Rating Considerations for Cables

in Ventilated Tunnels
George Anders
Eric Dorison
Background
Several publications dealing with the subject
The most often cited is the work by CIGRE published by
Electra (No. 143 and 144) in 1992
WG 19 of the IEC is preparing a standard for rating
calculations of cables in ventilated tunnels. This
presentation summarizes the current status.
An agreement with
the IEC method

The IEC Standard gives the formulae

for the calculation of the external
thermal resistance for the cable in air
configurations shown in the table on
the right. It also give reduction factors
for groups of cables below.
An agreement with the IEC method
Where the air velocity is quite
low, the rating has to be in
agreement with the IEC
formula for still air
Where the tunnel is quite long,
the heat rate extracted by the
air is close to zero at the
tunnel outlet, so that the
situation at the tunnel outlet is
the same as for still air
conditions providing that the
heat transfers follow the same
model (i.e., the same formulae
for deriving thermal
resistances)
The IEC method is applicable
to cables in tunnels under the
following assumptions:
The construction of all cables
in the tunnel is the same. This
means that the surface
temperatures of the cables are
similar; and, therefore, the
radiative heat transfers
between the cables may be
ignored.
The temperature of the tunnel
walls t is close to the
temperature of the air a in the
tunnel.
The air in the tunnel is still, so
that the convective transfers
can be described through the
well known and experimentally
checked correlations.
But in Reality
The thermal resistance T4 is a combination of the thermal
resistances expressing heat transfers by radiation and
convection from the cable surface.
Tunnels are often ventilated and the two modes of the
heat transfer should be considered separately.

Cable losses
Radiation cable / tunnel walls
n.Wc n.Wd n.1.Wc n.2.Wc

c s Wrad t 0
T1/2n T1/2n T2 T3 Tst Te

Wk Ww
Tsa Tat

Convection cable /air Convection air / walls

Wconv
a
 Rating for still air
Heat W generated within cables transferred by radiation and convection

a w Tconv_wall << Tconv a w

Wout
Wrad
s w
Trad
w
s Tconv Tconv_wall
a
Wconv Wconv_wall
a

Wconv = Wconv_wall

Wout = Wrad + Wconv_wall = W

Simplified model using Ohms thermal law and energy balance equations
The thermal resistance of the tunnel is a parallel combination of Trad and Tconv
Rating for ventilated conditions

a w
Wout
W = Wrad + Wconv
Wrad
s w
Trad
w Wa = Wconv + Wconv_wall
s Tconv Tconv_wall
a
Wconv Wconv_wall
a Wout = W -Wa

Wa

Air temperature assumed lower than tunnel wall temperature

Heat transferred from the tunnel wall to air
Model for ventilated tunnel
STILL AIR MODELLING
s e = Ts .N .Wk

e t = Tt .(N .Wk Wa )
STAR DELTA TRANSFORMATION

s t 0
T3 Te
t 0 = Te .(N .Wk Wa )
Ts Tt
(N) e
a e = Ta .Wa T3
N.Wk

Ta Heat removed
by the air
Wa = C av . a
z Wa
a

This figure presents a heat transfer model and gives the

corresponding set of equations, obtained from the initial
diagram, using a star-delta transformation.
The tunnel axis is assumed to be perpendicular to the page
surface (z-coordinate).
 Parameters of the models
Radiative heat transfer

Tst =
1
.De .hrad
[ ]
hrad = K r . s . . ( s + 273)2 + (t + 273)2 .[( s + 273) + (t + 273)] Kr
Fsw
(1 s ).Fsw + s

Tij =
1
.Dei .hij
[ ( ) ][
hij = Fij . s . . ( si + 273)2 + sj + 273 2 . ( si + 273) + sj + 273 ( )]

F12 =
1
2


[
. + c 2 (r + 1)2 ] [c
0,5 2
(r 1)2 ]
0,5 r 1
+ (r 1). cos 1
c
1 r + 1
(r + 1). cos
c
r=
De 2
De1
c = 2.
S
De1

is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant;

s is the cable surface emissivity,
Kr is the radiation shape factor, which depends on the view factor Fsw defined as a
fraction of the radiation that leaves the considered cable and is intercepted by the
tunnel walls (a simplified expression to be used in practice given in the book by Anders)
Parameters of the models
Convective heat transfer
1 V .De
Tsa = with Re =
.k t .K p . Re 0.65

1
Tat =
.k t .0,023. Re 0,8 . Pr 0,4
V .D t
with Pr = C pair . Re =
kt
Round tunnel

V is the bulk air velocity, Te =

2
[
.Ln u + u 1 ] u=
2.L
Dt
is the kinematic viscosity and
kt is the thermal conductivity of the air. Square tunnel
Kp is an experimentally determined constant .
L
Cpair is the specific heat of the air per unit volume Te = ln 3.388
2 a
Rating equations
1
T1 2

max [ 0 + 0 ] W .
d + n.(T 2 + T3 + T )
4t
I = 2
R.[T1 + n.(1 + 1 ).T2 + n.(1 + 1 + 2 )(
. T3 + T4t )]


Tt + Te
0 = [ a (0 ) 0 ].
L
.e
Ta + Tt + Te

Tt + Te L
T4t = N .Ts + (Tt + Te ).1 .e
Ta + Tt + Te

= (Ta + Tt + Te ).Cav Cav = C pair .V . At

 Temperature along the tunnel
z

at (z ) = at (0) + [ 0 + (Tt + Te ).N .Wk at (0)].1 e


Example:
Temperatures along the tunnel
3 single core cables Temperature (C)

spaced vertically 100

within a circular 90
80
ventilated tunnel (the 70
spacing between the 60

cables being 3 times 50

their diameter). 40 c
30 s
The rated current of 20 t
2766 A applied. 10
0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
Distance (m)
 Thank you

george.anders@bell.net