For Underground Cable Raceway Systems

Neher-McGrath & IEC 60287 - Thermal Cable Current Capacity The Cable Thermal Analysis module helps engineers to design cable raceway systems to operate to their maximum potential while providing a secure and reliable operation. The advanced graphical interface allows for design of cable raceway systems to meet the existing and future needs by using precise calculations to determine the required cable sizes, their physical capabilities, and maximum derated capacity / ampacity. In addition, transient temperature analysis computes temperature profiles for cable currents, reducing the risk of damage to cable systems under emergency conditions.

Cable Thermal Analysis Key Features

• Cable Steady-State Temperature Calculation using:
  • Neher-McGrath Method
  • IEC 60287 Method
• Cable Transient Temperature Calculation
• Cable Ampacity Calculation using:
  • Uniform Ampacity
  • Uniform Temperature
• Cable Sizing -Thermal Analysis 
• Underground (UG) Cable Raceway Rule Book
• Electromagnetic Field Intensity Evaluation

Cable Thermal Analysis Capabilites

• Printable cable, conduit and raceway layout.
• Printable dimension indication for conduits and raceways
• Graphical manipulation of raceways, cables, conduits, etc.
• Drag & drop cables from one-line diagrams
• Cables of different sizes in the same raceway
• Separate phases into different conduits or locations
• Unsymmetrical positioning of raceways
• Transient calculations use a dynamic thermal circuit model
• Option to fix cable size and/or loading
• Grounded/ungrounded metallic layer
• Calculate thermal resistance, dielectric losses, conductor loss factor, metallic layer loss factor
• User-defined cable physical structure
• Unbalanced load factors
• Multiple duct banks & direct-buried conduits
• Place raceways in multiple cross-sections

User-Defined Cable Physical Structure

ETAP cable thermal analysis module can model single core and multiple core cable physical structure in details. Various cable thermal and metallic layer types and corresponding dimensions can be defined individually based on actual cable construction.

• Insulation
• Filler
• Grounded/ungrounded metallic screen
• Grounded/ungrounded metallic armor
• Bedding
• Grounded/ungrounded metallic sheath
• Jacket

Flexible Operation

• Multiple raceways
• Multiple external heat sources
• Optimization of new cables in existing raceways
• Cross-sectional analysis
• Duct banks & direct buried raceways
• Integrated with cables in one-line diagrams
• Integrated with load flow results
• Integrated with cable pulling analysis

Plotting & Reporting

With the advanced web-based plot tools, the cable transient temperature plot can be generated and customized according to engineers’ requirement. 

• Interactively view and zoom the transient temperature plot to any detail levels
• Option to combine and compare multiple transient temperature plots from different scenarios
• Report all physical and calculated data into multiple file formats

Interactive User Interface

The enhanced interactive interface helps engineers to design and draw the raceway fast and intuitively. With the snapping guideline, conduits and raceways can be precisely located by dragging without entering the coordinates. Automatic dimension labeling expedites the generation of the raceway layouts without additional editing and annotating.

• Display multiple cables, conduits, and raceways in the same presentation
• Option to display raceway dimensions
• Option to display Edge to Edge and Center to Center distance between conduits.
• Flag critical & marginal cable temperatures
• Snapping guideline between Centers, Tops, and Bottoms