0.3Submarine Optical fiber cable

TABLE III
Structure Chart of HOUC-2 LW 20G652D+4G651/0.3Submarine Optical Fiber Cable

Items Physical Characteristics Unit Nominal Value

Fiber No.
24

FIMT Thickness mm
0.2

FIMT O.D. mm
Structure& Parameter 2.4

mm
PE Sheath Thickness 1.5

mm
Cable O.D. Φ5.4

Minimum Breaking Load,(UTS) N

300

Nominal Transient Tensile Load,NTTS N

210

Nominal Operating Tensile Load, NOTS N

100

Nominal Permanent Tensile Load,NPTS N

70

m
Minimum Bending Radius, installation 0.75

m
Nominal Specification Minimum Bending Radius, handling/coiling 0.50

Operating Temperature Range °C -10 to +40

Handling Temperature Range °C -15 to +45

Storage Temperature Range °C -30 to +60

Weight in air, approximately

kg/km 31.6
Weight
Weight in seawater, approximately
kg/km 8.2