INNOGRID ENGINEERING sh.p.

Ersi Ago -Electrical Engineer Project.

Study Case: Cable Thermal Analysis

 Thermal Analysis of Transmission Cables
 Cable Temperature dependence during Short Circuit Faults
 Software used for Analysis: DigSilent Power Factory

For a proper rating of power conductors and equipment the thermal effects of Short Circuits
currents have to be considered.In the majority of cases in practice the three-phase short circuit
currents have the highest magnitudes and produce the most pronounced thermal stress.
Cable thermal analysis is very important for determining cable rating,sizing,analyzing,decay
factor and protection modules.
Therefore the impacts of such faults are usually considered as relevant for thermal sizing.The
short circuit currents varies in time in a complex manner owing to the transient processes in
generating units and network elements.Consequently, an exact determination of current thermal
effect would imply sophisticated and rather laborious calculation which is inappropriate for
practice.Practical methods and simulations are recommended.In this study the analysis is
performed in DigSilent Power Factory environment.

According to IEC 60909 the definition of the current and multiplication factors are as follows:

• Ikks initial symmetrical short-circuit current (RMS)

• ip peak short circuit current (instantaneous value)
• Ib symmetrical short-circuit breaking current (RMS)
• Ith thermal equivalent short-circuit current (RMS)
• k factor for the calculation of the peak short-circuit current
• u factor for the calculation of the symmetrical short-circuit breaking current
• m factor for the heat effect of the d.c component
• n factor for the heat effect of the a.c component besides the above currents, the
Complete Method introduces the following current definition:
• ib peak short-circuit breaking current (instantaneous value)

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Other short circuit calculation methods available in PowerFactory include:

• IEC 61363: Calculation of short-circuit currents on marine or offshore electrical systems such
as ships.
• IEC 61660: IEC standard for the calculation of short-circuit currents in DC auxiliary systems in
power plants and substations.
• ANSI/IEEE 946: ANSI/IEEE standard for the calculation of short-circuit currents in DC auxiliary
systems in power plants and substations.

The main focus of this study is the Calculation of Cable Conductor Temperature in Transient
State (In our case the transient state is equivalent to a short circuit).

Below are explained 2 simple methods for analyzing thermal state of conductor based on
transient Current of Conductor.
 Method 1.
TEMPERATURE CALCULATION OF CABLE CONDUCTOR IN TRANSIENT STATE
In steady state, the temperature calculation of the cable conductor is based upon the
assumption that any factor outside the cable does not change. However, conditions including
environment temperature, heat sources, thermal resistance of soil surrounding the cable, do
vary with time.

Purely theoretically we neglect cooling factor.

o The active power of the cable conductor which is connected between two busbars and
the current flows in it is calculated by this formula:

o The energy generated by the current flow in the conductor is:

While the conductor temperature changes and

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 o The conductor resistance is calculated by the basic formula

o The above calculations and formula can be condensed simply into a linear
approximation:

Combining al this:

Variables/Parameters used for study formula:

I: current
R:resistance
P: power
T: temperature
t:time
E:energy
m:mass,
V:volume
l:length
A: cross section area of wire
C:heat capacity of conductor material

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In DigSilent PowerFactory software during cable design in the main window of line dialogue
window are showed every cable parameter as below in the example:

For the study we have analyzed a Type Line Cable “XLPE_Al 3x150mm2 33kV cable used
in a Wind Farm for connecting main busbars. In the main window we see the type cable
window which shows us all parameters sectioned in sub windows. In the first sub window
“Basic Data” there are shown Parameters per Length:

 AC Resistance R(20oC) Ohm/km

 Inductance L mH/km

The parameter we want to analyze in this study which is Cable Conductor Temperature
is showed in the “Load Flow” “VDE/IEC Short Circuit” “Complete Short Circuit” windows,
which are showed below:

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In the Load Flow window we see Max. Operational Temperature which is the temperature given
by Cable Datasheet and indicates the optimal temperature of the Cable Conductor for a normal
functionality in rated conditional.

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In the two last figures which are respectively “Complete Short Circuit” and “VDE/IEC Short Circuit”
window we see the Max .End Temperature parameter inputted. This parameter indicates the
maximal operating temperature of the Cable Conductor in the worst case which includes different
fault events.
Those main parameters of the Line can be obtained in the active grid window via Result Box

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The result box in our case shows main parameters such are:
 I (Current Flow)
 P(Sum)
 Q(Sum)
 Max Temp (In our case 90 deg)

The result box can be formatted and new variables can be added as below.We are focused in
this study in the Type Parameter variables.

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New variables added are:
 Tmax- degC- Max Operational Temperature

 Rline-Ohm/Km -AC Resistance R’(200C)

 Rline_Tmax- Ohm/Km -AC Resistance R’ at max. operational temperature.

 Alpha-1/K-Temperature Coefficient

Respectively in the figure

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To study the temperature changes during short circuits in this study we will take in
consideration the result box for steady state of the fault event. The result box now will be
formatted for short circuit event. Temperature parameters will be studied by simulating a
short circuit fault in the busbar and the parameters will be analyzed for the cable
connected to this busbar.
The short circuit method used for the example is IEC 60909

After executing the short circuit with a Break Time of 1 sec and Fault Clearing after 0.5
seconds now we see the result box

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As we see the result box indicates that the Maximum Operating Temperature. This
method shows only a static parameter which is a datasheet parameter. Below will be
explained another method which traces the temperature.

Next method requires all the parameters to be used in a form of a simple formula for
calculation as was explained.

𝑇𝑇 = (𝐼𝐼 2 ∗ 𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅 ∗ 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑)/(𝐴𝐴2 ∗ 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 ∗ 𝐶𝐶)

This formula will be calculated in the form of an excel sheet and the results will be
displayed on the graph.
For example we will analyze the temperature during a RMS/EMT Simulation. The event
will be a Short Circuit fault passed by a Clear Short Circuit.

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The cables that will be analyzed are Cable 2.1 and Cable 2.2

The Short Circuit Event will be simulated in the MV 2.1 Busbar

While the fault event will be executed in the results will be defined and analyzed for the
two cables respectively as below:

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After running simulation the variables displayed on the graph are:

For a 3-Phase Short-Circuit Fault type with fault resistance=10 Ohm and fault
reactance=100 Ohm in the busbar we obtain those results displayed on the plots. It is
obvious the voltage drop in the lines and the current increment due to short circuit fault.
On the two plots on the right is displayed cable conductor Operating and Max. End
Temperature. As we see the normal operating temperature value is 90oC and Max. End
temperature value is 250OC.We can obtain these values from cable properties.

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To study how temperature changes during short circuit faults we need to obtain all the parameters
that cable conductor temperature formula requires.
From the plot we export results in a form of excel sheet or text file as below:

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So we have two variables data from the DigSilent plot which are time (s) and Current (A)
Lets export and temperature data from the plot.

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To complete formula we need also cable conductor specifications which can be obtained
from cable datasheet or internet sources.
• Cable Conductor Type- Aluminum
• AC-Resistance 90oC – 0.269 Ohm/Km
• Cable Length- 3 Km
• Capacity Heat Factor- 0.9 J/g*C
• Cross Section- 150 mm2
• Density- 2710 g/m3

After obtaining all parameters needed, summarize them in a form of excel sheet. Each
parameter has it own column and in the last column is calculated cable conductor
temperature based on time iterations.

To view the cable conductor temperature behavior during short circuit lets convert the
three last columns, respectively Op.Temp, Max.End Temp and Cable Temperature in a
graph.

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The chart indicates that the Max.End temperature of the Cable Conductor is not reached
and the Maximal Temperature during this fault can reach a value of approximately 168.40
0C.

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If we study the other cable connected with the busbar which is Cable 2.2 which has the
same parameters like cable 2.1 but with different voltage drop and current increment.
Cable 2.2 parameters.

Cable Conductor Temperature Plot

The graph indicates that the Cable 2.2 is not affected by the short circuit as much as the
Cable 2.1 is affected.

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Those results for the two cables affected by Short Circuit Event in the busbar where they
are connected can be compared with the results from DigSilent environment, respectively
from the grid cable colors.

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Conclusions:
 Thermal Analyze of a Cable Conductor affected by a short circuit fault event was
determined by the Energy that flows in the cable during this fault. We exploited two main
parameters which were the current flow in the cable conductor and the time of short circuit
fault. Those were dynamic parameters that compounded with the other static parameters
and variables such were density, cross section and heat capacity made it possible to
obtain the energy created on the conductor and the conductor temperature derived from
the energy. Instead of finding the energy in the form of the heat in the cable conductor we
could have used the reactive power but the method used was for detailed study purpose.
 The calculation formula is a “simple basic” formula and as a consequence the accuracy
cant be the desired one. But if we neglect some elements (as we operated during study)
;for example cable cooling, derating factor and the cable conductor resistance change
during fault, we can obtain an approximate plot and values. However modifications and
improvements can be made.
 The Cable Conductor Temperature Chart as it is obvious, indicates the temperature curve
with its highest and lowest limits during short circuit event. The formula and the plot was
designed to express a temperature curve form type adjusted with voltage drop and current
increment plot type. We can consider it an ideal and adjusted curve fitting based on voltage
and current curve type. The adjustments were made based on time iteration type.

Real Energy/Heat/Temperature Curve Ideal Energy/Heat/Temperature Curve

The study can serve as a basic fundamental for creating a script in DigSilent PowerFactory
environment .Further modifications and improvements can be applied for a more accurate result.

Ersi Ago INNOGRID ENGINEERING sh.p.k

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