Factors Affecting Power Cable Current Ratings

Technical Publication1
1 Electrotechnik Pty Ltd - www.elek.com.au

Abstract
As well as the construction of the cables themselves, there are various installation conditions which affect the current rating of cables installed in both air
and soil. For cables in air; ambient air temperature and exposure to direct solar radiation. For buried cables; soil dry-out, soil thermal resistivity, phase
spacing, ambient soil temperature and backfill construction. For cables both in air and in soil; conductor size, conductor material, circuit grouping, duct size
and duct material affect current rating. It’s important to consider these factors during the modelling for an accurate calculation of current rating and to match
them with the specific installation conditions of your cable project.

Keywords: High voltage power cables; Current rating; Finite element method

• Ambient soil temperature = 25 °C

I. Introduction
• Maximum conductor temperature = 90 °C
The current rating of cables is affected by the installation condi- • Depth of burial = 0.8 metres
tions, the cables system design and the materials and construction • Native soil thermal resistivity = 1.2 °C.m/W
of the cables themselves. In this report a parametric study of the • Dry soil thermal resistivity = 2.5 °C.m/W
factors which affect current ratings is presented. Modelling was • Dry soil critical temperature = 40 °C
performed using ELEK™ Cable HV Software, which performs • Cable sheath solar absorption coefficient, σ = 0.8
calculations in accordance with the IEC 60287 standards (1; 2; 3), • PVC duct thermal resistance = 6 °C.m/W
equations published by Neher and McGrath (4) and uses the finite- • Metal duct thermal resistance = 0 °C.m/W
element method. • Backfill thermal resistivity = 1 °C.m/W
For cables in air, the effect on current rating of the following
parameters is studied: conductor size, conductor material, sheath The models for the 11 kV cables used in the parametric study
bonding arrangement, ambient air temperature, enclosing in duct, are included in the Appendix.
duct size, duct material, exposure to direct solar radiation and
separation between groups of cables in air. III. Cables in Air
For buried cables, the effect on current rating of the follow-
3.1. Varying conductor sizes and materials
ing parameters is studied: soil dry-out, soil thermal resistivity,
phase separation, standing voltage, single core sheath loss factor, The conductor size has been varied from 35 mm2 up to 800 mm2 .
multi-core sheath loss factor, multiple buried circuits, soil ambient Cables are modelled as installed spaced from a wall in trefoil
temperature, backfill thermal resistivity and backfill construction. arrangement.
ELEK™ Cable HV Software can be used to model cables from Figure 1 shows current rating increases with conductor size.
Low Voltage (LV) up to 500 kV (5 kV DC). In this study the cables The DC resistance of a conductor is inversely proportional to its
modelled were extruded 11 kV XLPE insulated, screened cables. size, however, note that doubling of the conductor size does not
The principles demonstrated in this parametric study apply for double the current rating. This is because for AC currents the con-
power cables of any AC voltage level. The calculated current tribution of the skin and proximity effects to conductor resistance,
ratings have been compared with and validated by those published especially for large conductors, is significant.
by the cable manufacturers. As expected, the conductor material affects the current rating
and cables with copper conductors have a higher current rating
due to higher conductivity compared with aluminium. Bear in
II. Common Parameters mind there are significant advantages to using aluminium conduc-
The following common parameters were used for modelling of the tors, which makes them a popular choice, such as a much lower
cables: material cost and they are lighter to physically handle.
The larger the conductor size the larger the circulating current
• Load factor = 1.0 losses (significant for solidly bonded cables but not applicable for
• Sheath bonding = Solid single-point bonded cables) and eddy current losses. Circulating
• Conductor material = Copper current losses are generally much larger than eddy current losses
• Ambient air temperature = 40 °C
© Electrotechnik Pty Ltd 2021.

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2 Factors Affecting Power Cable Current Ratings

Figure 1 Current rating versus conductor size – Copper and Figure 3 Current rating versus duct size – cables in air
aluminium cables in air

thermal resistivity than a metal duct which has negligible thermal

hence we see from Figure 1 the current rating for solidly bonded
resistivity, thus a cable in a PVC duct will have a lower current
cables is lower than for single-point bonded cables.
rating. This difference can be seen in Figure 3.
3.2. Ambient air temperature Figure 3 also shows that as the duct size gets larger for the
same cable, so does the current rating. This is due to the reduced
For all cables as ambient (environment) temperature, whether
external thermal resistivity experienced by the cables which as it
it be air or soil, is increased nearer to the maximum conductor
lowers the current rating increases.
temperature limit the current rating is reduced.
For cables in air specifically, Figure 2 confirms that the relation-
ship of current rating and air temperature is a non-linear function
of the excess of cable surface temperature above ambient air tem- 3.4. Exposure to direct solar radiation
perature and also depends on the outer surface area (size) of the Exposure to direct solar radiation increases the operating tempera-
cable - since as can be seen the rate of change in current rating with ture and hence reduces the current rating of cables installed in air.
ambient air temperature is different for the cable sizes (diameters). The slope of the plots in Figure 4 shows that the current rating is
reduced more for larger (greater surface area) cables than smaller
3.3. Enclosed in ducts in air (less surface area) cables.
The current rating of cables installed in air enclosed in ducts is The solar radiation intensity depends on the geographical lo-
reduced compared with those which are unenclosed. This can be cation (latitude and longitude) and the day of the year and hour
seen by comparing Figure 3 with the previous Figure 1 for the 120 of the day. IEC 60287-3-1 (3) states when no information about
mm2 . This difference is caused by the added thermal resistance of the intensity of solar radiation is available a value of 1000 W/m2
the duct wall and the raised temperature of the air enclosed inside should be adopted. The surface absorption coefficient depends on
the duct. the material type of the outer cable sheath.
The duct material influences the current rating of a cable, de-
pending on the thermal resistivity. For example, PVC has a higher

Figure 4 Current rating of 120 mm2 , 400 mm2 and 800 mm2 cables
Figure 2 Current rating versus ambient air temperature exposed to varying solar radiation intensity

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 Patrick and Dayan 3

Figure 5 Cables installed in groups – standardised arrangements

as available in ELEKTM Cable HV software. Figure 7 Current rating versus conductor size – cables direct
buried
3.5. Groups of cables in air
When cables are installed in groups in air as shown in Figure 5 The complex effect of moisture migration on cable rating calcu-
the rating of the hottest cable will be lower than in the case when lations as depicted in Figure 7 is addressed by a two-zone model
the same cable is installed in isolation. This reduction is caused by for the soil surrounding loaded cables. The concept of the model
mutual heating. is summarised as follows. Moist (native) soil is assumed to have a
The effects of grouping in air on current ratings are dependent uniform thermal resistivity; however, if the heat dissipated from a
on the ratio of the cable diameter (De) and the separation between loaded cable and its surface temperature are raised above a certain
circuits (e). If the separation between groups exceeds the criti- critical temperature then the soil immediately surrounding the
cal ratio of e/De then the thermal proximity effects which cause cable will dry out resulting in a zone which is assumed to have a
de-rating of the circuits can be neglected. Figure 6 depicts this higher uniform thermal resistivity.
relationship between separation of groups and current rating. Comparing Figure 7 (buried in soil) to Figure 1 (in air), the
increase in current rating with conductor size is more non-linear
IV. Buried Cables and the current ratings are lower for cables in soil compared with
cables in air.
4.1. Varying conductor sizes and soil dry-out
The conductor size has been varied from 16 mm2 up to 800 mm2.
Cables are modelled as direct buried in a trefoil and touching
4.2. Soil thermal resistivity
arrangement. The thermal resistivity of the native soil for direct buried cables
The phenomenon of soil dry-out requires explanation. Soil laid in flat and touching arrangement was varied from 0.4 up to
thermal resistivity is not constant and is highly dependent on soil 4.0 °C.m/W. Figure 8 shows the current rating of cables is highly
moisture content. As soil heats up caused by the loading of the dependent on and reduces significantly (more for larger cables)
cables, moisture may tend to migrate away from the cable surface. with increasing soil thermal resistivity and follows a hyperbolic
A dried-out zone of soil can develop around the cables in which function.
the thermal resistivity is increased. This in turn tends to increase Soils which are composed of clay or peat have resistivities as
the temperature of the cables which reduces their ratings. low as 0.8 °C.m/W while fast-draining sands may have resistivities

Figure 6 Current rating versus separation between trefoil groups Figure 8 Current rating versus native soil thermal resistivity

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4 Factors Affecting Power Cable Current Ratings

Figure 9 Current rating versus spacing (separation) between Figure 11 Sheath loss factor versus spacing (separation) between
phases phases

in the order of 2.5 °C.m/W. Ground which is composed of building the current rating reduces with phase spacing as the increase in
rubble and as such has air gaps may have resistivity higher than 3 sheath loss factor has a greater impact on current rating than the
°C.m/W. reduction in mutual heating effects. For smaller cables with lower
sheath loss factors an increase in phase spacing causes a slight
4.3. Spacing between phases and sheath losses increase in current rating. The increase in sheath loss factor can be
Figure 9 shows that as the spacing between phases is increased seen in Figure 11.
the current rating also increases, except for large cables with solid For certain solidly bonded cases there is a point where the effect
bonding (explained in the next sections). This is due to a reduction of increased circulating currents becomes less than the reduction
in the mutual heating effects between phases. of mutual heating effects and the current rating slightly increases.
Increasing the phase spacing has the following positive and In comparison, the sheath loss factor in a solidly bonded mul-
negative effects: ticore cable is much lower than for single core cables and this
Single-point bonded cables – current rating increases often sig- difference is observed in Figure 12. Note that the modelled ar-
nificantly; and sheath standing voltage (which is a safety concern) rangement for the single core circuit is trefoil and touching.
is increased due to increased mutual inductances between sheath
and conductor. This increase in standing voltage can be seen in 4.4. Touching and non-touching cables
Figure 10. When cables are touching or laid in close proximity to each other,
Solid bonded cables – losses in the sheath (or screen) increases the heat flux of a cable will be distorted by that of other cables
with conductor spacing as the reactance of the sheath Xs increases that are nearby. In general, this distortion becomes significant with
according to cables which are spaced by less than two cable diameters. For this
s reason the empirical equations given by the IEC Standard (2) for
Xs ∝ ln( )
d touching cables are different to those for spaced cables, the latter
where s is phase spacing and d is screen diameter. For large cables of which were originally derived using the finite element method

Figure 10 Standing voltage versus spacing (separation) between Figure 12 Sheath loss factor versus conductor size in single core
phases and multicore cables

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 Patrick and Dayan 5

(a) Touching (b) Spaced 0.2 m per phase

Figure 13 Heat fluxes for a buried circuit in a flat configuration

to account for the heat flux distortion. tical buried single core trefoil circuits spaced by 0.2 m from each
Heat emanates radially from the conductor, which is the hottest other.
component and the main heat source inside the cable. The heat The isolated current rating for a single core trefoil circuit is
fields for both touching and spaced cables are shown in Figure 13, 534 A. For identical trefoil circuits that are equally loaded, where
and were calculated using the finite element method. The meshed mutual heating is considered, the current rating is reduced by 33.7
layouts are given in Figure 14, where the hottest points on the % to 354 A.
outer surfaces of the cables (caused by the mutual heating between The mutual heating effect can be clearly examined when the cir-
cables) are indicated with yellow-coloured crosses. cuits are unequally loaded. For circuits that are unequally loaded,
such as shown in Figure 16, the cable circuits in the middle of the
arrangement have a higher degree of mutual heating and thus a
4.5. Multiple Buried Circuits lower current rating compared with the outer circuits, 334 A and
Often multiple circuits are buried inside the same trench. Due to 391 A respectively.
the mutual heating effects between the cables the current rating of When there are both single-core and multi-core circuits buried
the circuits will be reduced. Since there are an infinite number of near each other, the multi-core cables tend to have a slightly higher
arrangements for this scenario there are no general rules to follow. degree of mutual heating than the single-core cables, due to the
However, in general the higher the number of circuits and the additional cores. Subsequently, the multi-core circuit has a greater
closer they are spaced the more their current ratings are reduced thermal resistivity increase than the single core circuit, which ends
due to the mutual heating. up decreasing the current rating of the multi-core circuit slightly
As an example, Figure 15 shows an arrangement of four iden- more than the single core circuit. This decrease can be seen in

(a) Touching (b) Spaced 0.2 m per phase

Figure 14 Meshings for a buried circuit in a flat configuration

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6 Factors Affecting Power Cable Current Ratings

Figure 15 Multiple buried identical trefoil circuits - equally loaded Figure 17 Single core and multicore buried circuits

Figure 17. ing cables at depths greater than 1 metre, to consider and to pro-
Without considering mutual heating, the multi-core circuit in pose to your client to use expected soil ambient temperature and
Figure 17 has a current rating of 531 A and the single-core circuit not a conservative value such as 25 °C from the standards. The
has a current rating of 534 A. However, when mutual heating expected average soil ambient temperature can be calculated based
is considered, the multi-core circuit drops to 469 A, whereas the on the following data:
single-core circuit drops to 474 A. The multi-core circuit has had a
greater current rating loss than the single-core circuit.
1. Annual average temperature.
4.6. Ambient soil temperature 2. Maximum annual temperature variation from average.
3. Soil thermal diffusivity (inertia).
The ambient soil temperature affects the cable rating and is de-
4. Time of year.
pendent on climatic factors as well as installation specific factors.
5. Depth of burial.
The ambient soil temperature can either be measured or taken
from relevant meteorological data sources. Applicable national
standards exist which specify the ambient temperatures at which For example, a particular installation in a moderate climate
cable ratings shall be calculated for your country or a region, how- the average annual temperature is 12 °C and the maximum tem-
ever where these are not available then IEC 60287-3-1 (3) may be perature is 35 °C. Therefore, the maximum annual temperature
referred to. variation is 23 °C. The soil composition resembles wet sand hence
Figure 18 shows that as soil ambient temperature goes up cable the soil thermal diffusivity is 0.01 cm2 /s. The anticipated depth of
current rating goes down linearly. The drop in current rating is burial of cables is 1 metre.
greater for larger cables than it is for smaller cables due to surface Figure 19 shows that during summer at a depth of 1 metre the
area. soil temperature is 21.64 °C. As can be seen, as depth of burial ap-
It is often commercially advantageous, particularly when bury- proaches infinity the soil ambient temperature approaches average
ambient temperature.

Figure 16 Multiple buried identical trefoil circuits - unequally

loaded Figure 18 Current rating versus ambient soil temperature

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 Patrick and Dayan 7

Figure 19 Calculation of soil ambient temperature at a particular

Figure 21 Current rating of cables versus backfill thermal
depth and time of year – ELEKTM Cable HV
resistivity

4.7. Thermal backfills V. CONCLUSIONS

To achieve the highest possible current rating for buried circuits,
cables can be installed in an envelope of a material with better Accurate determination of cable ratings and performance is im-
thermal heat conduction properties than the native soil. This ad- portant for providing an economical, functional, and safe design.
ditional material is referred to as a thermal backfill. A typical Access to powerful and insightful software tools for performing
arrangement is depicted in Figure 20. power cable rating calculations is imperative.
The thermal resistivity of a backfill material is determined by
the level of compaction and grain size distribution and should be 5.1. Cables in air
known (since it is measured) to be considered in a design. Figure The conductor size and material significantly affect current rating
21 shows that a lower backfill thermal resistivity improves the as well as the sheath bonding arrangement. Ambient air tempera-
cable current ratings for a native soil thermal resistivity of 2.5 ture affects current rating. The current rating of cables in air which
°C.m/W, rather than 1.2 as stated in the common parameters of are enclosed in ducts depends on the duct material and size. Cur-
this report. Note that the IEC equations are inaccurate where the rent ratings of cables in close proximity to other groups of cables
backfill thermal resistivity is greater than that of the native soil. or exposed to direct solar radiation are also affected.
The overall dimensions of the thermal backfill also affects the
cable current ratings. Figure 22 shows as the backfill area increases 5.2. Buried cables
there is a marked increase in the current rating but that as the
The soil resistivity and soil ambient temperature both have a major
backfill area gets larger this improvement is diminishing. It is
effect. To a lesser degree spacing between phases of buried single
often worthwhile to do a cost-benefits-analysis of the savings due
core cables affects current rating. For single-point bonded cables
to improved current ratings and the additional costs associated
phase spacing affects the sheath standing voltage which is an
with a backfill.
important safety-related consideration for designers. Sheath loss
factor affects current rating, and sheath loss factor in multi-core

Figure 20 Modelled backfill area. Note the circuit remains in the Figure 22 Current rating of cables versus backfill thermal
centre. resistivity

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8 Factors Affecting Power Cable Current Ratings

cables is much lower than in single-core cables. Mutual heating

between cables installed in grouped buried circuit arrangements
Table 2 Cable dimensions for modelling three core cables. All
reduces their current rating however for accuracy this should be
dimensions are in mm unless otherwise specified
assessed on a case specific basis. Backfill composition and volume
also affect current rating. Cable Size (mm2 ) 120 400
Nominal conductor diameter 3 x 13.1 3 x 23.6
References
Conductor screen thickness 3 x 0.55 3 x 0.7
[1] Commission IE. 2006. IEC 60287-1-1 Electric Cables - Calculation
of the current rating – Part 1-1: Current rating equations (100 Insulation thickness 3 x 3.4 3 x 3.4
% load factor) and calculation of losses - General. International
Semi-conductive insulation screen thickness 3 x 0.8 3 x 0.9
Electrotechnical Commission.
[2] Commission IE. 2015. IEC 60287-2-1 Electric cables – Calculation Copper screen wire thickness 3 x 0.85 3 x 0.85
of the current rating – Part 2-1: Calculation of thermal resistance.
PVC sheath thickness 7.77 9.72
International Electrotechnical Commission.
[3] Commission IE. 2017. IEC 60287-3-1 Electric cables – Calculation PVC sheath diameter 67.9 95.5
of the current rating – Part 3-1: Operating conditions – Site reference
conditions. International Electrotechnical Commission.
[4] Neher J, McGrath M. 1957. Calculation of the temperature rise
and load capability of cable systems. AIEE Transactions Part
III - Power Apparatus and Systems. 76:752–772.
[5] Olex. 2009. High voltage cable catalogue. https://www.voltimum.
com.au/content/nexans-olex-high-voltage-catalogue?flippage=
1&id=1974.

Appendix
Cable dimensions are required for modelling in ELEK™ Cable HV
software. The following cable data was taken from the Olex HV
cable catalogue (5).

Cable data for the single core cable in Figure 23:

• Description: 6.35/11 kV Single Core Screened and PVC
Sheathed.
• Conductor material: Stranded copper or Aluminium
Cable data for the three core cable in Figure 24:
• Description: 6.35/11 kV Cu Multi Core XLPE Insulated,
Screened, PVC bedded and PVC Sheathed
• Conductor material: Stranded copper
Figure 23 Cross-sectional view of 11 kV cable modelled

Table 1 Cable dimensions for modelling single core cables. All

dimensions are in mm unless otherwise specified
Cable Size (mm2 ) 120 400 800
Nominal conductor diameter 13.1 23.6 35.9
Conductor screen thickness 0.55 0.7 0.9
Insulation thickness 3.4 3.4 3.4
Semi-conductive insulation screen thickness 0.8 0.9 0.9
Copper screen wire thickness 1.35 1.35 1.35
PVC sheath thickness 2.05 2.45 3

Figure 24 Cross-sectional view of 11 kV multi-core cable modelled

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