As we saw earlier in the construction of Underground cables, a cable is basically a set

of one (or three) conductors surrounded by a metallic sheath. This arrangement can be
considered as a set of two long, coaxial, cylinders, separated by insulation. The current
carrying conductor forms the inner cylinder while the metallic sheath acts as the outer
cylinder. The sheath is grounded, and hence voltage difference appears across the
cylinders. The dielectric fills the space between the charged plates (cylinders), making it
a capacitor. Hence, capacitance of the cable becomes a very important aspect, and
must be calculated.
We can broadly classify cables as single-cored and three-cored. And the calculation of
capacitance is different for both.

Capacitance Of Single Core Cable

A single core cable can be represented as shown below.

Let,
r = radius of the inner conductor and d = 2r
R = radius of the sheath and D = 2R
ε0 = permittivity of free space = 8.854 x 10 -12
εr = relative permittivity of the medium
Consider a cylinder of radius x meters and axial length 1 meter. x be such that, r < x <
R.
Now, electric intensity Ex at any point P on the considered cylinder is given as shown in
the following equations.
Then, the potential difference between the conductor and sheath is V, as calculated in
equations below.
After that, capacitance of the cable can be calculated as C= Q/V

When the capacitance of a cable is known, then its capacitive reactance is given by X c =
1/(2πfC)Ω.
Then the charging current of the cable can be given as,
Ic=Vph /Xc A

Capacitance Of Three Core Cable

Consider a three cored symmetric underground cable as shown in the following figure
(i). Let Cs be the capacitance between any core and the sheath and Cc be the core to
core capacitance (i.e. capacitance between any two conductors).

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Power Losses Calculation
for High Voltage
Underground Cables

How Calculate the Losses in Power Cables?

You will find mainly two kinds of power losses in high voltage or
medium voltages power cables. The occurred losses in cable would be-
1. Voltage-dependent power loss; &
2. Current-dependent power losses.
Voltage-dependent power losses
Voltage-dependent power losses are caused by polarization effects
within the main insulation.
Cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) has low
dielectric permittivity, loss factor, good dimensional stability
and solvent resistance. Because of these inherent and
desirable properties XLPE cables are extensively used in
power distribution applications. Dielectric properties of
polymers may change irreversibly with continued electric
stress because of injection of electrical charges and their
subsequent localization. As a result the polymer may suffer
electrical degradation and studies of dielectric relaxation
behavior over a wide frequency range and determination of
polarization distribution by laser intensity modulation method
(LIMM) are useful to detect ageing.

The calculation of voltage dependent power losses to:

Pd=Uo2.ω.Cb.tanδ (W/Km)
Where,
Uo= Operating voltage (kV)
ω = Angular frequency (1/s)
Cb= Operating capacity (µF/km)
Dielectric power loss factors tanδ for typical cable insulations are:
 XLPE (1.5 to 3.5)10b4
 EPR (10 to 30)10b4
 Oil cable (18 to 30)10b4
Current-dependent power losses
The current-dependent losses consist of the following components:
- Ohmic conductor losses;
- Losses through skin effect;
- Losses through proximity effect;
- Losses in the metal sheath.

Ohmic conductor losses

Ohmic losses are due to ionic, electronic, and contact resistances,
which occur in the electrodes and electrolyte, current collectors,
contact resistance, and interconnects because every material has
instinct resistance to charge flow. It indicates the losses of FC
performance.

The ohmic losses depend on material and temperature. For the

calculation of the ohmic losses RI², the conductor resistance stated
for 20oC(Ro) must be converted to the operating temperature θ of the
cable:
R=Ro[1+α(θ-20oC)] [Ohm/km]

Where,

 α = 0.0393 for Copper;

 α= 0.0403 for Aluminum

The conductor cross-section and admissible DC resistances

at 20oC(Ro) correspond to the standards series pursuant to IEC 60228.

Losses through skin effect

The skin effect causes the effective resistance of the conductor to

increase at higher frequencies where the skin depth is smaller, thus
reducing the effective cross-section of the conductor. The skin effect is
due to opposing eddy currents induced by the changing magnetic field
resulting from the alternating current.

The losses caused by the skin effect, meaning the displacement of the
current against the conductor surface, rise approximately quadratic
with the frequency. This effect can be reduced with suitable conductor
constructions, e.g. segmented conductors.
Losses through proximity effect
The proximity effect detects the additional losses caused by magnet
fields of parallel conductors through eddy currents and current
displacement effects in the conductor and cable sheath. In practice,
their influence is of less importance, because three-conductor cables
are only installed up to medium cross-sections and single-conductor
cables with large cross-sections with sufficient axis space. The
resistance increase through proximity effects relating to the conductor
resistance is therefore mainly below 10%.

Losses in the metal sheath

High voltage cables are equipped with metal sheaths or screens that
must be earthed adequately.
Sheath losses occur through:

 Circulating currents in the system

 Eddy currents in the cable sheath (only applicable for tubular
types)
 Resulting sheath currents caused by induced sheath voltage (in
unbalanced earting systems)

The sheath losses, especially high circulating currents, may

substantially reduce the current load capacity under certain
circumstances. They can be lowered significantly through special
earthing methods
 XLPE (1.5 to 3.5)10b4
In the above figure (ii), the three Cc (core to core capacitance) are delta connected and
the core to sheath capacitance Cs are star connected due to the sheath forming a
single point N. The circuit in figure (ii) can be simplified as shown in figure (iii). Outer
points A, B and C represent cable cores and the point N represents the sheath (shown
at the middle for simplification of the circuit).
Therefore, the whole three core cable is equivalent to three star connected capacitors
each of capacitance Cs + 3Cc as shown in fig. (iii).
The charging current can be given as,
Ic = 2πf(Cs+3Cc)Vph A

Measurement Of Cs And Cc
In order to calculate Cs and Cc we perform various experiments like:
1. First, the three cores are connected together and capacitance between the shorted
cores and the sheath is measured. Shorting the three cores eliminates all the three
Cc capacitors, leaving the three Cs capacitors in parallel. Therefore, if C 1 is the
now measured capacitance, Cs can be calculated as, Cs = C1/3.
2. In the second measurement, any two cores and the sheath are connected together
and the capacitance between them and the remaining core is measured. If C 2 is
the measured capacitance, then C2 = 2Cc+Cs (imagine the above figure (iii) in
which points A, B and N are short circuited). Now, as the value of Cs is known from
the first measurement, Cc can be calculated.

Effects Of Capacitance In Underground Cables

We know that capacitance is inversely proportional to separation between plates.
Hence, if the separation between the plates is large, capacitance will be less. This is the
case in Overhead Lines where two conductors are separated by several meters. The
converse, of course, is also true. If the separation is small, the capacitance is more. In
Underground cables, obviously, the separation is relatively smaller. Hence capacitance
of underground cables is much more than that of Overhead lines.
The most important factor that is affected by this is the Ferranti effect. It is more
pronounced in cables than in lines. This induces several limitations.
Also, with increased capacitance, the charging current drawn is also increased.
Underground cables have 20 to 75 times the line charging current compared to
Overhead lines.

Due to these two conditions, the length of Underground cables is

1.Conductor

2500 sq.mm Copper Nom. Dia. 73.00 mm

3000 sq.mm Copper Nom. Dia. 88.00 mm
2. Conductor Screen
2500 sq.mm Semiconducting PE Nom. Dia. 76.00 mm
3000 sq.mm Semiconducting PE Nom. Dia. 91.00 mm
3.Insulations
2500 sq.mm XLPE Nom. Dia. 134.00 mm
3000 sq.mm XLPE Nom. Dia. 149.00 mm
4. Insulation Screen
2500 sq.mm Semiconducting PE Nom. Dia. 137.00 mm
3000 sq.mm Semiconducting PE Nom. Dia. 152.00 mm
4.Armour ------------------------------------------ NOT APPLICABLE ----------------------------
5.Concentric wires -------------------------- NOT APPLICABLE ----------------------------
6.Sheath
2500 sq.mm Corrugated Aluminium Sheath Nom. Dia. 153.00 mm
3000 sq.mm Corrugated Aluminium Sheath Nom. Dia. 168.00 mm
7.Jacket
2500 sq.mm HDPE ST-7 Nom. Dia. 170.00 mm
3000 sq.mm HDPE ST-7 Nom. Dia. 180.00 mm
II. Connected load , Load curve. : Cyclic Loading over a 24 hour period.
III. Loading of the cable - : 2100 to 0600 Hrs ---- 9 Hours ---- 50%
0600 to 0900 Hrs ---- 3 Hours ---- 120%
0900 to 1800 Hrs ---- 9 Hours ---- 100%
1800 to 2100 Hrs ---- 3 Hours ---- 120%
Please evaluate for short time loading when only one circuit is live and when both
circuits are live.
IV. Rated System Short Circuit Current : 50 kA / 3 sec