Prediction of temperature for underground telecom equipment

Abstract

In this paper, the thermal characteristics of underground cavities used for deploying telecom equipment (e.g., manholes, footholes, footpath boxes, and handholes) are examined for various factors such as equipment heat dissipation, cavity size, soil thermal properties, and local long term weather conditions. The two-dimensional axi-symmetric transient conduction equation is solved numerically for the different variables affecting the thermal characteristics of the underground cavity. A correlation for the maximum possible cavity temperature is given as a function of its dimensions, soil properties, and yearly average temperature and seasonal temperature variation.