On the Use of the Law of Times in Calculating Soil Thermal Stability and Underground Cable Ampacity

The heat generated by underground cables may cause the soil around the cables to dry, increasing its thermal resistivity and potentially causing the cables to overheat. The ability of soil to maintain a constant resistivity while being subjected to a heat source is known as its "thermal stabili...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on industry applications 2016-03, Vol.52 (2), p.1215-1220
Main Authors: Malmedal, Keith, Bates, Carson, Cain, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cables
Conductivity
Constants
Drying
Heat sources
Heating
Mathematical analysis
Moisture
Power Cable Thermal Factors
Power cables
Probes
Soil
Soil (material)
Thermal resistance
Thermal stability
Thermoresistivity
Underground cables
Underground Power Distribution
Underground Power Transmission
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Summary:The heat generated by underground cables may cause the soil around the cables to dry, increasing its thermal resistivity and potentially causing the cables to overheat. The ability of soil to maintain a constant resistivity while being subjected to a heat source is known as its "thermal stability." A method using the Law of Times has been recommended by some sources to determine soil stability. To test whether this method can accurately predict soil thermal stability, an experiment was performed that tested the hypothesis fundamental to the Law of Times that the diameter of the heat source affects the drying time of the soil surrounding it. This paper reports the results of that experiment and includes the statistical analysis of the data. The experimental evidence resulted in rejecting the Law of Times as an accurate predictor of the drying time of the soil surrounding a buried cable.
ISSN:0093-9994
1939-9367
DOI:10.1109/TIA.2015.2483707