2008 Annual Report Conference on Electrical Insulation Dielectric Phenomena
Calculation of Current Rating for Medium and Low
Voltage XLPE Cable in Clustered Layout
Fan Youbin, Meng Shaoxin Zhang Li, Lan Geng
Miao Fugui Fan Yungang
Wuhan High Voltage Research Institute Shanghai Municipal Electrical Power
Wuhan, 430074, China Company
Shanghai, 200080, China
Abstract- For the clustered layout of power cable, the steady
current rating of MV or LV XLPE cable in different laying status,
in different temperatures of circumvents, and in different soil
thermal resistances, was calculated according to the IEC 60287
standard. The effect of the temperature and the accuracy of soil
resistance coefficient estimation with regards to the final results
are also investigated. The result shows the coefficient of soil
resistance plays the most important role in the current rating for
cable in a clustered layout. Selecting an appropriate soil
component is an important method to increase the current rating.
I. INTRODUCTION
The calculation of current rating can be a complicated
process, especially for complex operating conditions such as
clustered layout and buried cable. However, with the power
system development of large cities, such as Shanghai in China,
they are used more readily than ever before. For a high
density of cabling, it is crucial for safety and reliability of the
power supply that the current rating in a clustered layout is
calculated accurately.
II. CACULATION METHOD OF CURRENT RATING FOR CABLE IN
CLUSTERED LAYOUT
Although standards for calculating current rating have been
developed in China, challenges still exist under complex
operating conditions. The China industry standard to
calculate current rating of cable is JB/T 10181-2002
(calculation of the current rating of electric cable). It is equal
to IEC 60287 [1]. Research is carried out around the world
[2, 3, 4] to address this issue. In this paper, the current rating
(I) is calculated for five different types of cable under two
typical cluster laying situations according to (1) [1].
AO-Wd[O.5T]+n(4T2+T3+T)] (1)
RT +n](1+8)T2 +nl(l+g +12)(T3 +T4)
AO is the conductor temperature rise above the ambient
temperature (K). R is ac resistance per unit length of the
cable conductor at maximum operating temperature (Q/m).
Wd is the dielectric loss per unit length for the cable
insulation (W/m). T1 is the thermal resistance per unit
length between one conductor and the metal sheath
(K m/W). T2 is the thermal resistance per unit length
between sheath and armor (Km/W). T3 is the thermal
resistance per unit length between outer sheath and
surroundings (K m/W). T4 is the thermal resistance per
978-1-4244-2549-5/$25.00 ©) 2008 IEEE 122
Zhou Yunjie, Li Yu
Shanghai Cable Transmission &
Distribution Company
Shanghai, 200072, China
unit length between the cable surface and the surroundings
(K m/W). n is number of conductors in the cable (all
conductors have same cross section and carry the same
load). XI is the ratio of total losses of the metallic sheath
to the total conductor losses. 2 is the ratio of total losses
of the armor to the total conductor losses.
There are many factors, as listed above, influencing the
current rating of a cable. The thermal resistances, such as
T1, T2, T3 and T4, are the most important factors [5]. T1
and T2 are thermal resistances caused by internal aspects,
which are controlled by the manufacture process. T3 and
T4 are thermal resistances contributed by external aspects,
which vary with different circumstances [6].
For a group of buried cables, external thermal resistance,
T4 of the (n-I)th cable, is modified by (2).
T - PT4 In_-_ d 1) d2_ 1) d3( 1) d, 1) (2)
d,1(,11) is the distance from the center of the (n-l)th cable to
the centre of the nth cable. d1n(n-l) is the distance from the
centre of the (n-l)th cable to the center of the reflection of
the nth cable in the ground-air surface. L is the distance
from the surface of the ground to the cable axis (depth of
layout). De is the external diameter of cable.
For a group of cables laid in a concrete duct bank, the
external thermal resistance of a cable includes, 1St, the
thermal resistance of the air space between the cable
surface and duct internal surface; 2nd, the thermal
resistance of the duct, and 3rd, the external thermal
resistance of the duct bank.
This paper focuses on the external thermal resistance of
the duct bank. For the duct bank, a correction factor is
used to take into account the thermal resistance difference
between concrete and soil exterior to the concrete duct
bank. First, the thermal resistance outside the duct bank is
calculated using (2), assuming a uniform medium which
has the same thermal resistance as the concrete. Then, it
is necessary to apply the correction factor (3).
T =Nofn(pe-prgidcale -1) (3)
N is the number of energized cables in the duct bank. Pe is
the thermal resistivity of soil around the duct bank. P. is B. Results
the thermal resistivity of concrete around the duct bank. 1) x 8 single line buried layout
Pc= I.Okm/W. Fig. 2 shows that the current rating varies with the soil
u = LGIrb (4) operating temperature, at which, Pe is 1.0 Km/W for a single
LG is the depth of layout which is from ground to the line buried layout. Fig. 3 shows that it varies with Pe at 30°C.
centre of the duct bank. rb is the equivalent radius of the
concrete duct bank given by (5). 2) 3 x7 Duct bank cement layout
For high density clustered cables, such as a 3x7 duct bank
Inrb==(xl2y) (4/1T-X/Y) Ind +y /x2)+lnec2) (5) layout, there are no reported theoretical or experimental data
x is the length of the section of the duct bank and y is the outside of China. Fig. 4 shows the current rating at different
width. temperatures with an assumed Pe of 1.0 Km/ W for 3x7 duct
bank layout. Fig. 5 shows the current rating variation with
III. CACULATION AND RESULTS
different Pe values at a soil temperature of 30° C.
This paper elaborates on the calculation of the current rating
for five types of cables (A: YJV 26/35, 3x400; B:YJV 26/35, Fig. 2 and 4 show that the current rating decreases
3x240; C: YJV 8.7/10, 3x400; D:YJV 8.7/10, 3x240; E: YJV dramatically with increased temperatures. Here is a
0.6/1, 4x240), under a single line buried layout (1x8) and a 400
duct bank cement layout (3 x7), as shown in Fig. 1.
Definition of cable types A, B, C, D, and E are given by [6]. 375 i
Cable A
Structure parameters use IEC 60287 recommended values, if -
350 - -X
not defined specifically. Cable B
C 325 -
C.
A. Pe (Thermal Resistivity ofSoil) t 300 X Cable C
The types of soil and their specific water content are key a 275 -
factors for defining appropriate values of Pe. Pe is l.OKm/W --0
Cable D
in most cases. Pe in wet areas, such as cities along the coast, 0 250 -
is typically smaller. Some Japanese companies use 0.4 Cable
EF-
225 -
Km/W in Japan. Although IEC60287 gives a specification
for soil thermal resistivities for different countries and regions, 200 X
to get an accurate result of a specific area, one should use the 12 17 22 27 32
average value ambient temperature over several years at the Temperature (°C)
local cable installation area. For a buried depth less than
0.5m, the ambient temperature should be the average soil Fig. 2. Currnet Rating vs. soil temperature at 1.0 Km/W
temperature at the buried depth. for lx8 single line buried layout
,\~~~~\
\\\\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ Ground
I-/ / I soil-
1000 = I - 7- 'fiI-
/ r

400
sO
O O, Ol p o, O Cable Cable A
=f
- /,, --_ 5 _ ,
aS/I /..50I-
- in /iL- 1x8
.- 350

a). Single line buried layout (1x8)

300 i
Cable C
0 Cable DA
250- aX-- -----b

0.6 0.65 0.7 0.75 0.8 0.85 0.9 0.95 1

Pe (Km/W)
Fig. 3. Currnet Rating vs. soil thermal resistivity at 30°C
for lx8 single line buried layout

b). Duct bank cement layout (3x7)

Fig. 1. Cable layout

123
 280 280

260 260
Cable A
< 240 < 240I
0) 0)
* 220 Cable B
(U * 220
lY
azr_ 200- _ 200
a)
Cable C
o 180 C-e-
o 180
-DCable E
160 160

140 140
12 17 22 27 32 C0.6 0.65 0.7 0.75 0.8 0.85 0.9 0.95
Temperature (°C)
Pe (K m/W)

Fig. 4. Currnet Rating vs. soil temperature at 1.0 Km/W
for 3x7 duct bank cement layout
comparison of Fig. 2 and Fig. 4. For cable A, when Pe iS
1.OKm/W, the current rating at 30°C is 85.5% of 12°C (Fig. 4)
for 3x7 duck bank cement layout. While in Fig. 2 for lx8
single line buried layout, the current rating at 30°C is 86.5%
of 12 °C for the same cable and same Pe value. The
temperature of the soil will change with seasons during the
year. To select the soil temperature, the actual temperature
distribution of certain seasons in a particular local area should
be used.
Fig. 3 and Fig. 5 show that the current rating is greatly
affected by Pe. For cable A at 30 °C, when Pe is 1 .OKm/W, the
current rating is 76.7% of the current rating when Pe is
0.6Km/W in Fig. 5 for 3x7 duct bank cement layout. While
in Fig. 3 for lx8 single line buried layout, the current rating
for Pe of 1.OKm/W is 79.3% of Pe of 0.6Km/W at 30°C (cable
A). All the figures show the same trend for 5 types of cables.
IEC 60287 doesn't give soil thermal resistivity
specifications for the China area. In general, we use Pe of
1.OKm/W, and a little bit higher soil temperature for
calculation according to our experience. The type of soil
changes substantially in China. For cities with high
under-ground-water levels, such as Shanghai, Pe is 0.55Km/W.
For in-land cities, such as Wuhan, Pe is 0.80Krm/W. For cities
in the dry areas, such as Xi'an, Pe is even higher. There is a
project planned to measure the soil thermal resistances of
major different urban cities in China. Soil temperature ranges
from 11 C to 28°C as well. All these variations will create
discrepancies between theoretical calculations and actual
applications. Therefore the calculation needs to be validated
by experiments.
Fig. 5. Currnet Rating vs. soil thermal resistivity at 30°C
for 3x7 duct bank cement layout
IV. CONCLUSION
Based on the above analysis, we recommend using
measured soil thermal resistivities to calculate the current
ratings for different structures of cable and ambient parameters
instead of universal values given by standards. Otherwise,
there are large deviations between the calculated values and
real values.
There are many factors that influence current rating, but IEC
60287 only provides a standardized model to calculate current
rating, so the result should be validated.
Based on theoretical analyses, external thermal resistance
plays the most important role in changing of the current rating.
Therefore, when the cable layout is fixed, the best way to
improve the current rating is to reduce the external thermal
resistance to its minimum.
REFERENCES
[1] IEC60287, "Calculation of the Continuous Current Rating of Cables
(100% Load Factor )", 1993.
[2] H. Brakelmann, P. Lauter, and G.J. Anders, "Current Rating of Multi-core
cables" IEEE Trans. on Industry Applications, vol. 41, No.6,
pp. 1566-1573, November 2005.
[3] C.S. Indulkar, "Use of Monte Carlo Analysis for Calculating the Current
Rating of Cables" IEEE Power Engineering Review, pp.52-53, August
2000.
[4] G.J. Anders and H.S. Radhakrishna, "Power cable Thermal Analysis with
Consideration of Heat and Moisture Transfer in the Soil" IEEE Trans.
on Power Delivery, ppl280-1288, vol.3, No.4, October 1998.
[5] G. Ma, "Current Rating Calculation for Power Cable" China Electric
Power Press, Beijing, 1998.
[6] Z. Zheng and M. Wang, "High Voltage Cable Line" China Hydro &
Electric Power Press, Beijing, 1983.

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