Simulation and Analysis of Polypropylene Cable Based on Electro-Thermal Multi-physics Coupling

Abstract

Compared to XLPE cables, Polypropylene cable has the advantages of simple manufacturing process, high conveying capacity and recyclability, so PP cable will have a wide market in the future and it is essential to study the operational status of PP cable. In this paper, the physical field states of a PP cable under operating conditions is investigated by building an electrical-thermal coupling simulation model. The results show that when the current of the cable reaches 800A, the electric field strength distribution of the insulation layer tends to be flat along the radius of the cable, so it is recommended that the cable is operated at about 800 A. When the current is small, the thickness of the insulation layer has a small effect on the temperature difference between the inside and outside of the insulation layer, while the temperature difference of the insulation layer increases obviously with the increase of insulation thickness when the current is higher. When the cable is laid in the tunnel, the temperature of the conductor is 12.9 °C lower than that of directly buried lying. The heat dissipation efficiency of tunnel lying is significantly higher than that of directly buried lying.